2006 Sunset – Race #3

May 3rd - Crew tonight was Dick, Art, Demitri, Frank, Jim, Linda and Reggie (this was Linda's first race in 2006). The sky had been overcast for most of the day but started to clear up just inland from MDR at around 3:30-4pm. We thought this might mean the wind would pick up instead of die and sure enough the wind as we left the dock at 5:10pm seemed slightly stronger than it had earlier. A thermal seemed to be developing and when the wind builds late in the day it often goes north. So, we were on the lookout for a northern trend to the wind. When we checked the starting line it was square to approx. 240°, with the wind from approx. 245-250° at the time. With the right-hand end of the starting line favored and more shift to the right possible we decided to start at the RC boat end of the line.

We thought the RC boat end was well favored. In the end it was favored by 10-15°. For every 3-4 boatlengths toward the pin that a boat started she lost 1 boatlength of distance. So, it was definitely smart to be slightly late but right at the RC boat rather than on time but down the line 10+ boatlengths. As we came toward the RC boat on starboard (from the direction of Malibu) Hitchhiker was below Non-Routine and taking her up (but had waited until Non-Routine was locked in below the RC boat before doing so). There was no space for us but no other traffic so we made a big "S" turn up next to the RC boat and then came back down and started maybe 5 seconds late right at the RC boat. Non-Routine was apparently OCS and going back so there was a big hole to leeward of us - the next boat was probably 5+ boatlengths away.

As we started up the windward leg on starboard-tack, we were on a lift - 222°. Some boats tacked to port and passed behind us but although we thought the north might be favored we wanted to keep going until we got a slight header. We got it and tacked unto port. Hitchhiker was somewhat to leeward of us (but not in our dirty air) going about the same speed but not pointing quite as high. Teaser was just above our line and going pretty much the same angle and the same speed or a smidge faster. We started out at about 287-292° and once our heading got down to 295°+ we tacked. We didn't think we were quite at the layline but figured if we got any lift on starboard tack we might make E Mark and didn't want to overstand.

We went almost to the port-tack layline which was fine vis-a-vis our fleet but we ran into PHRF C boats rounding E Mark ahead of us. We dodged them and were first in our class around the windward mark. We're not sure but we think the next boat was Teaser followed by Wildcard, a J/80. We did a bear-away set but gybed pretty quickly.

We got killed last week by Avet, who apparently went south, so we sailed about half the leg on port and then gybed back over to starboard. Teaser and Wildcard apparently went south quite aways before gybing onto port and we did OK on them. But Athena was really fast downwind and had almost caught up to us by the time we reached the detached breakwater.

Now comes the interesting part of the evening. A couple of faster boats came in from the north and slipped around the breakwater head of us and inside of Duchess, a cruising class boat. Duchess was clear ahead of us but went really wide around the end of the detached breakwater. That left us plenty of room to go inside of her, which we did - with probably 3+ boat-widths of space between us and Duchess. One reason Duchess may have gone really wide was that there was a boat a couple of boatlengths in from the end of the detached breakwater that had her spinnaker up and flying free (Cygnet). Unfortunately, we should have stayed out near Duchess because just as we were passing the inside corner of the detached breakwater - WHAM!! - we hit the infamous rock. We didn't stop but the boat certainly took a big lurch and I'm sure all the boats inside a 5-7 boatlength radius heard the noise. [Follow-up - no structural damage but the keel will certainly have to be put back into racing shape.]

The rest of the race was pretty uneventful - we sailed to a shortened finish at Burton Chase Park with Athena still behind us. There was almost no traffic to deal with in the entrance or main channel - which is just as well after the "incident" at the end of the detached breakwater. Aw well - life is made up of many situations from which we can learn what not to do in the future. I guess tonight was one of those situations for the crew of Lizzie B.