Oh this is exciting. My buddy Bruce Hedrick is sharing his insights about tomorrow’s CYC Blakely Rock Race. If you don’t know Bruce, just ask around or come back here soon, ’cause I’ll have an explanation of just why you should listen to him on these pages as soon as I have a minute.
It’s the start of March so it’s got to be time for the best sailing series on Puget Sound, the CYC Center Sound Series. The first race is the Blakely Rock Race which is tomorrow, March 5th, and in keeping with the year so far, we’ll have wind for the start and then it will start to drop. At least it won’t be super wet as this front is coming through this afternoon and this evening, and the next one isn’t due until Sunday .
Unfortunately we’ll be between fronts so it could get a bit squirrely out there tomorrow and the first folks around the course will have an advantage, especially as the tide starts to ebb at around 1300 hours. Just remember that with consistent southerlies the ebb will start sooner and last longer. With the max flood being the small flood of the day and only .2 knot it may not even show at West Point as the water is rolling out of the Duwamish and with the freshwater staying on top of the salt water it just may ebb all day at West Point.
Tides based upon West Point
Slack 0851
Max flood 1042 .2 knts
Slack 1253
Max ebb 1647 .9 knts
Slack 2032
The current is also ripping out of the Ship Canal as the ACoE is trying to make sure there won’t be too much water in Lake Washington and Lake Union and with more rain projected to be on the way, all the spillways at the Locks are open. So depending upon where CYC sets the starting line, you’ll have to adjust your tactics accordingly for getting over to the Bainbridge side of the course. You’ll want to get out to the start line early especially if you’re going to try and sail your team into racing shape and this is your first sail of the year. Check the set at the starting line and if CYC has set the line well off of Shilshole you’ll want to see if there is any flood showing up at all in the starting area. If there is, there will be a clear line of demarcation as the flood meets the ebb from the Locks and from the Duwamish. So if you start on starboard in flood tide, only go on starboard until you can see the ebb and then tack to port and beat feet to the west. The wind should be out of the due south with a very slight knock as you get to the west side of the Sound. Work your way down to Blakely Rock and don’t feel like you have to go all the way into the beach at Bainbridge as the wind and current may be better slightly offshore.
It will be the leg from Blakely Rock north to the temp mark that will be east of the VTS buoy where it may get light and squirrely. Typically the breeze lasts longer on the west side of the Sound as it starts to die away. Unfortunately, the MM5 charts show the Sound starting to look like Swiss cheese at around 1300 hours. Luckily you’ll have ebb to sweep you up to the top mark.
Coming back from the top mark you may have to deal with a light northerly and as that fills in, you’ll want to make your way to the beach north of Meadow Point to stay out of the building ebb. From there it will be gybing to stay in the wind and out of the tide as you work your way to the finish.
In the morning before you leave house you’ll want to check the conditions at West Point(WPOW1), the Washington State Ferry weather, and if you subscribe to (highly recommended) the OCENS GRIB + program, you’ll want to download the most recent NDFD HiRes and GFS HiRes GRIB files to get an even better feel for what is going to happen.
When you get to the boat, do your normal rigging but set up for light air on the run and make sure you’ve got the light barber haulers set up on both the port and starboard side so you can go to it immediately without having to do the set-up on the course.
The above all else, keep your head out of the boat and watch what is going on around you. You should know who the fast folks are so keep an eye on them as well.
Good luck and have a great day!
Bruce Hedrick
Kurt grew up racing and cruising in the Midwest, and has raced Lasers since the late 1970s. Currently he is a broker at Swiftsure Yachts. He has been Assistant Editor at Sailing Magazine and a short stint as Editor of Northwest Yachting. Through Meadow Point Publishing he handles various marketing duties for smaller local companies. He currently is partners on a C&C 36 which he cruises throughout the Northwest. He’s married to the amazing Abby and is father to Ian and Gabe.