After Swiftsure, this week certainly went by fast and now we’re racing again tomorrow. One thing is clear, we won’t have the onshore flow we had last weekend and into this week. I don’t think I’ve seen so many days of 30+ knots of westerly at Race Rocks for so many days in a row. It did make for some great racing unless of course, you were on Mist. We had a great time on Tahlequah but now it’s time to catch up on all the deferred gardening. One day you’re the king of the Straits having a great time sailing with your buddies and the next, you’re on your hands and knees pulling weeds.
This weekend in the Straits will be much different as we’ll have a weak frontal system reach the coast tonight and then dissipate as it moves over land tonight. The onshore flow will return Saturday afternoon and continue into next week. You can just see the leading edge of this system starting to show up on the coast on the coastal Doppler.
For the last of the Tri-Island Series Race don’t expect much wind until mid to late afternoon on Saturday. Just don’t forget the sunblock before you leave the house! The other minor difficulty will be the tides, not exactly helpful.
Tidal Currents at West Point
0724 Slack
0912 Max Ebb .32 knots
1106 Slack
1648 Max Flood .94 knots
2024 Slack
The first gun is supposed to be around 0900 hours however if you look at the surface charts you’ll notice the remains of a trough moving to the east and unfortunately that will leave a large gap in the pressure gradient. This will result in a light downslope, drainage breeze from the east in the morning. With some clearing and no gradient, this could be the perfect set-up for the Swihart Effect which says the northerly will start down the Sound once the flood tide gets rolling which will mid to late afternoon. When this will build will largely depend upon when we get enough clearing over the Pugetopilus to start some heating and draw the breeze down the Sound. If the clearing continues, look for the northerly to continue to build through the late afternoon.
As is typical for the Blake Island Race, you can pick your poison deciding which way you are going to go around the Island. In almost all cases it’s best to leave the Island to starboard. This is because of the ebb that continues to roll up Colvos and the back side of the Island. The flood may not get all the way to the bottom of the Island, however, there will be more wind on the east side of the Island.
If the breeze is northerly in the starting area, you’ll probably do a starboard set just don’t go west too long. Before the start, watch the flag at the West Point lighthouse and if it’s showing any easterly at all plan a gybe to port to be at the West Point Buoy. If on port, you’re aiming at Alki, hold that gybe until you get lifted to Spuds Fish and Chips, then gybe and aim at the Island. Just don’t get too close to the Island especially at the south end. See the picture. If you swing wide enough at the south end you’ll carry the northerly into the light zone. Just be ready to smoothly transition into what little breeze there will be on the backside of the Island. Headsail up, in the starboard groove, spinnaker down, all without changing course and hopefully without slowing much.
Since you’ll be swept along with the ebb up the backside of the Island, sail the favored tack, usually starboard and don’t get too close to the Island. By the same token don’t too far over to the Manchester shore as it will get light in there as well. Work your way up to Bainbridge Island since the current tends to set from west to east along that south shore. Once you get to Restoration hold on to port tack. If you are aimed at Four Mile Rock, just keep going right up to Magnolia Bluff. If you end up being headed below(east of) Four Mile, take a short hitch until you can once again be above Four Mile. Really watch your depth sounder coming into there as it gets very shallow, very quickly. If the breeze has built as you’ve come across you’ll want to do your tack change here going from the light #1 to the heavy #1going from port to starboard tack. You should be right under the Bluff and it will be puffy so the mainsheet/ traveler person is going to be working very hard to keep the boat on its feet.
Once you clear West Point hold on to starboard tack until you can lay the entrance to the Ship Canal. Of course, this also depends on where the finish line is located. You’d like to get close to the entrance so it will be easier to call the tack to the finish, finishing on starboard and probably in more breeze than the boats on the outside. There will also be a nice push from the current coming out of the Ship Canal.
Be safe, use lots of sunblock, and have a great time.
Bruce has raced and cruised the Pacific Northwest his entire life. He earned a Bachelor’s of Science from the University of Washington in Biological Oceanography and learned meteorology “to keep from getting kicked around on the race course.” Bruce spent nearly two decades as Associate Publisher for Northwest Yachting Magazine, retiring in mid-2015, and was the chairman of the board of trustees for the Northwest Marine Trade Association in 2014. (photo of Bruce driving Playstation is a bit dated, but cool)