Corona Virus Break

Bruce’s Briefs: Wx for 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27 May, SWIFTSURE! (not)

Bruce Hedrick Bruce's Briefs, Corona Virus Break 0 Comment
Bruce’s Briefs: Wx for 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27 May, SWIFTSURE! (not)

Yeah, I know, there is no Swiftsure however I just can’t help myself besides, it’s good practice. Tahlequah is also having a pre-Swiftsure zoom meeting this afternoon to discuss the weather and plan our strategy for the Race. For some reason, the meeting time is the same as cocktail hour. I wonder why? 

I digress, anyway, the delivery up yesterday would have been a bit nasty from Pt. Townsend to Victoria with 30-knots of westerly and only slightly less today. The real question is, of course, what will happen tomorrow? As always, the tides will play a big role so let’s check those first.

Tidal Current at Race Passage, 5-23.

0811      Max Ebb                 5.6 knots

1213      Slack

1522      Max Flood            5.2 knots

1856      Slack

2008      Max Ebb                 3.5 knots

5-24

0138      Slack

0257      Max Flood            1.0 knot

0423      Slack

0842      Max Ebb                 5.8 knots

1246      Slack

1555      Max Flood            5.3 knots

1935      Slack

Today’s surface analysis chart shows a weak high-pressure system offshore with a weak low-pressure system just on the other side of the Cascades which is why we have an onshore flow. This will weaken during the day tomorrow as the low dissipates and the pressure gradient expands over the Pacific NW as another frontal system makes its way towards us. This system will move slowly over us on Sunday pushing the offshore high to the south. This will give us cool, unstable air over the area with some weak shower activity.

  • May 22 Surface Analysis
  • May 23 Surface Forecast
  • May 24 500 mb
  • May 24 Surface Forecast
  • May 25 Surface Forecast
  • May 26 500 mb
  • May 26 Surface Forecast

For the race, this will mean a classic Swiftsure sucker punch. Plenty of wind and a nice ebb at the start will mean that all fleets will have no problem getting out the Straits in 10-15 knots of WNW. By 1400 hours we’ll have 15-22-knots of northwesterly in the central Straits.  As Crossfire and the long course boats get past Clallam Bay, the breeze will begin to ease. The TP-52s and the big boats on the Flattery Race should start to round the Neah Bay Mark around 1800 hours and be back through the Race by 0200 and finish around 0500 hours. That noise you hear is the door slamming on the rest of their fleet.

For the Long Course boats, it will get very light just past Neah Bay and that will hold until early Sunday morning when a light SE will fill in along the coast, unfortunately, it will be light the rest of the way back to the finish with Crossfire finishing around 1800 hours Sunday evening. On this course and the Cape Flattery Race, the first boat back into the central Strait around Slip Pt to Pillar Pt will be the first boat into what is left of the wind and if they can get back through the Race before the tide starts to ebb strongly around 0530, they will be the winner.

For boats like the J-35 Tahlequah, this will mean rounding Neah Bay at around 2230 hours but not finishing until 1600 hours Sunday afternoon. Just in time for the rain to start.

For the rest of the Salish Sea, you can expect light air with some overcast and some scattered showers. The good news is that the freezing level will come down to about 4500-ft and that will mean more snow for the mountains.

Enjoy your weekend and I hope we can start to get ready for some Wednesday Night Racing in early June!

Ed. Note: Let’s have some post non-race reports. I’m thinking a couple of blown kites, a bit of seasickness and maybe a mutiny or two. If it didn’t really happen, which it won’t, have some fun. Also, keep sending info a Corona Virus style racing. You know, shorthanded and family fun. Stay safe everyone. While I wouldn’t call the docks buzzing today, there certainly was more of a sense of normalcy today. -KH

Dinghy Racing is ON

Kurt Hoehne Corona Virus Break, Laser Sailing 0 Comment
Dinghy Racing is ON

In a bit of a throwback to days gone by of racing, the singlehanded dinghy sailors came out in force on Thursday off Shilshole in Seattle. Yes, Virginia, there IS racing while simultaneously social distancing. The Seattle Laser Fleet – which includes the RS Aeros in town, dotted the water on a perfect, sunny May evening. There were very good fleets of both boats with about 30 boats dotting the Sound.

Photos courtesy of Doug Frazer and John Beaver who between them had 4 kids on the Laser course! The fleet was split about evenly between RS Aeros and Lasers (Radial and Standard rigs combined).

The Aero sailors have been at it for a while this spring, meeting multiple times a week and working on their speed and technique. The World Championship, after all, had been scheduled to run this summer on the Columbia River Gorge. This fleet boasts some of the region’s best sailors and is likely the strongest Aero fleet in the US. So it’s no surprise they’re out there.

The Laser fleet, however, has not been as active. That all changed Thursday night when 14 Lasers, about evenly split between Radial and Standard rigs, were out. About half of the fleet were junior sailors which bodes well, not just for Laser sailing, but sailing in general. Fleet captain Mark Ross had worked with Corinthian Yacht Club to have one person in a Whaler on hand to set the course and run starts.

Five races were run with the boats returning in the fading light and a building northerly. Only smiles were seen on the sailors’ faces.

For more information on RS Aero and Laser sailing, visit seattlelaserfleet.org.

Salish 200 Update – also the Salish 100!

Kurt Hoehne Corona Virus Break, Racing 2 Comments
Salish 200 Update – also the Salish 100!

Ed. Note It seems that this non-race scheduled for June 26 is evolving on the fly. This from organizer Jason Andrews: “Kurt – As FYI only, we’ve expanded the number of “courses” to get some of the smaller boats involved:(see  https://www.facebook.com/pg/sailhamachi/posts/?ref=page_internal ).“

There are now also two optional 100-mile courses utilizing our natural (island) buoys – so cool. Here’s the text from the Facebook post:

SALISH 200 UPDATE: Thank you all for the interest and comments. In an effort to increase participation for all boats, we have increased the number of scored courses:

Puget Sound 100: For boats that start off of Point Hudson and complete a circumnavigation of Vashon Island finishing off of Marrowstone Lighthouse.

Salish 100: For boats that start off of Point Hudson and complete a circumnavigation of the San Juan Islands finishing off of Marrowstone Lighthouse.

Salish 200: For boats that start off of Point Hudson and finish off of Point Hudson after rounding the San Juans and Vashon Island.

The rules are still simple:

Start line: off of Point Hudson Marina pier (Port Townsend) taking the pier to port and a mark to starboard.

Start time: Friday June 26th at 7pm GPS time (0300 Zulu).

Finish cut off: Sunday June 28th at 9pm (50 hours of racing)

Crew limit: 5 per boat in honor of Covid-19

Course: Figure 8 around the San Juan Islands (RTC marks) and Vashon Island. Direction and order is entirely up to you: you can start going north or south and transit the islands clockwise or counter clockwise.

Marks: Boats shall record their GPS time by taking a picture of a GPS enabled device when passing any of the following weigh points:

– Patos Island Lighthouse: crossing Longitude 122.95 deg W north of Latitude 48.79 deg N
– Neil Point Vashon Island: crossing Longitude 122.49 deg W south of Latitude 47.33 deg N
– Marrowstone Lighthouse: crossing Latitude 48.101 deg N after rounding one of the above marks
– Point Hudson Finish: crossing Longitude 122.75 deg W between Latitude 48.113 and 48.116 deg N after round all marks listed above

Scoring: All boats must record their times when passing the marks listed and email them to hamachiracing@gmail.com. Finish order (time adjusted based on PHRF) will be posted for each boat that completes one or more of the listed course. Boats that do the Salish 200 will be scored in either the Puget Sound 100 or Salish 100 depending on which one they complete first.

Trophies: There will be virtual trophies listing the top three finishers for each course.

There are promises of a web site – when I get that info I’ll pass it along.

Socially Responsible Racing

Kurt Hoehne Corona Virus Break, Racing 0 Comment

In the great scheme of things, racing sailboats doesn’t seem very important these days. Or is it? Pacific Northwest sailors want to get back to their inherently socially responsible and healthy pastime, and they’re making it happen at the grass roots level.

Shorthanded San Juans Racing

This came in a couple days ago from alert sailor Ken Machtley: Hi Kurt, finally a little good news for the racing scene. Orcas Island Yacht Club has decided to host our Round Orcas race on June 20 with a few changes. This year’s event will be changed to a pursuit race to help ensure social distancing on the start line. Fleets are shorthanded (single or double-handed) and household (3+ from the same household). If WA (or San Juan County) moves to phase 2 allowing groups up to five people by early June, the household division may be opened to mixed crews. No social is planned for after racing and the awards ceremony will be on Zoom with awards mailed after the race.

FYI, two other events in our North Sound Party Circuit should have updates in the next week (AYC Windermere and BYC Pt Roberts).

The registration link for the Round Orcas Race is here.

50 hours and 200 Miles of Fun

And the Energizer Crew from Hamachi have come up with an informal “event” that harkens back to events like the Round the Sound Race of long ago. Could it be that overnight sailing is making a comeback? Sounds like fun to me. It’s not a “race,” but whenever two boats are on the same body of water…..Here’s the Facebook post outlining the plans:

Quarantine and boredom are killing us (and you I’m sure)! To fill our time we started dreaming up race courses. Fun fact: according to Expedition its 102 miles from Marrowstone Lighthouse out around the San Juan Islands (using RTC marks) and back. It is also 102 miles from Marrowstone Lighthouse down around Vashon Island and back. Divine coincidence or sailing destiny? Either way, it’s now called the Salish 200.

If you are up for it, please join us for a friendly sailing “event” the last weekend of June. The rules are simple:

1. Start and finish off of Point Hudson Marina pier (Port Townsend)
2. Start time: Friday June 26th at 7pm
3. Finish cut off: Sunday June 28th at 9pm (50 hrs of racing)
4. Course: Figure 8 around the San Juan Islands (RTC marks) and Vashon Island. Direction and order is entirely up to you: you can start going north or south and transit the islands clockwise or counter clockwise.
5. Record your half way time passing Marrowstone Lighthouse (after you‘ve gone 100 miles) using a due east-west line (48.101 deg N).
6. Crew limit: 5 per boat in honor of Covid-19

Disclaimer: We are not a yacht club and this is not a sanctioned race. You participate entirely at your own risk.

If you are interested in participating please email us at: hamachiracing@gmail.com. If you or your organization wants to take this on and make it a formal race, let’s talk!

Stay tuned here for more updates.

Singlehanded Racing IS Social Distancing

Finally, the Seattle Laser Fleet – which also encompasses those speedy RS Aeros – is putting together some Thursday Night sailing. Not much can keep our group off the water for very long. Stop by the Seattle Laser Fleet website, sign up for the Google Groups and you’ll get the news as it takes shape.

Sailing is healthy. Racing is good, clean fun. Let’s keep figuring out how to do it responsibly.

Pacific Northwest Offshore International Yacht Race (Oregon Offshore) 2020 Race Report

Kurt Hoehne Corona Virus Break 0 Comment
Pacific Northwest Offshore International Yacht Race (Oregon Offshore) 2020 Race Report

I’m not exactly sure if the Raucous Bowman is a politician, rapper or some kind of gang banger, but one thing for sure, he was on top of the Pacific Northwest International Yacht Race, previously known as the Oregon Offshore. Your editor wasn’t even aware it was on yesterday….probably too busy pulling his hair out from the kids being home all the time. At any rate, here’s what the race was, at least in one raucous imagination. Let’s start thinking about next year. -KH

Pacific Northwest Offshore International Yacht Race (Oregon Offshore) 2020 Race Report

By the Raucous Bowmen

For those of you in the know, the Oregon offshore started off with a real bang this morning.  Beautiful weather, a strong offshore wind, and a slightly reduced fleet signaled the beginning of another epic journey North.  Rouge Brewery had heard the racers were in town, and due to rumors of raucous bowman roaming the streets, smartly closed shop and boarded up their doors and windows. Not to be deterred from a good time, the crew members hijacked the Astoria trolley and finished up a few bottles of rum while riding the rails.   

As dawn broke, many were a bit under the weather and many more did not show up.  The West Basin at Astoria was strangely empty…The other boats must be launching at Ilwaco, we thought and headed out.  The bar crossing was lively. In usual Oregon offshore style, many crew members began jettisoning their internal ballast.  This symphony of gut-wrenching, ab strengthening delight, is considered a badge of honor for many a racer.

As always Mustang Sally, the committee boat, was on station and at exactly 9:32:43 the race was on.  Immediately there was separation in the pack. Panama Red, the Mum 36, headed out…Way out. Riva, the J121, had a great start but Soufflé, the ultralight Cal 34 Mk I, was to windward. Bob Perry noted that the Cal’s signature low aspect main and over lapping high cut genoa was optimally suited for the reaching conditions. When will J/Boats learn? 

The J105 Free Bowl of Soup, after arriving in Astoria decided that nothing goes to windward like a fifth wheel and proceeded up the I-5 corridor. They were last reported making good VMG with light traffic near Seattle, a first for many.  As day one of the race ends, race leader Velocity, the J/42, is squarely in the lead. Rage, which finished six hours ago, will likely lose on corrected time when Velocity finishes sometime next year.  Anything can happen during the night, so as always sail fast, and stay safe racers.  Happy Oregon un-Offshore 2020, we can’t wait for next year!

  • Signed, The Raucous Bowman  

Ed. Note. Come on folks, we’re waiting for reports from the Geriatric Grinder, Nervous Navigator and Hermaphrodite Helmsman.

Screen shot from the tracker

More Screen Racing for Lockdown

Kurt Hoehne Corona Virus Break 1 Comment
More Screen Racing for Lockdown

Well, fellow PNW sailors, Bruce called it weather wise and we can all look outside today at the rain and say “Well, I’m glad I’m not out in that.” Or not. At this point, there are very few of us who wouldn’t choose to be out in that on our way north in the Race to the Straits. A lot of us would be happily struggling to make headway in the light southerly. About now, some of us would be contemplating the iron genny and the party in Port Townsend.

Firefly in the SYC Vashon Race, in 2018 before she raced to Hawaii.

Jan and Skip are sharing a look back at the SYC Vashon Island races this weekend, and they are all great photo albums. It’s fun to look back at the some of the boats, some we haven’t seen in a while and others off to other pastures. How about the dueling One Design 48s Flash and Glory. Neptune’s Car. Wasabi. The old Absolutely. My old mates aboard Double Take. Shoot the Moon. White Cloud.

Things are opening up gradually, which bodes well for our season. I’ve seen a race north of the border for couples and families – I’ll try to get details. Seems to me that would be the most appropriate way for us to get going in, some low key shorthanded races where to participate is to win. Save the club parties for another time.

Here’s the report from the 2018 SYC Vashon Island Race.

And here are all Jan’s photos from several recent editions of the race:

2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018.

Regatta Retrospective

Kurt Hoehne Corona Virus Break 0 Comment
Regatta Retrospective

For all of us sitting at home, Jan (photographer) and Skip (Boat Boy) Anderson have provided some more links to past events. So, instead of sitting around lamenting the lack of racing during this Corona Virus break, let’s sit around lamenting the lack of racing while looking at some great photos. Just click on the links. KH

This week’s retrospectives include:

The 2013 Sperry Topsider (remember their sponsorship!) NOOD regatta. What’s notable here is how many classes there were, and what a variety. 6 Meters, A-Cats, Stars, J/24s, sport boats. And of course Lasers. And more! The results and report seem to have evaporated from the web, but from the photos it looks like great racing.

The second event we have here is the high school team racing championships, though I can figure out what year it’s from. (Can anyone out there help with the year?) Over the years, posting coverage of the high school events has been one of the pleasures of doing this blog. The photos show young sailors focused, engaged and above all happy. I’ve had the good fortune to engage with some of them, and as they start managing the sport I’m confident it will be in good hands. Supporting high school sailing should be a focus of all us old sailors.

Finally, we have the 2014 Black Star Regatta. For those unfamiliar with it, the Black Star Regatta is a low-key regatta centered around the South Sound Star fleets. These old primarily wooden Star boats have been resurrected and raced on a regular basis, wet sailed and often made available to introduce people to the sport. Stars are great boats, no matter what the age. A few dedicated enthusiasts kept the game going with enumerable volunteer hours.

Racing This Weekend

Jan Anderson Corona Virus Break 0 Comment
Racing This Weekend

OK, okay, so no racing this weekend. But until the Corona virus reared its ugly and pathetic head there was going to be racing – specifically CYC’s PSSR for small boats. So, while we’re stuck at home spending far too much time staring at a screen, let’s take a look back at some good racing days through Jan Anderson’s lens, then close our eyes and imagine the days ahead.

Credit where credit is due, Skip Anderson (Jan’s “boat boy”) came up with the idea and pushed it along. Expect more looks back until we can do some sailing in the present. In the meantime I hope everybody is staying healthy and trust you’re doing your best to flatten the curve so we can all get out of this mess asap. -KH

Here then is a look back at a couple of PSSRs past:

2017: Squall Punctuates PSSR Small Boats

It’s best to view all of Jan’s photos on her Smugmug site. Jan’s photos here.

The story:

CYC’s Puget Sound Sailing Regatta (PSSR) last weekend was of the small boat and dinghy fleets, and there were plenty of options from which to choose, including both Hobie 16s and 18s! Saturday it blew in the teens (except for the last-race-of-the-day squall) and Sunday it was light. Life on the committee boat on lumpy Saturday wasn’t the most comfortable and rumor has it there was some mal de mer going around.

The largest fleet in both size boats and numbers was the J/24 class. In 2015 only six J/24’s sailed and last year it was eight. This year it was 14, which is a good sign the fleet has embraced the idea of coming out of Lake Washington for this event. Wayne Pignolet’s Joy Ride won the class with an extremely consistent performance, followed by perennial top boats Self Abuse and Tremendous Slouch.

Hobie 18 punching through a wave in 2017.

Mats Elf won the six-boat 505 fleet in a tight battle over Cody Kowalski while Paul Evenden, Eric Ledbetter and Jay/Lisa Renehan won the Hobie 18, Star and Tasar classes. Results here.

Only two Lasers showed up for the regatta, and were basically absorbed into the RS Aero fleet. Many new faces dotted the Aero fleet, which is great to see. It was Todd Willsie hanging on for a narrow win, especially after a satisfying last race on Saturday when a squall packing around 30 knots rolled through race course. After three firsts and a second on Saturday, Willsie watched his lead start to disappear as Eric Becker, Randy Shuman and David Rogers all showed light air speed.

It was interesting for me to watch the fleets assemble on Sunday from Golden Gardens Park. About 300 yards away from the CYC committee boat the SYC team, with a healthy number of kids Optis and Laser Radials, where happily doing drills with a coach leading the way in a RIB. While Willsie and the others were waiting between starts, the kids were drilling, practicing, MOVING. I understand the Tasar fleet decided to peel away on Sunday and have their own rabbit starts to get more sailing in.

Personally, have a hard time waiting between races, even when a RC is on top of it. I get impatient and cold. And today’s kids are used to pretty much constant engagement of one sort or another. I can’t imagine my 10-year old sitting for 20 minutes between races unless he had an iPad, and then he’d miss the next start for sure.

As we contemplate moving  kids moving into adult dinghy sailing, one of the things we should perhaps look at is how we can reduce the wait time between races or find another way to keep everyone engaged, even when there are multiple classes and challenging logistics. Nowadays I’m usually happy for a bit of a rest, but I didn’t need or want that 40 years ago and I’ll bet neither do kids today.

2015 PSSR Small Boats

I’m having trouble accessing my PSSR story from 2015 – but here are the results and here are Jan’s pix. That’ll have to do for now. Fortunately results and photos tell much of the story.