Racing

Youth Resurgence at Turkey Bowl

Kurt Hoehne 505 Dinghy, Corona Virus Break, Dinghy Racing, Laser Sailing, Racing, Youth Sailing 0 Comment

There are few, if any, more Covid-friendly, appropriately socially distant activities than dinghy racing. Especially for kids desperate for some kind of sporting activity. That reality, and the Seattle Laser (and RS Aero!) fleets’ ongoing organizational efforts, helped make CYC-Seattle’s Turkey Bowl a big and successful event last weekend. Even with cancellation of Sunday’s racing because of too much wind, the event was a tremendous success. While there are a lot question marks regarding upcoming social events and regattas over the coming months, one thing is certain: The Seattle singlehanded scene has provided great sailing throughout this troubling year and is well set up to do so moving into the future. Seattle’s RS Aero fleet continues to thrive and attract the very best talent, while the Seattle Laser Fleets – 4.7, Radial and Standard rigs – have become the place of choice for youth you develop their skills while having a great time, and a haven for some of us oldsters.

There were other fleets as well. Seven brave Opti sailors were on the course, four 505s and a lone Vanguard 15.

More than 20 RS Aeros turned up, and Dalton Bergan dominated with two firsts, a second and third. In the biggest Laser fleet, Hannah Weaver made a triumphant appearance winning in the Radials. There are excellent pictures from Jan Anderson (above) and John Beaver.

RESULTS

I put out the call for input about the youth fleet, and immediately got this back from Alex Zaputil, skipper of Zap, the winner of the Laser 4.7 class:

Turkey Bowl , as you know, was a one-day event. It was great to have a 10-boat fleet- the largest so far this year. Despite the forecast for Saturday, it turned out to be a generally lighter day. The first two races were a southerly of 12-15 and pretty puffy. On the first race, the fleet bunched up at the committee boat so much that I found it faster to start at the pin with speed, port tack the fleet and tack back to consolidate.  Tacking back to starboard fairly quickly was important, as the chop early in the day on port tack was not very fast! Hiking hard upwind was key. As the wind lightened for the last two races, the fleet became closer and going to the middle/right upwind paid off. — Alex Zaputil

And the following report came from Mark Ross:

Singlehanded fleets competing included RS Aeros (21 competitors), Laser Standard (5), Laser Radial (11), Laser 4.7 (9) and Opti (7).  Double handed fleets included 505’s (4 boats), FJs (4) and Vanguards (2).

One of the Aero sailors described the sailing as follows: On Saturday four races were sailed with a mix of wind conditions. The first two races were medium breeze and the last race was light. The wind and current were going opposite directions throughout the day, so keeping the bow above the chop and the boat dry was important. The pin end of the start line was being pushed up the course with the current resulting in several general recalls in the very aggressive Aero fleet, and the RC worked hard to keep the line square. The pin end of the start line was still generally favored. There were shifts on both sides of the course with longer lasting left shifts. You could go left or right up the windward leg as long as you maximized the time on the lifts and covered the fleet when there was an opportunity to do so. On the downwind legs it was important to have a good visual on the mark and it usually worked to sail close to the rhumb line while taking into account a few degrees of offset for the current.

Unfortunately on Sunday morning racing was postponed and competitors remained on shore as the wind was consistently blowing around 30. Shortly after noon the race committee canceled racing entirely for the day as the wind remained strong and there was no expectation that it would drop.  Thus the finishes on Saturday resulted in the following regatta winners….Dalton Bergan (RS Aero), Owen Timms (Laser Standard), Hanne Weaver (Laser Radial), Alex Zaputil (Laser 4.7), Barrett Milne (Optimist).

Thanks to CYC for putting on a great regatta.

–Mark Ross

The next frostbite is scheduled for December 6. Register here and dress warmly.

Rogue the County – Racers find a Way

Ken Machtley Corona Virus Break, Racing 1 Comment

With the venerable Round the County (RTC) race cancelled due to Covid, what’s a racer to do in November? The non-race, non-organized, Rogue the County attracted more than 30 sign-ups and more than 20 boats to the “start” line of a not-so-leisurely “cruise” around the RTC course. Go figure, it turned out to be one of the best weather weekends for RTC in recent history!

Boats generally started between 8-9 on Saturday off Lydia shoal, recording their time when they crossed a pre-determined latitude headed south on a clockwise “course.” Because, well, we’re racers and even when cruising, it’s handy to be able to compare performance, right? Those who went to towards Blakely to the west found softer wind and fought to overcome the flood tide while those in the middle of the Strait maintained solid breeze in stronger current. As a squall came down and the wind shifted more westerly, many boats elected to stay inside Bird Rocks on a reach to Davidson Rocks. The fleet then split with some going offshore for better breeze and some staying closer to Lopez setting up for the back eddy up San Juan. Mid-day sleet confirmed that yep, the weather gods still thought it was Round the County weekend. The unofficial photo boat of Sean Trew even showed up and took some great pics of the racers… um, cruisers. The multihulls Big Broderna and Incognito handily corrected to first and second on day 1 with Time Bandit in third.

Sean Trew photos.

Four boats started their day two cruise at exactly 0845 with several starting a little earlier and one sleeping in for a restful 10:33 start. The early starters found sporty conditions with Blade Runner turning back after finding “deep holes,” though Ward says they “had a great time not participating in an organized event.” Sir Isaac reported max winds of 29 knots from the ENE and never flew a kite on day 2. Big Broderna crushed it, finishing day two in just over four hours! Even Nawalak (rated at 249) with Betsy Wareham, founder of RTC on board, finished the second day in just over seven hours.

All in all, this hardy group of rogue sailors had an amazing weekend, despite no big parties and no awards. No protests were heard and no issues arose with vessel traffic, whales, or the US/Canada border. Everyone is also looking forward to the return of the actual RTC, hopefully next year!

Not so Frosty Frostbite

Kurt Hoehne Laser Sailing, Racing, Youth Sailing 0 Comment
Not so Frosty Frostbite

The Seattle Laser and RS Aero fleets were the first local groups to counter Covid with the “It’s not really a race but we’re out there” kind of racing events that became the norm in this very strange year. It turns out that singlehanded sailing is one of the, or possibly the, most socially distanced sport one can do in a pandemic. So now that fall is here and with renewed interest in singlehanded sailing the Seattle Laser Fleet/RS Aeros are enjoying even greater participation in their already successful Frostbite series.

  • Laser 4.7s
  • RS Aeros at the start
  • Laser 4.7s
  • Laser 4.7s

This past Sunday, 36 sailors (19 RS Aeros and 17 Lasers of various rigs) enjoyed perhaps the ideal “frostbite” conditions. 5-12 knot northerly winds, balmy temperatures and bright sunshine gave racers a beautiful day of sailing. A handful of Optis joined the fun. The winds dropped during the day, but never enough akento diminish the racing. The race committee provided ample racing, and stood by for the occasional capsize. Coach Cam was on hand in the SYC Whaler.

There are no results to post, because none were recorded. A quick glance at the Aero fleet made it clear that it’s competitive enough that the same sailors were not always at the front, and in fact some excellent ones found themselves “back in fleet” on more than one occasion. In the Laser fleet, the disparity between the Standard, Radial and 4.7 rigs became more pronounced as the day wore on and the winds lightened. Generally speaking, going right after the start toward Golden Gardens seemed to be the right tactic. Occasionally, holding off from hitting the beach seemed to work. There were waves to be worked, and some real gains could be made carving turns on the runs.

Perhaps the biggest news was the prevalence of young sailors in the Laser fleet. There were healthy numbers of 4.7 and Radial rigs and in fact there were only a couple of Standard rigs. Young faces were everywhere, having fun and enjoying the outdoors and fellowship at the same time.

In the end, everyone was a winner on what may be the best sailing day of the year of really good singlehanded sailing. The next Frostbite is December 6, but before then the CYC Turkey Bowl on November 14-15 should be a great event. Check out seattlelaserfleet.org for more information. Frostbite registration is here.

Going Rogue

Kurt Hoehne Racing 0 Comment

Round the County is arguably one of the best races anywhere. Two days, not the dreaded round the buoys, potential for orcas, party at Roche Harbor. What’s not to like. Well, this year like so many things, it’s not even there to like, though it would have been this coming weekend. Cancelled. But of course that doesn’t keep sailors from sailing around the county.

So, a group of sailors decided that the county needs to be sailed around this year, no matter what the Covid situation is. I’ll let their web site explain it all. But basically, it’s a take your own time, find your own berthage or anchorage, and enjoy the weekend kind of thing. They added this important note:

“This is NOT a race or even an organized event. You are on your own, so embrace your inner rogue-ness and be safe and responsible on your cruise. Follow COLREGS (not RRS) and have the appropriate safety gear on board. Monitor Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) channels 5A (Seattle) and 11 (Victoria) as appropriate and be whale wise. Please respect all state and San Juan County COVID restrictions.”

For all you “cruisers” sailing around the islands, Bruce Hedrick is going to come up with a weather outlook sometime Friday. And we’ll have a wrapup here at Sailish post-event. In fact, if any of you want to take some pictures, send them to me here I’ll post them.

Below is a list of who’s going.

Sail safely!

Boat nameBoat typePHRF rating
DashJ/9975
HravnJ/10969
Time BanditJ/12054
KeetJ/3393
Neptune’s CarSC70-75
KineticJ/10593
REIVERReliance 37174
Poke & destroyevelyn 32-293
Blade RumnerSC 27156
RicochetSan Juan 28198
LodosJ/10969
MARTHAStaysail schooner111
SjöjungfrunCatalina 400 mkii145
Zen No Zen IISabre 42681
KyrnosCustom Barnett 563
White WingBarnett 47 Custom48
HamachiJ/125-3
InnamorataIslander Peterson 4099
VamooseJ12054
Heron IIJ-12051
BellaHanse 45566
Sir IsaacCustom Schooner93
Secret beaverSchock 40-9
IncognitoCatamaran27
AlsekQuest 3093
CohoFarr 4445
SolutionJ/3572
Endangered SpeciesGuzzwell 30120
NawalakRoberts 54249
HideawayOceanis 5563
RakuJ/11148

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Roaming Race Week Now in Anacortes

Kurt Hoehne Racing 1 Comment
Roaming Race Week Now in Anacortes

Whidbey Island Race Week has moved again – thanks to the Corona Virus – to Anacortes. More later, but for now here’s the press release. -KH

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Race Week Announces New Venue: Anacortes, Washington


SEATTLE, Washington, October 28, 2020 – Whidbey Island Race Week LLC, the organizing authority of Whidbey Island Race Week and Point Roberts Race Week announces a new venue beginning in 2021: Anacortes, Washington. Anacortes is located on the north end of Fidalgo Island in Washington State, and will be the new venue for the 5-day sailboat racing event beginning in 2021. The dates will be June 21-25, 2021 and the event will take place from the Port of Anacortes Cap Sante Marina.


“The Port of Anacortes is excited about hosting Race Week in 2021 at Cap Sante Marina! Race Week has nearly four decades of history in our area as Whidbey Island Race Week, and this partnership offers strong support for our local economy, while highlighting what a great boating community we have in Anacortes. On behalf of the entire Commission, I welcome you to Anacortes.” Ken Goodwin, Port Commissioner, Port of Anacortes
“During these unusual and challenging times, we are thrilled to bring another great event to Cap Sante Marina. We are committed to safely providing the venue for a world-class regional sailing event. Race Week will spur our local economy and further defines the maritime excellence of our community.” Dan Worra, Executive Director, Port of Anacortes


What happened to Point Roberts?


In March of 2019, it was announced that the event would change venues to Point Roberts, Washington beginning in 2020, after a 37-year run in Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island, Washington. A title sponsor was procured through the Point Roberts Marina, owned by Chen Yihong, of DX Sport (China Dongxiang Group Co., Ltd), who signed a 3-year Title Sponsorship contract. Whidbey Island Race Week was rebranded as Point Roberts Race Week, and an active advertising and marketing campaign went into effect that included the production of a promotional video to build fleet interest. Point Roberts Race Week 2020 was set to host the 6 Metre North American Championships, and the Corsair Nationals.


Additionally, it was chosen to present the coveted Pacific Coast Yachting Association’s Jesse L. Carr Perpetual Captain and Crew Trophy at the event which was due to take place July 13-17, 2020.


But in March 2020, the COVID-19 global pandemic hit, and Point Roberts Race Week had to be cancelled as did most big events around the world. Border closures combined with social distancing mandates enacted by federal, state, and local governments prevented the event from taking place. Point Roberts is an enclave located in Washington state, but to get there from the USA, requires two border crossings and the borders have been closed since April 2020, and are still closed to this day.


Following the cancellation of the 2020 event, the ownership of the Point Roberts Marina made the decision to not honor the 3-year Title Sponsorship contract terms that had been signed in 2019, and consequently, a contract dissolvement ensued. Once this legal process was complete, Whidbey Island Race Week LLC began the search for a new venue for the event. Race Week’s new home: Anacortes, Washington

Anacortes


The 2021 event will be rebranded “Race Week Pacific Northwest” until a new title sponsor is found. Sponsor procurement for Race Week PNW will begin immediately, with a sponsorship terms that deliver exposure from January 1 through June 30 each year.


“Anacortes offers excellent racing areas, ample guest moorage in the Cap Sante Marina to accommodate the fleet, and shoreside amenities, including restaurants, grocery stores, and an RV campground all within walking distance from the marina,” explains Event Producer Schelleen Rathkopf. “We are really looking forward to bringing new business revenue to the city, and getting to know the entire community of Anacortes.”
The Race Management Team includes Schelleen Rathkopf, Event Producer, John Abel, Principal Race Officer, Paul Evenden, Race Officer, and Jared Hickman, Chief Judge. The regatta is currently open to keelboats and multihulls 19’+ racing PHRF, ORC, or in a (NFS) Cruising Class, but a dinghy component may be considered.

COVID-19


Race Week will work with the Port of Anacortes to be in full compliance with any national, state, or city COVID-19 requirements and social distancing mandates that are in place in the Summer of 2021 to prevent the spread of the virus. “We’re confident that we can achieve COVID-19 safety requirements on the water while racing, and on the docks at the end of each race day,” adds Rathkopf. “We are going to wait to make any decisions about post-race festivities, and the inclusion of the popular Kids Camp program until next Spring, when we’re closer to the event and have a handle on what reopening phase the state and county are in.” Event Registration Race Week 2021 registration will open on January 1, 2021 and registration details, including the Notice of Race (NOR) will be found on the Race Week website www.RaceWeekPNW.com. Event participants will make their guest moorage and RV camping arrangements directly with the Cap Sante Harbormaster’s office, operated by the Port of Anacortes.

Northwest Harvest – Wrap on September’s Race

Kurt Hoehne Community, Corona Virus Break, Racing 0 Comment

Congratulations to the Seattle Singles YC for putting a fine regatta on back in September! Gallery here. Results here.

Sue Weiss reports on a blustery good time:

Thanks for Bruce’s weather predictions!  Strong southerly winds made it a perfect day to race to Blakely Rock and support NW Harvest.  

Three long time supporters returned to Seattle Singles Yacht Club’s 28th Northwest Harvest Benefit Race September 26.  Alan Vogt (Mountaineers) continued his winning tradition by taking first place in his NFS class Saturday on Blue Fin.  It was the 25th year that he has participated in this event, having done the race since its first year August 14, 1993.  He moved out of state for a few years, returned,  resumed racing, and winning.    

The masked Blue Fin winners of the Northwest Harvest Race, and the red Reverie winner of the flying sails class.

Bruce’s Briefs: Wx for 9, 10, 11, and 12 Oct. CYC PSSC!

Bruce Hedrick Bruce's Briefs, Racing 0 Comment

This weekend will mark the official start of fall weather in the Pacific Northwest as we will have a series of frontal systems make their way through the area. The 500mb charts show a strong zonal flow (100+-knots) that will allow these systems unobstructed access to the Salish Sea. What will be interesting is the timing of the arrival of these systems as it looks like while there will be plenty of breeze to the north (small craft advisories and gale warnings in the Straits) and south of the race area, it looks like the post-frontal flow down the Straits and around the bottom of the Olympics through the Chehalis Gap will have to meet somewhere and that may be near Shilshole, at least on Saturday. The good news is that Sunday looks like a great day to be out on the water as the breeze should be southerly all day at 10-15 knots.

Today’s surface analysis shows these fronts that are attached to a series of relatively weak low-pressure systems, 1008mb and 1002mb off of the west coast. To the north, the lows are stronger at 989mb and 984mb. As the daylight hours get shorter, these stronger lows will eventually make their way further south. At least we aren’t having to deal with what Louisiana will be experiencing tonight with their fourth named storm of the season (Delta) coming ashore between the mouth of the Mississippi and Beaumont, Texas. They still haven’t recovered from Laura.

  • October 9 500 mb
  • October 9 Surface Analysis
  • October 10 Surface Forecast
  • October 11 500 mb
  • October 11 Surface Forecast
  • October 12 Surface Forecast
  • October 13 500 mb
  • October 13 Surface Forecast

Current conditions in the area indicate the front is on its way, with barometric pressure dropping around the area and 30 knots of SE at Destruction Island, see the Windspeed/Baro Chart. Notice the nice correlation between dropping pressure and increasing windspeed. The Langley Hill Doppler also shows the approaching front just starting to come ashore at Neah Bay. The other interesting feature in this picture is the activity off of Westport. When you put the loop in motion it doesn’t move and it’s not raining. It is an indication of the sea state just offshore as a result of the strong ebb from the Chehalis River meeting the ocean waves coming onshore.

Today’s satellite pic also shows the front approaching but even scarier is the smoke still coming north from the fires in Northern California. You can bet those folks are hoping for these fronts to start coming in to help control these huge fires. 

By tomorrow we’ll be dealing with a strong onshore flow as mentioned above with the next cold front lurking offshore. Sunday that front will have passed with more onshore flow and yet another fast-moving system lurking offshore.

We will still have tidal currents just not very strong and more likely to be influenced by wind-generated surface currents from the prevailing southerlies. The floods won’t be as strong and ebbs will start earlier and last longer than the forecasts. You should also go out the south entrance of Shilshole to gauge the amount of outflow from the Ship Canal and just how far it carries.

Tidal Currents at  West Point

Saturday

0818      Max Flood           .93 knots

1212       Slack

1348       Max Ebb               .28 knots

1742       Slack

Sunday

0906       Max Flood           .87 knots

1300       Slack

1436       Max Ebb               .32 knots

1848       Slack

Have a great weekend, be safe, and stay well.

Bruce’s Briefs: Wx for 2, 3, 4, and 5 Oct, Foulweather Bluff Race

Bruce Hedrick Bruce's Briefs, Racing 0 Comment
Bruce’s Briefs: Wx for 2, 3, 4, and 5 Oct, Foulweather Bluff Race

Unfortunately, this will be a short weather briefing as there will simply not be a lot of weather to talk about. Yesterday, for giggles, we flew the Sailish.com weather drone over the racecourse for FWB and it was very interesting. Edmonds Marina, the Ferry Dock, and the starting area were socked in and stayed that way until around 1600 hrs. The interesting part was that once you got about ½ to ¾ of a mile to the west, it cleared, was warm and beautiful but dead flat calm across the course. It is not much different today nor will it be very different tomorrow. It is going to be very light with large areas of calm. It will be tough just to make it to Scatchet Head unless you change this to a predicted log race run just with engines otherwise you’ll just be drag racing from hole to hole while going very slow.

  • October 2 500 mb
  • October 2 Surface Analysis
  • October 3 Surface Forecast
  • October 4 500 mb
  • October 4 Surface Forecast
  • October 5 Surface Forecast
  • October 6 500 mb
  • October 6 Surface Forecast

The surface charts show the reason for this is a loosely organized weak high-pressure system with five different centers roughly centered over the Pacific Northwest and as you run through the weekend, nothing changes very much. There will be little to no pressure gradient over the area for the weekend. There will be some onshore flow down the Straits which could bring Small Craft Advisories to the Central and Eastern Straits late Saturday and late Sunday but that will be about it for wind this weekend. Don’t shoot the messenger!

Today’s Sat Pic shows the heavy marine layer off the coast as well as the smoke over California which now extends south from the fires and over the Pacific. Very ugly.

Enjoy the weekend, stay safe and wear your mask!

Bruce’s Briefs: Wx for 14, 15, 16, and 17 Aug, Northern Century Race

Kurt Hoehne Bruce's Briefs, Racing 2 Comments
Bruce’s Briefs: Wx for 14, 15, 16, and 17 Aug, Northern Century Race

We said summer had arrived last week and this weekend it will arrive with some very, very warm temps especially on Sunday. Today’s Satellite Pic shows just how spectacularly clear conditions are over the Salish Sea.

That’s both the good news and the bad news as the Surface Analysis Charts show our Pacific high weakening and tending to flatten while a thermal trough of low-pressure expands along the coast running from San Francisco inland to southern BC. This will convert our current onshore flow to an offshore flow on Saturday which will bring some downslope winds and compressional heating to the area, hence the high temps. The Charts also show the distinct lack of any kind of pressure gradient over the area. This will make for, once again, a very challenging Northern Century Race.

  • August 14 500 mb
  • August 14 Surface Analysis
  • August 15 Surface Forecast
  • August 16 500 mb
  • August 16 Surface Forecast

The real challenge for this race is that in this transition period from onshore to offshore flow, the Race course is right in the convergence zone where the flow coming down the Strait of JdF (SOJ) meets the flow coming down the Strait of Georgia (SOG). As the flow coming down the SOJ weakens, the flow coming down the SOG will build slightly turning the southerly/southwesterly flow over the San Juan Islands to a north/northwesterly flow. The big question is always, when will this happen? The models are not in agreement which is not surprising considering the lack of a pressure gradient.

The keys for the race are getting out of the starting area, getting through the lee of Guemes Island, and getting up Lummi Island. From there to the Point Roberts Buoy there will probably be more wind slightly to the east of the rhumb line. The wind will be light and from the south/southwest with it generally going very light after around 0200hrs. You would really like to be around the Pt Roberts mark before 0200 and then be sure to take your time at the shorten course mark.

One model does have a northerly of 5-8knots filling down the SOG and down San Juan Island just before dawn. That combined with the big ebb of the day could get you to Hein Bank in time to catch the flood to the finish. If you’re a big boat with a tall rig and really wanted to roll the dice, you could try sailing down the inside of San Juan Island and gamble that you could make it out of Cattle Pass before about 0900 Saturday morning and the start of the big flood of the day. The big boats could finish by mid-afternoon Saturday.

For the once this summer, expect the lighter air to be in the SOJ while the central Sound will have a delightful northerly of 10-15 knots on Saturday before it becomes light on Sunday.

This will be a great weekend to be on the water just be sure to have plenty of sunblock and be sure to reapply throughout the day.

Have a great weekend and if you’re on the NC Race please leave your AIS on so I can see how you’re doing. 

Women at the Helm

Kurt Hoehne Racing, Uncategorized, Women Sailors 0 Comment
Women at the Helm

The Pacific Northwest has a proud tradition of women “being at the helm.” All woman racing crews have participated in all of the areas major events including the Vic-Maui race. The Seattle Women’s Sailing Association and Tacoma Women’s Sailing Association have both been successful getting women on board and on the helm. As any sailor worth his or her salt knows, gender doesn’t matter in the least regarding how vital a crew member they are.

This past Saturday, Seattle’s Sloop Tavern Yacht Club added to that tradition with the inaugural Women at the Helm regatta. Thirty-five boats participated, and by the looks of Jan Anderson’s photos, both women and men had a great time.

Results.

  • Poke and Destroy
  • Sail Like a Girl made an appropriate appearance!
  • The gorgeous Swan 46 Gusto
  • Everyone loves a parade
  • More parading
  • Strong women = sailing women

And here are Jan’s thoughts on the regatta: What a terrific event!  35 boats braved the ornery medical challenges the world is facing, and essentially said, “Enough is enough!  We haven’t had enough sailing!”  And, of course, it took women to effectively present this compelling argument, hence this new event, “Women at the Helm”, or with so darned many competitors from the Seattle area, it could have even been dubbed “SWATH” ( Seattle Women At The Helm).  Well, the massive fleet cut a wide swath across the Central Puget Sound, with plenty o’sunshine, give and take breeze, smiles all around, and clearly tons to be thankful for.  It was an absolute blessing to share this day on the water with so many friends – keep charging, gang!

The rest of Jan’s pix.