Our unsettled spring weather continues and the lack of agreement among the weather models is a good indication of just how unsettled things are in the weather sphere. Today’s sat pic gives us a great overview of what is coming for today into tomorrow and that mostly means rain. The wind side of this equation is more complicated because as this front comes onshore it will weaken and dissipate. There will be some post frontal westerly flow down the Strait of JdF however that won’t last past late afternoon or early evening tomorrow as another front will approach the coast on Sunday.
What we are fairly confident about is the tidal flow in Admiralty Inlet:
Saturday
0900 Slack
1200 Max Flood 2.17 knts
1524 Slack
1806 Max Ebb 1.64 knts
Sunday
0648 Max Ebb 2.69 knts
0942 Slack
1248 Max Flood 2.65 knts
1636 Slack
1906 Max Ebb 1.68 knts
For wind tomorrow, one model has the early starters setting kites. Three other models have everyone enjoying a light air beat at least to Marrowstone. Then there’s light air beating in the rain and a flood tide trying to get past Double Bluff. By about 1400 tomorrow a stronger westerly flow will come down the Straits and into Admiralty Inlet. This could bring 12-15 knots of wind to Port Townsend and maybe about halfway down Marrowstone. Near 1600 hrs as a stronger southerly flow comes north in the Central Sound, a convergent zone will develop in the North Sound and extend north to Double Bluff. By 1700 hrs expect a light and variable zone from Pt No Pt(PNP) to mid-Marrowstone. By 1800 hrs the southerly flow will extend from PNP to mid-Marrowstone.
For Sunday it looks like a light air beat in a southerly at least to PNP. From PNP south to the finish expect a southerly of 15-20 knots. Even more interesting will be the beating in a wind against tide situation, especially in the north Sound. We always hope for a two-way run on this race and most of the time we get a least one day of running. This year, unfortunately, it looks like a two-way beat, bummer. Oh well, at least the party in Pt Townsend will be great and then there’s always next year.
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)
Ed Note: We’re lucky to have this report by Andrew Nelson, skipper of the Olson 30 Scoundrel. As the Youth Sailing Director for The Sailing Foundation, he’s getting kids’ butts in boats. A noble cause, indeed. Thanks, Andrew.
Race to the Straits is one of my favorite races, because it brings out a lot of good sailors and cool boats, especially retro ULDB’s! Everyone is faced with the challenge of being short handed. This presents itself in a lot of ways… Sail changes can be arduous, just about everyone feels overpowered way earlier, and there’s practically no down time during the race- you’re either driving or getting ready for the next thing. Maybe you get to pee or eat a sandwich (I didn’t do either on Saturday). I also like that everyone plays a little nicer doublehanded. Port-tackers get waived across frequently and everyone lines the dock at Port Hudson Marina to help others land safely (sometimes the hardest part of the race). Getting to Port Townsend feels like a big accomplishment, regardless of place.
Yes, waves.Well, at least the leeward rudder is in the water.Scoundrel powering to weather.Madrona in great trim.
This year, I teamed up with Josh Larsen. He took my wife Ashley’s place at the last minute when our childcare for the weekend fell through. Josh and I last did the race together in 2011 on his Olson 30 Lunch Box. We did really well that year and Scoundrel had her 2019 (the last “real” RTTS) class title to defend. Our class was stacked with good boats and sailors, so we knew it would be tough to repeat. Looking at the forecast, our mindset was to make sure we were in striking distance after Saturday. Josh summed it up perfectly, “You might not win RTTS on Saturday, but you can definitely lose it.”
Saturday was almost exactly as Bruce Hedrick predicted. We had a nice spinnaker run until just before Foul Weather Bluff. Then it got wet and weird. No wind, hail, and then an almighty downpour. We lost our breeze completely for a few minutes in the transition and then did an alternating series of sail changes between the #2 genoa and A2 until we were around Foul Weather Bluff with a modest northeasterly breeze. This race is often about managing the transition zone gracefully. I feel we did about as well as we could have, but made the mistake of staying too far out in the middle as we approached the south end of Marrowstone. As predicted the breeze built and shifted Northwest. The boats to our left picked up some big gains. It was a slugfest from there on out. We changed to the #3 early and we were glad we did. We don’t have wind instruments, but heard others reporting 25-30 knot gusts near the end of the race. With the strong ebb, that made for some pretty big and confused seas.
The bulk of the fleet finished within 30 minutes of each other in the early afternoon. We were four minutes behind our class leader Scheme. Mission accomplished, we didn’t lose the race on Saturday and knew that anything could happen on day two. The early finish time meant there was plenty of time to dry the boat out and trade stories on the dock before dinner.
We knew Sunday would be a different kind of challenge, and it was. The day started slow with a very light northerly, which turned northeasterly. This would be a day of big gains and losses. We made the most of the light air and did lots of reaching with the A2 and #1. Once past Marrowstone Light we stayed out in the middle with better pressure. By the time we were halfway down Marrowstone the A2 was pulling hard and we had made up that 4 minute difference on Scheme with 6 Feet More in our sights. However, when we got to the south end of Marrowstone the breeze started to dry up and the ebb was really beginning to kick in.. We made a beeline for Kinney Point to find some current relief.
Some boats stayed out in the middle still clinging to spinnakers. After what seemed like an eternity, we found a little puff that we were able to ride around the point, while watching our depth sounder get down in the single digits. With the #1 we sailed deep into Oak Bay. It was the only place we could find current relief. Soon we were short-tacking the beach past Mats Mats and Port Ludlow, hoping that we could then cross back across the mouth of Hood Canal using the current to sweep us to Foul Weather Bluff. With the Foul Weather buoy as a new course mark, this was really uncharted territory and something I hadn’t expected doing. Full credit goes to Josh for making the call.
The J/27 WizardDerek Bottles’ VelellaHula jumping while chasing. A lot of boat there.Grayling
We passed the Cal 24 Water Street, who had a similar idea, and soon noticed the Moore 24 Petty Theft was also chasing us. We gobbled up tons of ground on the boats outside as we snuck up the beach. Just past Port Ludlow we sailed out of our little zephyr and decided to cross the mouth of Hood Canal. We fought hard for almost an hour trying to get across and then around Foul Weather Bluff with almost no wind and ripping current. Right alongside us was the Moore 24. After consulting the Sailing Instructions and looking at our GPS track we realized that we had reached the halfway point much earlier than we realized. I called Ashley Bell on the radio and after some discussion she called race chair David Rogers. After more discussion, we all concurred that both boats had reached the halfway point as defined in the Sailing Instructions, which stated to record halfway times when “due west of the mark.” We had no intention of finding a loophole and every intention of rounding Foul Weather Bluff, but the ambiguity of the SIs were problematic, especially since we were approaching the mark from a westerly position and had crossed a line due west of Foul Weather Bluff Buoy several times over the previous hour and a half. Good thing we had the GPS tracker running!
With a delivery to Tacoma still ahead of me, we fired up the outboard and hightailed it south. I immediately felt a sinking feeling as a northerly began filling. We saw 6 Feet More on the other side of Foul Weather Bluff making nice headway under spinnaker. Mathematically it looked possible they could finish the whole course, especially with the pressure building. Our choice was made however, and we wouldn’t know until later that evening whether or not they got us. As it turned out, Hula, the Westsail 32, was the only boat to finish the long course on Sunday. What an incredible accomplishment by Bill and Darlene Stange!
It was a tough weekend and an especially dissatisfying way to end Sunday. I hope future SIs define a more precise halfway point, but since it’s the first year running this modified course, it was a very hard thing for race organizers to predict. Regardless of the weird ending, it was a great weekend and STYC did a fantastic job organizing the event!
Our spring of wacky weather continues with more rain and cooler than normal temps. Then we have the Race to the Straits sailing in three distinct zones of weather: Central Sound, Admiralty Inlet, and the Eastern end of the Straits. Each offers its own particular (peculiar) set of challenges. What could possibly go wrong?
Since, once again, the models are not in agreement with when and where the wind will come from except for the Eastern Straits, more on that later. The tidal current models are, however, constant.
Bush Point Tidal Currents
7 May
0724 Max Flood 1.05 knots
1000 Slack
1318 Max Ebb 1.98 knots
1612 Slack
1918 Max Flood 2.13 knots
8 May
0600 Slack
0836 Max Flood 1.05 knots
1106 Slack
1418 Max Ebb 1.70 knots
1706 Slack
2012 Max Flood 2.02 knots
Today’s surface analysis chart shows a very weak high-pressure system over the Salish Sea and an approaching weak and fast-moving low-pressure system with an attached cold front. Our Pacific High is set up just north of Hawaii and south of a “normal” position. While the High is rounding up which would normally indicate some stability in the High, it is also still on the weak side at 1030MB.
After the front moves through, a strong onshore flow will bring NW breeze down the coast, down the Straits, and through the Chehalis Gap. The flow through the Gap will keep the breeze out of the SSW in the Central and South Sound until midday Saturday. Then, as the flow develops down the Strait, expect breezy conditions in the Eastern Straits to push down Admiralty inlet and into the Central Sound starting about midday. The breeze from Fowlweather Bluff(FWB) to the south end of Marrowstone will tend to be from the NNW at 10-20 knots with the breeze backing to the WNW and building into the 15-25 knots range the closer you get to the Marrowstone Light. This breeze will hold into mid-evening.
May 6 Satellite Picture
Since this is a short-handed event if you’re sailing with conventional headsails and if you will have to do a sail change, think about hoisting the big sail to start the beat from Pt. No Pt. in the port groove. You’ll want to hold starboard tack from FWB to Marrowstone and do your sail change while on starboard, tacking to port near Marrowstone. Even though the tide will be ebbing you will want to be near the Marrowstone shore since the water will be smoother and you will position yourself to be on the inside of the coming lift as you go up the island.
After rounding Marrowstone Light, hold port tack until you can tack and be aimed at the south end of Port Townsend. This will get you into the smoother water east of town so you can do a port tack approach to the finish and avoid sailing in the mix-master of the main channel of Admiralty Inlet. Do remember that with the strong westerly, the flood will start sooner than the forecast of 1600 hrs and that will help to flatten the seas.
May 6 Langley Doppler
Sunday will be a completely different story as the area prepares for the next low-pressure system and front which will pass quickly to the south of the Salish Sea. Once it does pass, the onshore flow will once again come down the Straits however that probably won’t happen until late Sunday afternoon or early evening. This probably means light and variable winds for the racecourse and with the slack at 1100 hours, you’ll be fighting the ebb until almost 1700 hours. Getting to the FWB buoy could be challenging.
The good news in all of this? Sunday won’t be as wet as Saturday.
Note also the 500MB Charts as the Jet Stream continues to come in well south of the Pacific NW. This will continue to keep us wet and cool through the coming week. The 8 and 10 May Charts are particularly interesting with the development of an upper-level, cut-off low-pressure system just to the north and west of Hawaii. With nothing to push it around, it should be fun to watch especially if you have a trip to Hawaii planned. In the past, if these systems drift south to the islands, they have brought record rainfall to Kauai(44” in 24 hours)and 100+mph winds to the top of the Big Island.
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)
The weekend’s Sloop Tavern YC Race to the Straits was yet another not-to-be missed event. Saturday’s leg to Port Townsend was a light wind, current-plagued challenge with a lot of did not finishes. Sunday’s leg back was with plenty of breeze from the north, spinnakers flying and smiles all around.
Of all the great aspects of this race, my favorite is that it draws a whole lot of boats that “don’t” race out to race. There are couples, dogs (go Dakota!), kids, cruisers and sails of every imaginable and unimaginable condition. Win or lose, it always appears to be a good time. And with the staggered start (figuring handicaps into the start time) seems to make the whole thing results thing more palatable. It’s what’s racing should be. On Saturday it was a day for concentration and a lot of tacks. Ryan Helling estimated he did 60 tacks with Velella. On Sunday the boats with big spinnakers and long waterlines reveled. On Sunday the Westsail 32 Hula was so far ahead it seemed like she was in a different race. Results here.
We’ve got a lot of pictures to show, but no on the water reports (if you want to chime in, I’ll happily add your thoughts to this post!) First of all, there are Jan Anderson’s wonderful shots. There are many good closeups of happy sailors at her site. As always, I’d recommend going to her site and buying some to commemorate the weekend.
Sean Trew has a number of amazing shots, including one of the Schock 40 with her canard/keel/rudder configuration. Here are some:
Finally, Jay Leon was out as well, and has a number of great shots, especially of boats working the light air on Saturday along the bluffs. Here are some. The rest here.
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.
The surface charts for the weekend show a very interesting pattern. Today’s surface analysis shows a nice, round, high-pressure system off the coast yet at 1033MB it is not what we would consider terribly strong. The shape, however, and the fact that the jet stream is going to be staying pretty much in the same general vicinity, means not much is going to change for the next five days. Oregon Offshore people should take note. Today’s satellite picture also shows just how extensive this high-pressure system is as well as clearly showing that compact low-pressure system with attached front at 35N & 135W.
While the offshore high-pressure system will continue to
weaken, going from 1033MB today to 1026MB on Monday, and become not so round,
nothing is going to move it very far. By tomorrow morning it will have drifted
slightly north and slightly to the west. This will stretch the gradient and
bring lighter air to the Pacific Northwest. Sunday looks a little better
especially with the tide helping to bring the northerly breeze down the Sound
after about mid-day.
Tidal Current
in Admiralty Inlet at Bush Point
Saturday
0530 Slack
0836 2.66knts Ebb
1142 Slack
1436 2.66knts Flood
1848 Slack
Sunday
0600 Slack
0912 2.82knts Ebb
1218 Slack
1506 2.81knts Flood
1930 Slack
For the RTTS folks, it should be fairly straight forward
with the early starters being able to take advantage of the ebb. Start with
clear air and then work to the west. You may have wind for your start however
it will ease as you go north. When the northerly does fill in, it will come
down the west side of the Sound and be stronger over there as well. While the
morning breeze will tend to be northerly, it will tend to back to the northwest
the closer you get to Pt. No Pt. so after PNP just stay on port tack and get
across to the mark at Double Bluff. You may get headed as you come across
towards DB just get across and if the flood is starting you can work the back
eddy to the east of DB to get around the mark. It may be a little light under
the bluff so watch the boats ahead of you.
May 3 500MB
May 3 Surface Analysis
May 4 Surface Forecast
May 5 Surface Forecast
May 6 500MB
May 6 Surface Forecast
May 7 Surface Forecast
After DB you’ll want to stay on the Whidbey side because
with a northerly flow coming down between Whidbey and Camano there will be some
breeze that funnels down Holmes Harbor and spills over into Admiralty Inlet.
This should mean if you’re beach-hopping to stay out of the tide, you’ll have
long starboard tacks and short port tacks as you work your way up the Whidbey
shore. It will be important to remember that this breeze is not your typical
afternoon northwesterly and will go up and down in velocity, and wander around
the compass.
The next question will be tougher. When to cross over to
the Marrowstone and Port Townsend side so you can get to the finish. Again, use
the bino’s and try to see how the boats ahead of you are doing. There will tend
to be more wind on the Whidbey side and if the flood is still rolling maybe
waiting a bit to cross might be an option. A lot of variables here.
Sunday it really looks like there will be a big advantage
to being a later starter as the early boats will have to fight the big ebb of
the day until around noon and there will be less wind in the morning. As the
sun climbs that will bring more northerly and the flood will start first on the
Marrowstone side. Since overnight there will be a drainage northeasterly there
may be more wind on the Whidbey side. As the day progresses this northeasterly
will back to a northerly before it becomes northwesterly by early to
mid-afternoon.
After DB, you will probably want to work your way down
the Sound on the west side as the flood tide is stronger and the breeze should
be stronger over there as well. Again, watch the boats around you and after
Kingston watch to see when folks are gybing to get over to the east for the
finish.
Should be a beautiful weekend, just be sure to be safe and
put your sunblock on before you even get down to the boat. Have a great
weekend.
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)
A number of people have decried the Leg 8 finish of the Volvo Ocean Race in Newport, Rhode Island as somewhat of a travesty. After all, Mapfre ghosted back from 5th (in a 7 boat fleet!) 24 hours before to win the leg by a few seconds. One look at the fleets’ plotter courses tells the story. It’s agonizing just looking at it. That said, I’ll submit that’s one of the things that makes this sport special. Yeah, the “better” sailors, or better sailed boats or better prepared boats usually win, but not always. No, it’s not fair. And sometimes it’s painful. But that possibility gives everybody a reason to stay out there, even when it seems hopeless. Who among us hasn’t clutched defeat from the hands of victory? Clutched victory from the hands of defeat? Anyway, here’s the video of the Mapfre and Brunel finishing, with the video starting a couple minutes before the finish.
And then there’s the Race to the Straits. Now, most of the crews were too busy to spend their time videotaping, but the Sloop Tavern crowd managed to get some footage of the finishes. Here’s some of Saturday’s finish in a nice breeze and sunshine:
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.
This question came out with all of Nate Creitz’ overflowing, bubbling, enthusiasm for last weekend’s Race to the Straits (RTTS). The double and single-handed Sloop Tavern Yacht Club event from Seattle to Port Townsend and back (with an overnight in the unique sailing town Port Townsend) hit its limit of 125 boats several days before the race, and it’s no wonder. The atmosphere before, during and after the event is special. Let’s get to his question later. First, the race.
The Leg North
It was hard to find a frown in Port Townsend Saturday afternoon. The fleet had just spent 4-6 hours beating in 12-18 knots of breeze all the way from Seattle, with a boost from a strong ebb much of the way. The winners, of course, had something to smile about. But the staggered start (starting times reflecting each boat’s time allowance for the race) meant that the slow boat crews got to watch as much of the fast boats came thundering by.
Kirk Utter and crew Pete Dorsey didn’t get to enjoy that. Since Utter’s early 1970s Cal 33 Teaser II is one of the not-as-fast boats at a PHRF of 153, he was one of the early starters. And in a breeze upwind that Lapworth design just rolled on through the earlier starters and stayed well ahead of the later starters. “She just loves that stuff,” reported Utter. Carrying the #1 from start to finish, Teaser II showed a lot of folks who weren’t born before her that old boats are not necessarily slow.
Following Teaser II, the next monohulls in were Carl and Carol Buchan’s Madrona and Frederic Laffitte’s Kyrnos which finished virtually overlapped.
Boomer Depp’s video from Saturday:
The multihulls flew in the conditions. The Corsair F28R Aliikai was first to finish of all the boats, and Corsair F31R Freda Mae was the second catamaran in.
The winds were perfect for those non-overlapping headsail boats that could keep up the performance by flattening out the main and not change headsails (or have to sail with the wrong one up!) Boats like Madrona, the J/120 Shearwater and the J/105s all thrived. Boats like the Evelyn 32 Poke and Destroy and a trio of Santa Cruz 27s were stuck changing down to #3s when the wind built and changing back up to #1s as the wind lightened up near the finish.
There was the usual puzzle of fitting everybody into Point Hudson, and nearly all the fleet fit. The classic Q boat Grayling had engine issues that required a tow.
Somewhat surprisingly, there were at least three collisions out there including one between Mark Brink’s Tonic and the quarter tonner Bingo that resulted in Bingo‘s DSQ.
The Return Leg
The race back to Seattle presented a different challenge – the beautiful northerly of Saturday teased the fleet with some great conditions that disappeared at times and the wonderful tides of the day before played havoc with the fleet, especially getting around the Double Bluff buoy.
The orca J-pod made an appearance in Admiralty Inlet, presumably to help Dieter Creitz with his orca science project at school.
The conditions meant a lot of gybes seeking out the right breeze while staying out of bad current. It took a toll on all these shorthanded crews, especially in the flying sails classes, and especially in the flying sails/singlehanded class. In that class, Different Drummer‘s Charles Hill figured neither he nor anyone else was going to finish the full course by the 7pm time limit, so he quit just a bit early. Sure enough, Bill Gibson on Latitude stuck it out, and finished before the deadline to take the class win for the weekend.
Jan Anderson’s photos. Click on any to enlarge and by all means visit her site to order yours. Click to enlarge.
Teaser II, charging to weather on Saturday.
Nate and Dieter, father and son.
Ben and Jennifer Braden in Moore Uff Da
The Express 27 Thumper with Andy Schwenk doing, well, something.
Carl and Carol Buchan on the way to winning overall.
The fleet working upwind near Point No Point.
Grayling on Sunday.
Slick spinnaker on Sunday.
Teaser II playing the shore Sunday.
The ageless (and pampered) Mara.
Blue Martini
Poke and Destroy
That was a theme for much of the fleet on Sunday. Where few if any were expected to finish the full course, several did in a building southerly. “It was really weird,” Alex Simanis reported. “We were trying to stay away from Edmonds but ended up there and did quite well, finishing within the time limit on our light #1.”
Not so, however, for everyone. Father Nate and son Dieter Creitz missed finishing the full course by 7 seconds, with Dieter counting down the time. As nobody finished in Class 5, the class was scored for the halfway finish and Three Ring Circus won handily anyway. There were no finishers in classes 2, 4, 5, 6, and 11.
But it was Ben and Jen Glass on the lightweight Ocelot that mastered the light downwind work on Sunday, finishing about 25 minutes ahead of Madrona among the fastest monohulls. Madrona had a fresh crew, with Dalton and Lindsey Bergan stepping in while Carl and Carol Buchan stepped away.
The results show a familiar list of winners including Madrona overall, Al Hughes on the ex-BOC boat Dogbark in the non-flying sails class, Moonshine, Tonic, Dennis Clark (btw, Dennis, give the boat a name), Poke and Destroy, and several others. But the thing that is truly special about this race is how welcome everyone feels, even the skippers who aren’t the serious types and the boats that haven’t seen a new sail in 15 years. There were kids, dogs, dodgers, grills hanging off about half the rails, moms and pops, and liveaboards. There’s no doubt each and every one adjusted their expectations for the racing part and had a great time pursuing them.
Accident For Dan Randolph, Recovery Expected
Dan Randolph on Saturday.
The details are still a little unclear, but our fellow racer Dan Randolph suffered a serious accident while motoring his Farr 30 Nefarious home on Sunday afternoon. Randolph and a crew member apparently hit a gray whale, hard. Randolph was sent flying forward into the boat, and reportedly broke some ribs. He was in the hospital Monday. At this time, I haven’t been able to get many details, but I’ll be seeking those out in the coming days. Our thoughts are with him.
UPDATE: I spoke to Ray Hines, part of the Nefarious team (apparently they refer to themselves as “Nefarians”). Dan is scheduled to be out of ICU today, and had surgery yesterday to repair internal bleeding and perhaps more. He is expected to recover. His crew Scott Petersen suffered some cracked ribs, but Dan got the worst of it when he hit a corner of the companionway, and subsequently blacked out. It happened near Meadow Point, so Scott was able to get to the dock where help was waiting, as was a ride to Harborview. No news on the condition of the whale, but the boat appears undamaged.
The Question
Now, regarding Nate’s question about when will other clubs notice and copy the success of Race to the Straits.
I’m pretty sure they have noticed. In my experience, the traditional clubs have a hard time changing course. It is not like destination racing and shorthanded racing haven’t been mentioned before. (they have, multiple times) But there’s something special in the Sloop Tavern mindset that the leaders responded “why the hell not?” and just did it. Make no mistake, it’s a logistical challenge get all the staggered start times, provide the not-usually-a-racer crowd with ratings so they can do this one event, dealing with the folk in Port Townsend (who are eager hosts). Add to that a pizza punctuated skippers meeting and the big dinner Saturday night, and it’s a lot of work. But it sure seems the STYC folk are having fun doing it!
Maybe the task is too daunting for clubs used to doing everything from Seattle?
I’ll add a question to Nate’s: When will the sailors come up with some new courses and new formats? For whatever reason, the round-the-buoys race until you drop thing just isn’t as appealing to many keelboat sailors as it used to be while the less predictable, more organic racing like RTTS, Round the County and Van Isle 360 thrive. Personally, I think there are places for both. But in the end, no matter how intransigent the clubs are, it’s the sailors who get to decide. Want more shorthanded racing? Multiple stages? Season Championship series? Build it and they will come. Or not.
Is there the will to energize the racing scene with some altered or new events? Perhaps not. Last fall’s sailish.com survey indicated there is the will.
But judging from the scene at Port Townsend Saturday night and on the Sound both days, the excitement seems to be there.
A Quick Slipstream Word
Slipstream on her way to finishing at the halfway point on Sunday and hoisting herself to second place.
A quick congratulations to my boat partners Joe, Becky and Charlotte. As I predicted in Bruce’s weather outlook, Charlotte managed the tactics on the return trip to lift our C&C 36 Slipstream‘s finish to 2nd in the non-flying sails class.
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.
Once again, it looks like the Wind Gods (or Goddesses) are going to smile on the Sloop for their totally sold out Race to the Straits. This race is so much fun that even Kurt Hoehne is coming out of his retirement from Big Boat PHRF sailing to go this weekend! Good luck Kurt! (Ed. note, my partner Joe is letting me sail Saturday – he’s sailing Sunday with Becky and ace tactician 5 yo Charlotte)
While today may have started out a little gloomy, by this afternoon it’s looking reasonably nice. More importantly, it’s looking like clearing skies for tomorrow and Sunday with even some nice wind for tomorrow. The weather picture is complicated as you can see by the charts.
Satellite imagery
Today’s surface analysis shows a weak high-pressure system with one lobe centered on top of us, with the other center off the central coast of California. This system is sandwiched between two very weak low-pressure systems. This picture will continue to evolve with the northern lobe of the high strengthening and moving to the north while the southern lobe is weakened by another approaching frontal system. This means our weather won’t be very dramatic but it will be interesting as we go back and forth between weak onshore and weak offshore flows. This will mean 8-10 knots of northerly over the central Sound in the morning building to 10-12 knots in the afternoon. After you get around the corner at Point No Point the wind will gradually transition to the NW and drop back to the 8-10 knot range. The key will be to at least get in striking range of the finish before about 1600 hours when the flood will start to build.
Tidal Currents at Bush Point.
0918 Slack
1224 2.2 knot ebb
1524 Slack
1818 2.33 knot flood
2342 Slack
Sunday at Bush Point.
0718 1.26 knot flood
1006 Slack
1312 1.93 knot ebb
1612 Slack
1906 2.14 knot flood
Bush Point tides.
While the early starters on Saturday will face the end of a weak flood, there should be enough wind to get you well up the Sound and in position to take the ebb to Port Townsend. There will be slightly more breeze on the West side of the Sound but you’re going to want to carefully watch your COG and SOG as the tide goes into transition. Plus in the upwind, flat water, the fleet will start to compress near the ½ way point at Double Bluff. Remember also that the breeze will drop slightly under Double Bluff as the ebb increases in velocity in the shallow water near the buoy so set up for your rounding early. That buoy is big and ugly and will leave a nasty mark if you hit it, as others have found out. After rounding, stay in the strongest part of the ebb off of the Whidbey shore but plan your tack across to Marrowstone so you’ll hit about mid-island. This way you can get the header as the wind goes from NNW to WNW along that shore. The ebb also lasts longer along that shore and if you’re in the start of the flood tide coming up to Marrowstone Point, there is a great back-eddy up that beach. Go around the point on port tack and then tack to starboard when you can safely clear the shallows and head towards Port Townsend.
Click any image to enlarge:
May 5 500MB Chart
May 5 Surface Forecast Chart
May 6 500 MB Chart
May 6 Surface Forecast Chart
May 8 Surface Forecast Chart
May 8 500 MB Chart
Sunday will be somewhat more challenging as there will be wind for the start which will get you back around Marrowstone and headed to the 1/2way mark at Double Bluff. It is that zone from Marrowstone to Point No Point where the breeze will drop as it transitions from the morning NNE to the afternoon NNW, the breeze will probably be closer to 5 than to 10. After Double Bluff, the tide will be ebbing so staying in the breeze out of Useless Bay will probably be better than trying to work across to the Pt No Pt shore where the ebb is stronger. The good news is that you’ll have plenty of marker boats around you and there are some very smart people sailing this race so keep track of where those guys are going. As you get closer to the slack at 1600 hours remember that the flood starts first down the west shore at Foulweather Bluff to Point No Point and then south along that shore. Remember also that there’s a reason why they call it Skunk Bay, it can get very light in there as the northerly is trying to build. From No Point south to the finish it will probably pay to stay to the west before you gybe across to the finish at Shilshole.
As always, use your 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)
Once again, Sloop Tavern YC’s Race to the Straits has outdone itself. One hundred twenty five boats entered the Saturday-Sunday/Seattle-Port Townsend-Seattle, the weather cooperated for the most part and orcas made an appearance. Really, it doesn’t get much better than this. The staggered start made for interesting finishes. At Shilshole around 1600 the finish horn was going off incessantly while the horizon was dotted with dots of color, all the way across the Sound.
Check out these Mocha photos (with help from Jan Anderson). (Yes, and check them all out here.) It didn’t look fun at all……
La LuchaMoore leading the colors.
The Westsail 32 Hula, heeling and loving it.
J/105s moving as a pack
Happy faces
Mark Harang and Nimbus winning their class
The J/109 Mountain
Sir Isaac the schooner with plenty of sails
Kahuna
Three little Moores, all in a row.
Stephanie Schwenk on her way to second in class.
Moonshine wins again.
The success of this event, now 16 years old by my count, is really noteworthy. It combines several aspects that are rarely featured in Northwest racing. It’s strictly shorthanded (single or double-handing) with a great destination/overnight stay and handicaps figured at the beginning rather than the end of the race.
Having once again missed the race, I tapped Ryan Helling of Swiftsure Yachts, who sailed his 31′ “house” Velella to help out with some Monday morning tactics.
We had a bit of current push Saturday morning and maybe 4-5 knots at the start until No Point. There, the current changed and it got a bit fluky as we made our way to the Whidbey side. It was light in the cove south of No Point and we did well to cross a bit early and stay in breeze. It started shifting west after we gybed along the Whidbey shore south of Double Bluff and we ended up on a jib pretty quickly as the northerly filled down. We short-tacked the Whidbey shore to Bush Point, then crossed over. Breeze was probably N 12-14? and stayed consistent to the finish.
On Sunday we had great breeze from the start, maybe 6-8 knots. It was pretty much a straight shot from the start line to Marrowstone. There was some ebb in the morning and we started on starboard headed for the bluffs on Marrowstone, then jibed and headed for the point. Of course it paid to stay in and out of the current along the shore, although it was variable in along the beach and some boats did better staying out a bit in slight negative water but more consistent breeze. As the ebb waned we crossed to Whidbey a bit earlier than some of the boats ahead of us and hit the beach around Mutiny Bay. I think we played that pretty well, keeping a good line to the halfway point at Double Bluff without sailing too much extra distance into the bay. From Double Bluff it was across to No Point and we played a little higher lane to keep moving but some boats made a low lane pay off. It got fluky south of No Point and the fleet scattered. From our perspective, the boats that did well really banged the Kingston shore and did well when the breeze filled back in and they had a nice hot angle across to the finish. Funny how that seems to always work.
I’m sure there were lots of stories, but from Ryan’s vantage point in the middle of the fleet and in a small but tough class, it sounds like a lot of fun. There are far too many classes and stories to cover in this summary, you’ll just have to look at the results. But it is worth mentioning that Great White, Grayling, Moonshine, Elixir and Muffin had very convincing class wins. The closest class, appropriately enough, was the J/105 class where More Jubilee and Dulcinea traded top spots on the two days and finished only a minute apart on combined times (Dulcinea on top). In fact, the first four boats in the one-design class were within 20 minutes on combined times.
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.
You’re probably getting tired of me pontificating about how interesting the weather has been but yesterday was truly exceptional. The team at the National Weather Service Office at Sand Point deserves a hearty well done for doing an exceptional job yesterday by getting it exactly right with just the right amount of warnings and none of the drama, just the facts. It was great to go back and forth from the computer to window and watch this event unfold.
May 4 Radar
To quantify it, in the past five years we’ve had six warnings. Yesterday we had EIGHT! I’ve attached the Doppler Radar from 1535 yesterday afternoon and it was certainly colorful and if you look closely, there are three watch boxes. In addition, at one point in the early evening when the largest system was moving over Olympia, the Doppler was showing a rainfall rate of 20.57”/hour. Impressive. CYC Seattle did the right thing keeping the fleets off the water last night. Lightning can be a woefully unpredictable critter and it was simply not worth taking a chance.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, if you’re a powerboater), we’ll pay a post-frontal price this weekend. As you can see from this mornings chart, the front is just over us and off of San Fran we have, if you’re thinking about TransPac, a nicely developing Pacific High. It’s about medium strength, however, the real key is that it is starting to round up nicely. The rounder it is, the more stable it is. The bad news would be that if we were starting TransPac tomorrow, the first three days would be a real thrash. 30-40 knots of NNW as we leave the coast. That would really sort the fleet out in a hurry. I digress.
May 5 500MB
May 5 Surface Chart
May 6 Surface Forecast
May 7 500MB
May 7 Surface Forecast
May 9 500MB
As I was about to say, in the usual scheme of things (if there is such a thing) in the Pacific Northwest, after frontal passage the first day the ridge of high-pressure establishes itself is the best day for wind from the north. As each day passes, the amount of breeze decreases. The problem for this weekend will be that persistent trough of low pressure over southern BC which will prevent a ridge of high pressure from developing.
For the sailors, this will mean a light and variable southerly for the start of the day. A northerly will develop however the timing of that will be tough as it will depend upon the amount of clearing we have over the area. The earlier the clearing, the sooner the land will start to warm and the sooner the breeze will start filling down the Sound. In the absence of a pressure gradient, it may come down with the flood tide, the Swihart Effect. So let’s look at the tides for the weekend, which will have a profound effect on the Race to the Straits.
Admiralty Inlet Tidal Current at Bush Point
Saturday
0630 Max Ebb 2.92 knots
1024 Slack
1248 Max Flood 1.4 knots
1524 Slack
1848 Max Ebb 2.16 knots
Sunday
0712 Max Ebb 3.12 knots
1106 Slack
1336 Max Flood 1.75 knots
1630 Slack
1942 Max ebb 2.17 knots
Since the RTS is a reverse start with handicaps applied at the start, the early starters on Saturday will have more positive tide but less wind. Since the northerly will fill down the west side of the Sound first, the key will be to simply use what wind there is to aim at Double Bluff, the first and only mark of the course. As you work your way to the north and you start running into flood, tend more to the west beach to get out of the tide. At Pt No Point it will be just go on across to Useless Bay and the mark at Double Bluff. The later in the day, the more wind you’ll have to deal with the flood.
The trade-off going north from Double Bluff will be to work the Whidbey Island back eddies before going across to Marrowstone where the ebb will be starting first. You would like to hit the Marrowstone shore so you can also be on the inside of the port tack lifts as you work your way towards the Marrowstone Light. After Marrowstone if you are in the ebb, watch the Cog and Sog and stay on the north side of the Midchannel Bank to stay in the ebb just don’t overstand the finish line by being swept too far to the west.
Sunday it looks like the later starters will have the advantage of both more wind and less tide. The early starters will have to fight the ebb at Marrowstone and then work their way across to the Whidbey Shore. It should be a nice sail back to the finish at Shilshole after Double Bluff remembering that the flood will start first on the west side of the Sound and be slightly stronger there. The wind will be fairly even across the Sound so the angles will be key, gybing on lifts, covering your competition and watching where the smart guys are going.
For the Lake sailors, the breeze may take a bit longer to fill at Lake Washington but it will get there. Since its Team Racing, it will be more about Team tactics than going the right way. One thing to watch for in the mornings on the Lake is that the breeze may start out from the west-northwest and from there it will clock to the north-northwest. A small change but you might be able to break a cover with it.
Have a great weekend and enjoy the improving weather.
Ed. Note: If you’ve never seen team racing, it’s amazing to watch, and you’ll be able to see it from shore at Sail Sand Point both Saturday and Sunday. Be impressed by the skills of our regional high school sailors. Also on Saturday 11-3 SSP hosts the Youth Sailing Open House put together by The Sailing Foundation.
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)
