June! It’s June already. Now if somebody would just tell the thermometer we’d be all set. We don’t seem to be getting as many of the typical warm days so far this Spring as I’d like to see. I suspect that is probably resulting in a slower than normal rise in lake temperature. The resulting similar lake and ground temperatures means we are not seeing the typical sea (lake) and shore breezes develop with much intensity. Does that sound like I know what I’m talking about? Well if you think so, friend, then let me tell you about a nearly pristine #1 here that I’ve got that you might be interested in buying for a really good price.
So anyway, whether there’s any truth to the above (not likely!) or not, last night saw us facing lighter winds than on our previous two Wednesdays. Cycling between about 6 and 9 knots with some minor shifts for the first leg to weather and then holding in at around 7 or 8 for the off wind legs and eventually dropping down to about 4 or so by the time the last boats were finishing. After last Sunday’s Commodore Perry Race in similar light conditions, and with the early weather forecasts for Friday night’s Mills Race sounding eerily (or is that Eriely) similar, we are all going to be light air experts before long.
Last night was the Mills Race Dinner for the 2008 trophy winners so we may have lost a couple of crews to that event but we had a great turnout of almost forty boats including a number out for their first Wednesday of the year. Mojito (have you seen that paint job? Nice!), Natural High, Time Machine and Presto made their first appearances as well as Lola, Stardust and an Etchells (can anybody fill me in on who the Etchells is?) were also seen in the vicinity of the starting line. Our thanks go out to Dick Hamilton and the crew of La Chiva who came out, sans mast, to do race committee work. Dick is having a spreader base repaired, hopefully by Friday in time for the Mills.
A weather leg start last night for a change! Yea, I think. With the wind out of the ESE, course #5 called for East, South and finish at the West mark. JAM did Center, South and the West finish. In PHRF B Foghorn started near the committee boat without much speed (helmsman’s fault) so we soon tacked away to port. We were followed fairly shortly by Wizard and a couple of the other boats while half of our fleet went hard left on starboard. A few minutes into the race our position looked fairly good relative to those who had gone left, (Clowns, Grope Therapy, White Star, Consig, and others) and so we tacked back to starboard and in doing so quickly crossed in front of Wizard. Anytime we cross Wizard we’re sure we’re doing well so that sort of convinced us to keep working the right side of the course. Well, let me tell you, twas a big mistake. Turns out the pressure was better on the left and those boats were also on the inside of the port tack lifts so the rich just kept getting richer. We eventually bit the bullet and took the long starboard board back to try to get in touch with the fleet. But the fleet was definitely ahead of us by then! Sometimes you get the prize, other times you are the prize that the rest of the fleet gets to put in their hip pocket. Last night was the latter for us. But we did get a chance to work on light air trim and our boat speed seemed to be pretty good against most of our fleet (from our position behind!) so all was not lost. Plus it was a lovely night with another clear sky and plenty of good friends to help enjoy it. Off wind were a couple of good spinnaker legs punctuated by a quick uhhhoooh wiggle at the South mark to stay clear of B.O.B.’s stern as they came in on starboard while we were still approaching on port for our gybe. That sudden maneuver just as we were starting our gybe resulted in the guy wrapping itself around the pole in a totally inexplicable way and a little bit of foredeck magic/swearing by Davey and Helene before we ultimately managed to emerge on starboard gybe. The last leg was again similar to last week, downwind but favored to starboard, and choosing the tradeoffs between sailing hotter angles with better boat speed or heading for the finish line. In last night’s light breeze it didn’t appear that the choices made a huge difference in the end results. But it is good knowledge to store away for future use.
The results are attached, and it appears that there is some early season form showing up. Bad Fish in PHRF A, Send in the Clowns in PHRF B and Splash Dance in PHRF C are no strangers to the top of the results sheet. In JAM it was Breakaway showing the way in A and Scandia in B. Overalls went to Bad Fish and Breakaway. Congrats to all the winners and even more so to all the participants.
This week Skip Dieball was out of town but Ernie was on the water in a whaler and taking lots of pictures. A couple are attached along with the results. I wouldn't be surprised that if you asked Ernie nicely (and complimented him on his success in marrying above himself ) he just might be willing to share what he has of your boat. http://us.mc840.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=ernie@dieballsailing.com
Marilyn Mackay ably led the kitchen crew and the Juniors in again treating us with dinner. The meatball subs, Caesar salad and brownies were great. Thanks gang! It’s a big part of what makes Wednesday nights at North Cape special.
So have you been a part of this year’s Wednesday night action yet? If not, why not? Get your boat out and check out your skills with the fleet or alternatively get on board with somebody else. There’s hardly a boat in the fleet that doesn’t have room for one or two more on Wednesday nights. Don’t be shy, ask for a ride, you might learn a few things and some of them may even be repeatable in public. Wednesdays are all about having fun, seeing your friends and enjoying a night on the water.
Wednesday Night Racing at NCYC: it’s not just for breakfast anymore.
And thanks to all the members of NCYC as well as the other clubs who supported our Commodore Perry race last weekend. We had a fantastic reggae party Saturday night and an excellent turnout of 38 boats for the race on Sunday. I appreciate your support.
Well , that's all the news that is news this week from the chicken boat. See you at the Bay this weeknd!
So anyway, whether there’s any truth to the above (not likely!) or not, last night saw us facing lighter winds than on our previous two Wednesdays. Cycling between about 6 and 9 knots with some minor shifts for the first leg to weather and then holding in at around 7 or 8 for the off wind legs and eventually dropping down to about 4 or so by the time the last boats were finishing. After last Sunday’s Commodore Perry Race in similar light conditions, and with the early weather forecasts for Friday night’s Mills Race sounding eerily (or is that Eriely) similar, we are all going to be light air experts before long.
Last night was the Mills Race Dinner for the 2008 trophy winners so we may have lost a couple of crews to that event but we had a great turnout of almost forty boats including a number out for their first Wednesday of the year. Mojito (have you seen that paint job? Nice!), Natural High, Time Machine and Presto made their first appearances as well as Lola, Stardust and an Etchells (can anybody fill me in on who the Etchells is?) were also seen in the vicinity of the starting line. Our thanks go out to Dick Hamilton and the crew of La Chiva who came out, sans mast, to do race committee work. Dick is having a spreader base repaired, hopefully by Friday in time for the Mills.
A weather leg start last night for a change! Yea, I think. With the wind out of the ESE, course #5 called for East, South and finish at the West mark. JAM did Center, South and the West finish. In PHRF B Foghorn started near the committee boat without much speed (helmsman’s fault) so we soon tacked away to port. We were followed fairly shortly by Wizard and a couple of the other boats while half of our fleet went hard left on starboard. A few minutes into the race our position looked fairly good relative to those who had gone left, (Clowns, Grope Therapy, White Star, Consig, and others) and so we tacked back to starboard and in doing so quickly crossed in front of Wizard. Anytime we cross Wizard we’re sure we’re doing well so that sort of convinced us to keep working the right side of the course. Well, let me tell you, twas a big mistake. Turns out the pressure was better on the left and those boats were also on the inside of the port tack lifts so the rich just kept getting richer. We eventually bit the bullet and took the long starboard board back to try to get in touch with the fleet. But the fleet was definitely ahead of us by then! Sometimes you get the prize, other times you are the prize that the rest of the fleet gets to put in their hip pocket. Last night was the latter for us. But we did get a chance to work on light air trim and our boat speed seemed to be pretty good against most of our fleet (from our position behind!) so all was not lost. Plus it was a lovely night with another clear sky and plenty of good friends to help enjoy it. Off wind were a couple of good spinnaker legs punctuated by a quick uhhhoooh wiggle at the South mark to stay clear of B.O.B.’s stern as they came in on starboard while we were still approaching on port for our gybe. That sudden maneuver just as we were starting our gybe resulted in the guy wrapping itself around the pole in a totally inexplicable way and a little bit of foredeck magic/swearing by Davey and Helene before we ultimately managed to emerge on starboard gybe. The last leg was again similar to last week, downwind but favored to starboard, and choosing the tradeoffs between sailing hotter angles with better boat speed or heading for the finish line. In last night’s light breeze it didn’t appear that the choices made a huge difference in the end results. But it is good knowledge to store away for future use.
The results are attached, and it appears that there is some early season form showing up. Bad Fish in PHRF A, Send in the Clowns in PHRF B and Splash Dance in PHRF C are no strangers to the top of the results sheet. In JAM it was Breakaway showing the way in A and Scandia in B. Overalls went to Bad Fish and Breakaway. Congrats to all the winners and even more so to all the participants.
This week Skip Dieball was out of town but Ernie was on the water in a whaler and taking lots of pictures. A couple are attached along with the results. I wouldn't be surprised that if you asked Ernie nicely (and complimented him on his success in marrying above himself ) he just might be willing to share what he has of your boat. http://us.mc840.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=ernie@dieballsailing.com
Marilyn Mackay ably led the kitchen crew and the Juniors in again treating us with dinner. The meatball subs, Caesar salad and brownies were great. Thanks gang! It’s a big part of what makes Wednesday nights at North Cape special.
So have you been a part of this year’s Wednesday night action yet? If not, why not? Get your boat out and check out your skills with the fleet or alternatively get on board with somebody else. There’s hardly a boat in the fleet that doesn’t have room for one or two more on Wednesday nights. Don’t be shy, ask for a ride, you might learn a few things and some of them may even be repeatable in public. Wednesdays are all about having fun, seeing your friends and enjoying a night on the water.
Wednesday Night Racing at NCYC: it’s not just for breakfast anymore.
And thanks to all the members of NCYC as well as the other clubs who supported our Commodore Perry race last weekend. We had a fantastic reggae party Saturday night and an excellent turnout of 38 boats for the race on Sunday. I appreciate your support.
Well , that's all the news that is news this week from the chicken boat. See you at the Bay this weeknd!
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