Armcahir sailing

I have been vicariously following the adventures of various navigators. The internet is now ubiquitous and immediate. Anyone can have a virtual experience of a sailing adventure.

Zac Sunderland's blog: Zac is a 17 year old from California. (He just celebrated his birthday and hasn't updated the banner!) His goal is to be the youngest person to do a solo circumnavigation. I started reading the blog when he was in Mauritius. His forestay had broken and he had to limp into port to do repairs. The boat, Intrepid, is a 40 foot sloop. It was basically rebuilt as a family project.

A competitor for the title "youngest circumnaviagator" is 16 year old Mike Perham from the U.K.. Mike has experienced lots of problems with his autopilot. He has had to make several stops: Cacais, Gran Canaria I and Gran Canaria II, in order to deal with the gremlins. The boat, totalmoney.com, is a complete contrast to Zac's; a 50 ft. 'Open', designed for single handed circumnavigation. (Zac's mom refers to it as "the Million dollar yacht"!)

And now for something completely different: Darborn, a 'travel blog' from a Beneteau 373 cruising couple. This is of course very interesting to me. I certainly won't be competinting for title of the youngest solo circumnavigator, but I may be a snowbird commuting through the ICW. The blog gives you a real sense of the vie quotitien of a cruising couple. Ordinary events; real life. If you are thinking about doing a live aboard trip south in the winter then this blog will give you a good sense of what is involved and what your life will be like.

There are two great races going on as well. The Volvo Ocean Race has now completed two legs. Great coverage on the internet with a dedicated reporter on each boat. The videos are fantastic. I watched the start of the second leg from Cape Town live. My favourite video is the Chinese gybe by Team Russia.

The other marquee event is the Vendee Globe. The start from France was a bit rough and at least five boats had to return to port for repairs. Only two were able to restart. One of these was Derek Hatfield, the Canadian entry. I think most sailors in the Toronto area have made some contribution (however small!) to his effort. The fleet is now in the southern ocean. One of the leaders has just reported a demasting. This is a solo non stop race so video updates are not as great. Still great coverage with photos and podcasts.

Volunteers Unite

Last Saturday there was a meeting of the 'Sailing Committee'. The Yacht Club's board is making a concerted effort to reach out to the membership for input on various aspects of the club's operations. It was well attended, with members from the race committee boat crew, the dry sailing fleet, big boat crews, and cruising members (i. e. Jonathon). There were door prizes and food! The meeting was chaired by John, Vice Commodore Fleet.

This was a great opportunity to catch up with scuttlebutt: the winter racing campaigns of one of our more competitive boats, winter sailing holidays, and memberships changes. There was no discussion about how the Club will deal with "the Financial Crisis" and "the New Economic Depression". (What financial crisis? Perhaps 'Yachties' are not a good indicator of financial distress!)

The 2009 regatta schedule was discussed. The Spring Round the Island race will be on Victoria Day. It was suggested that a "Family Regatta" be held to encourage greater participation of non racing members. Stephen indicated an interest in being Race Committee Chairman. One of Stephen's concerns is the use of cinder blocks as mark anchors. He indicated that he would look into a more environmentally compatible mark anchoring method. Richard and Ann provided an update on the 2009 TAH Regatta. We will need to encourage the training of additional Principal Race Officers, especially now that Peter has resigned (for the second time!).

The Club requires volunteers if it is to work properly. Volunteer activity allows members an opportunity to use and develop their skills. It also provides a way for people to socialize and network. A club is primarily a social institution. A volunteer Race Committee has to be given a bit more slack than a professional RC. How do you penalize a co-member for some perceived transgression; e.g. protests? No one wants to 'bell the cat'. How do you deal with equally valid but conflicting approaches to problems? It can be messy; it will take a long time to build a consensus; difficult issues are avoided, if at all possible. Never the less things get done. We had a very successful 2008 season and given the evidence from the first sailing committee meeting, 2009 will be even better.

Random Acts of Kindness

At the AGM last night, I had an 'out of the blue moment' when one of the club's elite racers came over and offered to give me a set of used sails. He had been doing some de-cluttering. Initially, I was a bit uncertain how to respond. Recent market developments have made me cautious about economic expenditures; but this was a case of one person's junk is another person's gold. A random act of kindness! It certainly made me feel great.

Lake Ontario 300

The Lake Ontario 300 was one of the highlights of my sailing season. Chris gave me an opportunity to experience the premier long distance race on the Great Lakes. Thanks Chris! Here is a summary of our odyssey from the Skipper of Big Fun:



We finished at 1:46 AM Thursday after a somewhat grueling 111 +
hours nonstop (4 days, 15 hours, 6 minutes). We were disappointed
for our race fans that the transponder malfunctioned and you were
unable to track us - several boats were affected. Some thought we had abandoned, missed marks or gotten lost at sea. However, we were reporting our position every six hours to the Coast Guard as per race requirements. Even so the Race Committee had the Coast Guard check in on us and our intentions when someone reported us missing in action.

The race is truly a test of equipment and crew and we saw all weather conditions. Before reaching Main Duck Island we experienced light to no winds: zero knot boat stopped and even drifted backwards! (Skippers note -- next time use the anchor!). Along the south shore and in the west end of the lake we experienced very strong winds and big was where we got a chance to try out the double reefing system installed specifically for this race.

After the initial day and a half of rain, and relatively light winds, w were treated to several hours of sunshine to dry out. Unfortunately, no winds meant it took forever to reach and get around Main Duck Island. I was glad to have a J 24 kipper and crew aboard who applied all the focus and attention needed on sail trimming to get our much heavier displacement boat moving.

Early on in the race the automatic bilge pump malfunctioned and drained the batteries which subsequently killed our GPS, auto helm, computer and navigation lights. Race rules allowed us to run the motor (in neutral) but the now heavily discharged batteries would not come up fully so we resigned to reserve all remaining power for GPS and navigation lights and didn't use the auto helm .. we hand steered the rest of the race and Richard kept navigating using our paper charts. During the second night, the halyard holding the radar reflector parted company (we were sailing through the shipping channels) but luckily the reflector was retrieved by crew. On the third night the water pump was left on and we ran out of fresh water - we could still bucket and boil water from the lake.

On Tuesday night we had to sail creatively (crew says it was in circles) into the middle of the lake to avoid the severe thunderstorms we were heading into. We understood most other boats would have been finishing by this time so we truly had cold and wet comfort in that fact. This was a huge weather system and one of the more spectacular light shows I have ever sen. Unfortunately it cost us several hours and miles to avoid these storms. The skipper and crew considered the options ... go back to Main Duck - no appetite for that; find a storm Port - nearest was Rochester 17 miles East with one of the blackest clouds and most lighting over it; next nearest US port 32 miles ahead directly into the lighting storm; cut and run to Cobourg, 30 miles north (which another boat sailing north of us did) but this seemed like a bad idea as other storm cells seemed to be heading in that direction. We opted to continue to head westerly but move into the centre of the lake and look for the "friendliest looking clouds". The avoidance strategy worked.

Next day, we had very strong winds rounding Niagara Buoy and had to take a second reef in the main, yet our boat speed was still in the sevens (highest was 8.5 knots). At these boat speeds we were pretty sure that we would finish on Wed.. About 10 miles from the Oakville mark the wind once again died. I thought some of the crew were going to swim for it, or some sort of mutiny. I wouldn't have blamed them - no winds is a huge frustration for sailors. I made a "last supper" in 6 foot swells watching the waves outside the boat through a porthole in order to "gimbel" the pots. After dinner I fell asleep exhausted A couple of hours later I was wakened by the sound of the crew on deck getting the boat underway again. The wind had freshened. (I am not sure whether the crew were being kind to let me sleep, took heart in my exhortations to finish with or without crew or just really wanted to get off the boat as fast as possible!)

As we raced raced for the Oakville mark the wind shifted again, this time in our favour, and we had a great night time reach up the coast to the Port Credit finish line. (About 15 minutes before the finish mark line the computer batteries died killing our electronic navigation system. Dead reckoning prevailed until we had the flashing strobe of the finish mark in sight. The Race Committee had gone home by this time but a very loud cheer went up in the Coast Guard' station when we made or final report at 1:46.

Being first timers in the LO 300, our team's shared goal was to finish and do as well as we could (admittedly some additional goals of doing it in less time!). There were about 126 boats entered in the race, of which 24 did not finish. In our division of 7 boats, we placed 4 th and raised several hundred dollars for the charity.


Skipper Chris
Skipper, Big Fun

Aftermath:

Charles' turn

The "Crew Race" at National is a great tradition. It occurs after the regular season. The race provides an opportunity for a crew member (someone who doesn't normally helm) to have a chance on helm for a race. Over the past three years, I have rotated my choice as the "crew skipper" and this year it was Charles' turn.

We also had a few replacements in other positions. So in addition to Charles taking my spot; Adrian replaced Chris and David/I replaced Charles/Janet. We had a bit of discussion about who would portray whom. Who was it that would do a 'Janet'? Well since Janet did a 'Janet' when she was foredeck; it was up to Adrian to reprise the maneuver!

The winds were light from the south south west. The RC used "0" as the windward mark; there was no offset. The start line was set appropriately. It was a very competitive race with placings changing several times throughout the race between Jack Rabbit, Candlelight and us. The crew performed very well. I stepped back to handle tactics, and let Charles helm and David handle the sheets. We had good tacks and good mark roundings. I was pleased with the crew's performance. We ended up behind Candlelight but ahead of Jack Rabbit. It was a very enjoyable race.

After dinner the PRO, when the results are announced, is supposed to use the skipper's name rather than the boat name. Unfortunately this didn't happen so Charles didn't get the recognition he deserved.

Ship of State

I have just finished reading Zakaria's book The Future of Freedom. The book posits that too much democracy is counterproductive. That demagoguery and populism, although they can be very democratic, if left unchecked will lead to tyranny. There has to be some check on democracy in order for democracy to be sustainable. An example used is the unelected court system which has the power to curtail laws that are democratically made but that are anti-democratic. Zakaria believes that referenda are recipes for disaster. A referendum leaves longterm decisions susceptible to short term manipulation of public opinion. In the short term you can create a mob; in the longterm that mob will be self-destructive.

Doesn't sailing provide an excellent example of liberal authoritarianism? I believe that on any boat there is only one skipper and if you are not happy with that then don't sail on that boat! The boat owner is the skipper, that is easy. When I am on a friend's boat, they are the skipper (and when they are on my boat I am the skipper). It's easy for boat owners to accept this. However for non boat owners and for club boats it is more problematic. When I am on Dragon Lady, the club mark boat, Allan is the skipper and I am crew. 'Fair' or 'nice' is irrelevant.

Of course Captain Bligh was not a successful skipper. The successful skipper must be liberal. Everyone must be treated with respect. Each individual must be able to voice their concerns. The skipper should know what the skill level of the crew is. The skipper should know how much a crew member wants to be challenged. The skipper would know not to go out in 20 knots and try to fly the spinnaker with a novice crew. You should not teach people how to sail during a race. A skipper should always be attuned to the needs of the crew and be able to react to those needs in a positive way (but not necessarily in the way the crew member desires). A successful skipper knows that a successful boat means a happy crew. Bad skippers don't go sailing as crews mutiny by simply not going on the boat. (By the way I think that good skippers are able to 'avoid' certain crew! Oh I guess you can not do that with society at large.)

Edmund Bourke believed that a Member of Parliament was elected to provide reasoned judgment. He was not there to parrot the views of his constituents. In a sense when a crew member joins a boat they are 'electing' a skipper. They are willing to allow the skipper to make reasonable judgments about navigating. One skipper per boat proves that there is merit to having a liberal authoritarian!

Save the best for the last (Summer series race)

There was some indecision with sail selection. Uri generously advised from the sidelines that we should go with the jib. I am not a wimp and did not want to leave the dock without the gennie. Chris didn't want to change sails without ample time pre start. We sailed out with the gennie and after a few tacks switched to the jib. That was until we saw Jack Rabbit with a genie. We had more than enough time to switch back. Chris was OK with the switch back as clearly we needed to be competitive with Jack Rabbit.

The course was more or less due east. However the windward mark was skewed enough that you were almost on the port tack layline from the start line. Candlelight was below us and was our only problem. We seemed to sail higher and so were able to get clear air. As we approached the windward mark there was a slight lift. As a result there was absolutely no reason to tack before getting to the windward mark layline. Jack Rabbit was slightly windward and had to duck starboard tackers (including us!) on the windward mark layline. At the windward mark we were clear ahead of the our fleet. We had a good mark rounding and chute hoist.

The leeward leg was strickly on starboard gybe. There was a good leeward mark rounding. We got the pole down; the chute was free flown; the genie was hoisted; the chute was windward douse; we rounded up on port right at the mark. Everyone did their job well and worked quickly to get us in good position for the upward leg. We were now well ahead of both the PHRF IV and V fleets.

At the windward mark Jack Rabbit forced Candlelight up. Jack Rabbit was able to consolidate their second place finish. It also meant they would be well behind the first place finishers!

What a great race. The crew has really improved over the past three years, especially in working as part of a team. This was the last race of the summer series. The official results have not been updated. However, I am almost certain we have won the summer series and the overall season. A great race is a great way to finish the season.

Getting it right

The first problem for the Wednesday night race was to get the RC boat to settle down. The winds were very light; so light that we didn't unpack the sails pending the anticipated N A signal. The RC was determined to find wind and eventually they were able to find enough to start. The wind was about 5 knots with a bearing of 113. At the start I did my usual starboard tack sitting just below the RC Boat. It is amazing to me that the fleet still has not learned about barging. One boat that wasn't barging was Belle Folie. I tried to head them up. They seemed to be confused by the starting sequence. We heard someone say: "We aren't starting so bear away". Actually you were. I kept heading them up. I eventually touched their port side. Protest? I decided not to. They seemed confused and I didn't want to be bothered. We still had a good start. The fleet was windward but well behind. Jack Rabbit took a lower angle. We both headed towards the Island and stayed on Starboard tack. Once it was clear that we could clear the fleet we tacked over onto Port. We cleared Victory Dance by about a boat length. Jack Rabbit had clear air and was well to windward. We seemed to be staying parallel to Jack Rabbit but they were about 10 boat lengths to windward. On Port tack we got lifted. There was a discussion about whether or not to tack or go to the layline. It was decided to go to the layline (actually we went well beyond the layline as I wanted to be sure that we could make the mark). Jack Rabbit was clear ahead after rounding the windward mark. The downwind leg was very slow. My objective was to keep the spinnaker filled. We were on a slightly hotter angle than Jack Rabbit and this meant we had better boat speed. Jack Rabbit started having problems keeping their chute filled. We moved whenever we needed to to keep the chute working. There were a couple of gybes. It paid off as we were able to work our way around Jack Rabbit. At the leeward mark we did a windward douse. The crew did a good job of getting things organized for the gybe around the mark. On the upwind leg the main concept was to stay ahead. Jack Rabbit tacked but we waited. Eventually we did tack over. The RC boat had moved for a finish at the windward mark. The finish line looked skewed and I did not want to go to the layline. It would be risky, especially given the light winds. We made sure we could make the mark even though this meant that our line was well to windward of Jack Rabbit's. This was a good call as Jack Rabbit couldn't finish without tacking a couple of more times. We finished well ahead of the fleet and had a great light wind race. It clearly showed that the crew is working well!

AHMEN 2008 II

I was planning for another light wind day. Once again I was surprised. We had good winds for the whole afternoon.

The start was somewhat squewed with starboard tack being favoured. We manged to just squeeze between the Committee Boat and Balance. Balance's foredeck wasn't happy but we were not protested.

I had a good discussion with Adrian about the situation. My objective is to have crew who are aware of what is going on and can provide informed insight. (It might be surprising but I am frustrated if I have to 'instruct' crew during a race; the role of being "boss" is counterproductive.) A discussion clarifies my thinking about what is happening. It was my view that since: we started, luffed beyond close hauled, Balance didn't alter course, and we avoided contact; there was no valid protest. I accepted Adrian's point that we could not use the Committee Boat as an obstruction. All of this discussion was moot since there was no protest flag.

The start put us windward of the other boats so we had clear air. The course basically was T1 (green Harbour entrance buoy), Dufferin, and start/finish. We had a good hoist at the first mark and went on a downwind course to T1. This perhaps was slow as Balance definitely gained and they were well ahead at T1. The other boats in our division, Windlight and Burnin Rudder, were not able to keep up to us.

At Dufferin we had a bit of a problem with traffic. A non racing sailboat was nice enough to get out of our way. Not so for a "Party Boat". We had to luff and duck. I hailed the passengers on the cruise boat's stern to pass on my "Thanks" to the skipper. We still had a good race and a second place finish

Persistence pays

AHMEN I was on Saturday. The crew and boat were sorted for a 10:30 takeoff; plenty of time for the 11:30 start. The winds were very light. The course was basically to Gilbraltor, then Dufferin, then Finish. I was mistaken in my belief that it wouldn't rain. The other crew members were better informed. Fortunately Emi had extra foul weather gear: a dingy top. I got drenched but my upper body was OK. We had a good start and were able to hoist the chute for the run to Gilbrator. The wind dropped and at one point we drifted. Where was the wind? Adding to our misery: boats to windward and leeward had wind. Eventually I decided to take over handling the spin sheets as well as steer. Who ever handled the sheets had to be able to move the boat. I was able to find some wind and keep the chute filled in the very shifty and light conditions. We were of course now behind the fleet at the start of the next leg. Unfortunately as we went closer to shore the wind died. We decided to takedown the genoa. The concept is that in light winds the saggy genoa can not get any shape. In our search for wind the boom was manhandled from one tack to the other. Eventually we found that the main sail would fill on starboard. The genoa went up as we headed for the next mark. As we approached the next mark we noticed a large black cloud on the western horizon. We could also hear thunder. We slowly made our way to the finish. Gun! The light (no) wind and rain did not discourage us from finishing. Persistence pays!

Anger

On Wednesday the winds were from the west at around 270. The wind seemed to be stronger near shore. The plan was to go right; to take advantage of this apparent stronger wind. JR once again was ahead at the start and stayed ahead unitl the first leeward mark rounding. We had a good spinnaker hoist. Our downwind leg went well. We sailed on a hotter angle and seemed to be able to catch up to JR. At the leeward mark, the plan was to do a windward douse. The douse went well and we were able to take the lead over JR. JR didn't have a good douse. After the race I talked to JR's skipper. They had a problem with one of the spin sheets; they couldn't douse properly and couldn't sail their preferred course on the first downwind leg. Everything went well on the second upwind, until one of our last tacks to the windward mark. We had an override with the Genoa sheet. We had to douse the Genoa to recover control and, with the traffic at the mark, fell badly behind. This made me very angry. We had overtaken JR only to fail with what should be a basic capability: tacking. Anger is an interesting problem. To give into anger only makes things worse. It can appear when you feel completely helpless. I think I kept things under control; but there was no avoiding my 'vibe' of being very unpleased with our performance. I am completely focused on sailing when I am racing and expect other crew members to stayed focused as well. The reality is that problems occur regardless (see JR above). We had a good race to this point. Hmm... my anger was put on simmer. Hopefully I didn't make things worse. We got things back in control and had a good downwind leg to clinch a 3 rd (!) place finish.

Doing a Janet

Wednesday race night started off with a splash. After the pre race sorting out on the foredeck, Janet was on the far side of the pulpit. The crew reacted well. No panic. We were the centre of attention with a circle of boats standing by. We manged to get Janet back on board with lots of time to change out of the wet clothes. (Update: apparently some skippers are admonishing their foredeck with : "Don't do a Janet!".)

The wind was from the south. Peter, the PRO, did his usual delay in starting the 2nd and 3rd divisions. We had a poor start; we were tucked in bad air behind Avra. JR went left as I planned to do. (I later learned that JR would've tacked sooner but were blocked by Avra.) We tacked even though we had to duck Foehn and Polaris. Near the windward mark layline JR tacked and crossed just in front of us. We opted to continue to layline and at the next crossing we were clear ahead. We had no problems with the spinacker hoist. JR took awhile to get its chute working. (I later leanred .had a noob on foredeck.) I used my favourite boats ahead as tacticians to direct me on my downwind course. We stayed on a hotter angle than JR and probably gained with light winds. On the second circuit we just covered JR.

We got a first, Windlight 2nd, and JR third.

Summer II 2008

Great weather, beautiful day; so why were we the only boat in our fleet out?

The course was set almost due east. The start was at "0" and Dragon Lady set the windward and offset mark. We had a good start and got into a nice breeze on the south side of the course. We had a good windward mark rounding. The wind died on the north side of the course but started to fill in from the south. The RC shortened course due to the light wind and not wiling to wait for the new breeze. Those boats who went south (not us!) caught the breeze.

We were happy to bank the first.

Lake Ontario 300

This weekend I will be sailing the Lake Ontario 300 on Big Fun in the fully crewed spinnaker fleet. (see: Star article)

The boat is a 36 foot C+C. We are probably the oldest boat entered in the race and we will be in the slowest PHRF fleet. The race starts at Port Credit at around 11:00 Saturday. The race should take between 3 and 4 days to complete. We have a crew of four. Three other boats from NYC joined up to form Team National. There are over 122 boats registered for the event.

It looks like there will be light winds for the start. You can follow our progress at the website with real time GPS tracking. You will have to look for Big Fun in the participants list. It will be in the Fully Crewed Spinnaker section and probably in the PHRF IV or V fleet.

I have been looking forward to sailing the event for a few years. It should be a great experience.

PCYC Open 2008

We launched the boat on Thursday and sailed over to PCYC on Friday. The Thursday launch meant that we could avoid the drysail area during the NYC Star regatta. We arrived at PCYC late Friday with just enough daylight to navigate safely. I tried to get a dock but a PCYC staffer was still on duty. She was patrolling the basin herding the new arrivals to an appropriate spot. We were directed to the J raft which already had about 3 boats.

Saturday was very foggy. The crew wanted to be at the club early so that we could get in a few practise tacks and spinnaker hoists. There was no wind and lots of fog. The RC flew an AP at the yardarm. The wind slowly filled in but there was still lots of fog. Apparently a storm was moving in from the west. Anyway we didn't leave the dock. The fleet was somewhat upset as clearly there was wind. Very little to do and it was very boring. I found out later that the Stars had three races at NYC on Saturday! The RC amended the SI's to allow for an earlier start and removed the time limit for the last start on Sunday.

We arived early on Sunday and were one of the first boats to sail out. The winds were light but steady from the west. The wind would increase for the rest of the day. I would say the conditions were prefect for the J. Steady winds of 10 - 20 knots and not too much chop. The course was windward leeward. There is windward mark and offset mark and two leeward gates, twice around.

Our performance was pretty much as expected. We were all a bit anxious of our performance. The J fleet is very competitive. Our starts were good. However, I tended to stall the boat and we lost a few boats for no good reason. It was hard for me to get into the groove. This may have been because of my older sails. The main's luff luffed. Jaimie was able to keep me out of trouble with lots of room at the start and good direction around the boats when we had to duck. We sailed a very conservative course without too many tacks. We overstood the windward mark layline in order not to be knocked by other boats. Our boat handling was OK. We recovered from screwups and we were able to do what needed to be done quickly.

We had one interesting encounter at the leeward gate. We were on starboard inside of a port taker B who was inside a starboard tacker C. Inside of us was another starboard tacker A who took way too much room to round the mark. I couldn't head up port B since he was restricted by C. In order to avoid hitting A I ended up doing an uncontrolled gybe. The main sheet got tangled in the traveller and I couldn't haul in the main as we headed up around the mark. A new boat arrived and of course wanted us to head up. There was lots of potential protests here but no one bothered. The result was that we got pushed back. That was an example of our inexperience. There were two near collisions. We were on starboard and two port tackers either didn't see us or thought they could pass. These guys were protested.

After the event we sailed back to NYC with a nice westerly breeze. We ended up in second last spot, but the goal wasn't performance; it was to have fun. We had a great regatta.

Luck

The 'summer' series began on the 9 th. The wind was strong from the west. There was a 20 degree shift during the start sequence so port tack was favoured. We had a great start and lead the fleet to the windward mark.

Unfortunately I was on automatic pilot: at offset hoist spinnaker. The wind shift was such that the course back was too high. We got the chute down quickly but were well back of the fleet. My anxiousness for doing well lead to a big mistake. Keep cool Richard! On the second downwind leg we saw boats peeling off and abandoning. We didn't know what was going on. At the 'finish' we could see that Grand National was sailing N A. The RC couldn't set the finish mark. The race was abandoned.

So 'Luck' trumps 'Stupidity'!

Last Spring Race 2008

aNo mark boat so no windward leeward. The RC set the start near '1' with '0' as the windward mark. With the wind coming from the south west (215) it would be mostly port tack upwind. We were able to be on starboard gybe all the way downwind.

JR was not participating.

We used the jib on the first upwind leg. Our only competitor, Windlight, was able to stay with us. They used full sails. We switched to genie on the downwind leg. Windlight didn't use a chute. The combination of genie and chute/no chute gave us an easy win.

News from the British Nationals

This does happen (but rarely).

Wednesday, June 25

The wind was from the south so we were able to sail off the dock. My thought was that there would be a counter offshore breeze and this would offset the predominate wind. This didn't happen and the wind from the south intensified. I also expected that the wind would shift west. It didn't happen; the wind was steady at around 20 knots bearing 225 throughout the race. Kim and a 'volunteer' from the crewbank manned the mark boat. The RC could set a windward leeward course.

The first start had a general recall. We were delayed by 20 minutes while the RC sorted things out. The wind was intense enough that we decided to drop the gennie on the first downwind leg. (This was a good move as we had good realtive performance. We crossed Polaris and Victory Dance.)

JR started with only a main sail and shortly after the start they decided to bail. They started so they would be scored as DNF and not DNS. Their skipper was suffering from a knee injury and they felt the rough seas would be too painful. OK so lets get a First!

During a gybe, the chute got fouled when the halyard got wrapped around the forestay. We couldn't get it untangled. We were well ahead. There was no need to worry about. The wind was from 225 so dead downwind was 45. I wanted to sail 0 and 90. We got confused with the gybe angle and sailed dead down wind ( i e very slowly ) on our approach to the finish.

We accomplished our goal: First. The first should come in handy when the results are finalized. Only one more race in the spring series.

Another Wednesday Race

Getting a bit slow on my updates! I guess I am getting used to sailing again. It must be summer. Kim acted as Alan's replacement on the mark boat. Once again, with the crewed mark boat, we had a windward leeward course. The pre start wind check indicated that the wind was oscillating from SW to W but mainly from the southwest. We had a good start. JR was below us and we may have been fouled from them. They were able to take off. By the time we rounded the windward mark for the second time they were well ahead. As we went 'downwind' the wind shifted; we were now upwind. We dropped the chute. (Honey Bunny had problems dropping their chute. HB provided some entertainment as we drifted along in light winds.) Charles (?) noticed a new breeze filling in from the south. We got our spinnaker up and the new breeze took us nicely to the finish while boats ahead had to wait. The late boost from the breeze wasn't enough. We ended up with our usual second.

RC: argh (con't)

The RC this year is staff challenged. Dragon Lady the mark boat isn't getting crewed on Wednesday night. A windward leeward course is difficult to set up. It is no time for the RC to have fun by playing god. The committee set the start at "o" and the windward mark was Dufferin; the bearing to the windward mark was almost due north. After checking the wind I stared at the RC with the thought: "What are you doing?". The wind was from the northwest. The line was very pin favoured. Port tack would be on the windward mark's layline. We had a very good start; at the pin and on port tack (!, I feel that being on port tack at the start is a very noob thing to do). I was very aggressive with my maneuvers as I wanted to put in a good show. Another J, who was known to be a 'regatta' boat, had come out to race. I wanted to put in a credible performance. Shortly after the start boats began to head back. I asked Charles to hail the committee boat to find out if we were over early. I was confused still by what Charles was saying, so I hailed the RC. Once I heard the PRO say general recall I headed back but was still confused. Why? It ended up that not only was the line badly skewed with the pin being favoured, not only was it a port tack start, which of course requires extra boat handling skills not necessarily present in a club race, but the RC decided to have "fun" by putting in a five minute delay in the 2nd and third start. Needless to say our second start was very bad and given that you were on the port tack layline to the mark the start was it; and we were screwed The crew handled things very well we were able to catch up to JR and Slippery but not pass them. Windlight got another first. By putting in the 5 minute delay for the third start the RC added complications to what was going to be an unfair race course. It was an unnecessary affirmation of the principle that for a race the PRO is god.

Charles' Return

A few crew changes. Charles was racing for the first time this year. Chris was not available and David was on vacation in Europe. Mary Jane, who normally races with Harvey on Tuesday night, replaced Janet; Janet replaced Chris as Foredeck; Emi replaced David as Trimmer; and Charles replaced 'absent Charles'. Newish postions for everyone except the skipper! Jack Rabbit was out with their regular crew while our crew would potentialy be rusty in their newish positions. We did our spinnacker hoist and got a few problems solved before the race. Windlight was the only other boat in our fleet. The wind was more or less from the east, i e 87. The RC set a course from "0" to Gibraltor. Which way to go: left or right? It seemed that the wind was stronger on the right side where it was clear of Centre Island. I suspected that the Island would provide a lift. We had a good start however Jack Rabbit was ahead at the pin and in clear air. We fill in behind Victory Dance so tacked away. We were clear ahead of Avra and Polaris and easily crossed them. We headed right while Jack Rabbit stayed left. So that will be the plan: take the right side. When we crossed they were clear ahead. Unfortunately we got behind Fifth Day and stupid me didn't tack away. Jack Rabbit also gained at the first leeward mark rounding as we were fouled by Victory Dance and Avra. We did a couple of more circuits but the race was pretty much over. We finished ahead of Victory Dance and Avra (both are not in our fleet) but well behind Jack Rabbit. A second. It was an enjoyable race. We had some good boat to boat manouvres and the crew performed well even though they were placed into new positions. We finished well ahead of boats which should have been faster.

Sailpast x 2

What is sailpast? This year I had an opportunity to explore this question as I attended two local sailpasts. Sailpast is a Yacht Club tradition which formally marks the beginning of the sailing season. (I wonder what Clubs do where there is no winter?) It provides a target date for skippers to get their boat organized and ready to sail. 'Yachties' dress up in blues and whites. There is very little actual sailing involved.

National's Sailpast was on Saturday. It was a cool and windy day; skies overcast with potential rainclouds. Janet and Charles were my crew. I went to the skippers meeting at 13:00. This was an opportunity for representatives from the Hospice Regatta, a charity event in late June, to do a promo for that event. Most skippers will be familiar with the Sailpast routine. Boats head out into Humber Bay. The Fleet is divided up based on boat size. There is a lead boat for each division.The Commodore's Yacht goes and anchors on station at a pre-announced position and the various divisions then sail past; taking a salute from the Commodore. A local pastor, in our case a priest from a harbour street mission, blesses the fleet before the boats depart.

It was crowded at the drysail crane as everyone wanted to go at the same time. The wind was onshore and so the best place to sail off would be at the dinghy dock. We decided to motor out. I was not happy with this as one of the important aspects of Sailpast is to show off your sailing ability. I am a serious sailor not some motor wimp! Never the less we motored out and got the sails up only to discover that someone hadn't attached the outhaul. By the time the shackle was replaced our lead boat was hailing us to go back. Sailpast was cancelled. A storm was moving in. I decided to dock under sail. The docking went well; I was very pleased. Once the boat was derigged I got the flags out and hoisted them with the spinnaker halyard. We retired to the Restaurant to wait to for the official receiving line and to drink beer.

I like sailpast. It gives me an opportunity to socialize with fellow sailors with whom I have shared many interesting experiences over the years. I get to fly my flags. Other benefit's include spiked punch and hors d'ourves. This year's spiked punch was not readily available; one of the crew spied it behind the bar. The hors d'ouvres were good. So no punch but good food.

Sailpast II was at ABYC on Sunday. Anthony called me late Sat. and asked if I wanted to go to his sailpast. Why not, it will give me an opportunity to compare NYC with ABYC.

The tradition at ABYC is slightly different. There is no skippers meeting but a more formal presentation by the board. A piper pipes in the officials. O'Canada is sung. Flags are handed out to officers and to new life members. The flags are raised at the yardarm. A priest, from a respectable parish provides a coherent speech and blessing. Instructions are informally given to the fleet about where to assemble for the parade of boats. There is no after sailpast reception. Sailors stay on their boats and wait for the board to pass by in a runabout. This tour of the basin is used as an opportunity to solicit funds for the Club's Junior Sailing Program.

Anthony, his 4 year old son, and I were crew. Anthony is rather adept at having one hand on the helm, one had on the sheet, and one hand on Matthew. I think that an extra set of hands was appreciated! The weather was cool and windy. Anthony's boat, a 27' Jeanneau, handled well. We only used the furling genie. Anthony had his boat ready except that there was no burgee. I gerryrigged some sail ties so that we could fly the burgee on the starboard shroud.

The sailpast traditon is maintained for another year: a non sailing sailing event. For non sailors all one needs to know is that sailpast is a nautical term which means: to be with friends.

Noobs

National Yacht Club has an excellent 'introduction to sailing' program: the Introductory Crew Membership. The program includes in-class instruction and on boat activity. It starts with the basics so everyone can be included. The graduates are encouraged to enter the crew bank for mid week racing. The new members are introduced to senior members and they get to sail on a variety of different boats. The cost is about $300. It is also an opportunity for boat owners, since it provides a ready stream of potential crew members. We were short handed on Wednesday so had space for one Noob. It was a very calm day, i e no wind we didn't actually race. Excellent for teaching but not for racing! This gave the crew the opportunity to 'teach' the novice the 'ropes'. The chance to teach others is a great reinforcement of one's own skills. We went over the various terms, did a practise spinnaker hoist, and went into the start sequence. The PRO called the race mid sequence. We drifted around and talked about the lack of beer on my boat (amongst other things of lesser importance e. g. safaris). A couple of drawbacks:

Noobs do not have sailing gear. They are not familiar with how cold it can be on Lake Ontario in May. An investment in foulies is a pretty big commitment for someone unsure about the sport. People use equipment that they have, e.g. bicycle gloves as sailing gloves. (BTW: I have an extra set of sailing gloves.) The big problem is the need to keep dry. In windy weather you can get wet from spray. I am not sure that there is enough emphasis on what is needed for outer wear. Racing is a stressful situation. If you have a competitive crew they must be able to know what needs to be done and when it needs to be done. A novice will need some time to learn the difference between an outhaul and a cunningham. They will need a lot of supervision. I am not a fan of teaching people how to sail during a race! That said, the reality is that at Club races, people are cool and can step back from taking things too seriously. (Crew: "Richard are we talking about you here?")

On balance the Introductory Crew Membershp is a great opportunity for new sailors. It is a low cost and easy entry into the sport. It is for anyone who has asked the question: "Is sailing for me?".

Family matters

Our American cousins have special arrangements for Canadian boaters visiting Great Lake's ports. Boaters can get an I 68 which allows boaters to land and report to US Immigration by phone. You are required to obtain the document annually and you are charged a fee. The I 68 program is expected to be withdrawn but no end date for the program has been set.

In an effort by our American cousins to improve security a new program has started. It is a broader program introduced after 9/11 that attempts to improve the monitoring of trans-border visits, i e land, air, and sea. The US/Canada border program is called NEXUS. The Canadian website gives a brief overview of the new border regulations, a commitment that Canadian privacy laws will be respected, and a warning that if you click "Next" you will be transferred to the US government website. The US site does allow you to register in French but the tab link is the only French wording on the site. (The program for the US/Mexican border is called 'FAST', an acronym clearly the result of a bureaucratic mind.)

The NEXUS website allows you to apply on line. You have to set up an account profile with a password. In this account you register your passport number, vehicle, residence, employment history, and driver's license. I found some of the questions redundant, i. e. documents. I had to enter my passport twice: first, to register the passport and second, as the principal document to be used when I cross the border. The FAQs were very vague. Of course you have to pay a fee, $ 50 US. The registration has to be renewed every five years. The next phase in the application process is to be interviewed by border patrol personnel.

My own take on the application process is that it was designed by a former IT professional from a Canadian bank; a bureaucratic exercise which can not avoid being arbitrary and somewhat detached from the exigences of real life. Basically our American cousins are just as prone to bureaucratic inefficient government programs as Canadians are. While Canadians develop costly and inefficent programs for securing adequate health care, our American cousins opt for costly and inefficient programs to secure their border. From the same family tree but on different branches?

It's cold

On Wednesday the temp high of 7 degrees would be below my limit for sailing. But it is race day so I was down at the boat getting the boat prepped at 16:30. surprisingly there were few people heading out to the start. Once again we were the only boat in our fleet. Jr crew was seen by their boat but they did not appear on the start line. It must be cold!

We had another bad start. I hit the pin and did a fast 360. The course was from mark 1 to mark 0 with a westerly wind. Obviously we were well back from the other boats in our start. However we slowly caught up to everyone. perhaps this says more about the competition than our own skills?

The highlight of the evening was the hot buffet which on this late winter night (!?) was much appreciated.

First Spring Race 2008

It was raining when I arrived at the docks on Wednesday for the first regular race. Jack Rabbit was using the crane to mast and I assumed that they were planning to race. Chris chased them away from the crane so we could launch. They were planning to race. They had planned to start resetting the mast at 16:00 but as with all sailing plans it didn't work out as planned. So no Jack Rabbit tonight!

This year we are once again in the third start. Peter is the PRO. There was no mark boat so Grand National had to set the mark. The Race Committee does not seem to be as well organized this year. We started at Dufferin buoy with no other boat from our fleet. The wind was bearing about 245 and would shift left by about 10 degrees during the race. We had an OK start. Victory Dance (not in our fleet but in our start) was closer to the pin and was first over the line. I was a bit surprised to find that port tack was favoured. VD was slightly ahead throughout the first leg but we did stay with them. After the first leeward mark rounding they started to pull ahead. We did well. Most of the douses were "windward" and that went well. The "windward" douse meant that the chute was on the right side for a bear away set.

A good first race.

First Race 2008

The first event of the racing season is the Spring Round Centre Island race. It isn't really around since there is a restriction on sailing through the Western Gap, the waterway that separates the western end of the Island and the mainland. This year the race was on Sat., May 10. Chris, Janet, and David were signed up as crew. Charles had to do some home redecorating and was replaced at the last minute by Emi.

The weather was very cooperative with a 10-12 knot southwest breeze. The start was at Dufferin Buoy so the course would be a counterclockwise circumnavigation of Centre Island. The finish was just east of the Western Gap. The race is about 8 miles and takes about 2 hours to complete.

We had a bit of sorting out to do before the start. The mainsheet wasn't threaded through the blocks properly and had to be re-threaded. The outhaul was caught on the topping lift fitting on the boom. We also had to figure out how to run the new compass. All was sorted in plenty of time before the start.

The start line was badly skewed, with the boat end favoured. Unfortunately, perhaps fortunately, I was confused by the start line's location. We did an unnecessary 360 which prevented us from being over early. It meant we were late and away from the fleet. We managed to avoid the foul air of the other boats and go to windward of the fleet. Our 'bad' start was 'good'. We managed to pass most of the fleet by the first mark. One of the Melges was the only boat clear ahead.

The wind direction and the course to the second mark made flying the spinnaker problematic. We did not fly the chute while others in our fleet did. Our course was slightly windward and we were eventually in a good position to make good use of the chute. Just after the third mark Jazz caught up to us. The course to the next mark was almost directly down wind. We stayed on a broad reach. Our speed was faster than it would be under a dead downwind course. Jazz followed a similar course and stayed slightly ahead of us for the rest of the race.

It was a beautiful day to be on the water. The wind was brisk enough to be interesting but not too challenging. We didn't win (the results won't be known until Monday). The whole point is that we had a good time.

Annoyances

I brought the boat back on Thursday. The wind was ENE at about 20 knots. It was a single handed motor trip that took about 90 mins.. A cold, bumpy, and boring start to the 2008 sailing season. Janet drove the car back to NYC and was there to help me dock the boat.

The windex came lose. My wonderful (5th?) repair once again was insufficient. My first reaction was to be angry. It was another example of the little annoyances that come with the joys of boat ownership! Hmm maybe I should view this as a psychological test! The windex and I: a metaphor for dealing with life's irritations.

On Sat. I went over to help Anthony prep his boat for the season. Anthony had his four year old son to assist. In addition to dealing with the frustrations of a non starting motor, Anthony also had to deal with the constant demands from junior for attention, e g Matthew amused himself by banging the aft cabin door on Anthony's foot. It is during these times that I realize that the joys of parenthood are best experienced from a distance. It was a good experience for me as I got a good idea about what is involved with 'big' boat maintenance.

Boat ownership isn't without its annoyances but it is worthwhile (just like parenthood). You can not stay annoyed with that which you love.

Launch 2008

Everything went well. I got to PCYC at 11 and started getting the boat prepped. The lines and fenders were put out. I replaced the spark plugs and mounted the motor on the transom bracket. The trailer tires were inflated.

The schedule was for a 12 o'clock launch but the staff, Ted and Mike, decided to take lunch. We actually got started at circa 1. I had thought that they would use the travel lift but the drysail crane was used instead. The launch was more 'do it myself' than I expected. I spent a lot of time waiting for Ted and Mike to finish launching a club boat. Ted and Mike got the boat moved to the drysail crane and operated the drysail and mast cranes. They did these steps when there was a break in their Club boat launches. While waiting I talked to PCYCers who were standing around waiting for their boat to launch so that they could take it to its mooring. PCYC Members did not have to do much at their Club launch except stand around! PCYCers were able to dock their boats singlehanded. I wonder why NYCers can't?

After we got the boat launched I got the mast ready and started the motor. A no start motor was my biggest worry. The motor did start but only after a rather long period of nothing (except my anxious pulling of the start cord.) Whew, it was a warm day. Ted and Mike got the mast up and left me to secure the stays. I took the boat over to a mooring.

I hope to finish things tomorrow: attach boom, tune mast, and get the lines installed, e g main sheet.

Beautiful day! Perfect conditions for launch with 17+ as a high and a slight breeze from the east. Everyone was 'cool', ( er laid back?). The motor started! It is great to get the boat back in the water.

Compass replacement

Last summer, when we were going to set up the compass for the start countdown, we discovered that we had an "equipment overboard situation". It had apparently been knocked out of its bracket and fallen overboard.

I never (hardly) do impulse buys. I also like to replace same with same. Simplifies my shopping experience. Unfortunately the exact same model wasn't available. I did a Google search, looked at other boats to see what people were using, and asked skippers for comments about the compass they used. A typical product/price discovery effort on my part. I decided that the Micro Compass would be a good replacement. West Marine had it but the C$ price was 20% more than the US $ price in C$. I can wait.

Flash forward to now: As part of my pre season boat prep I do another check. West Marine has the item in stock and at the US $ price. Problem solved.

It is great to see that Canadian retailers are not using border hassles to avoid passing on the benefits of loonie greenback parity! It pays to wait (sometimes).

Launch readiness (2008)

David and I got the new traveller installed yesterday. It went well except we had to do it in two trips and I managed to spill the beans! I think (?) we got everything back together. The car moves smoothly along the track.

The boat will be launched on April 17. It can be sailed over to NYC at any time and docked until the club launch. The trailer can be brought over after club launch. So looks good for some early season sailing!

I plan to do some Club Hours i.e. yard work on the Monday after Club launch.

Launch plans are in place. Now all we need is good weather!

Spring cleaning

I have done a bit of spring cleaning with the blog. That includes checking the links to make sure they still work.

I was very pleased to come across a sailing narrative (1986 Transfer Trip) on Chris's website about a week long transit to Little Current. I would say that I have experienced during my sailing career very similar events. This is an excellent story. If you read this story and have a warm and tingly feeling then you know that you are a sailor!

As I said I have spent a little time fiddling with the colours etc on the blog. Let me know if things are OK.

Tempatures Rising

Wow! Today's temps: High 15, Low 9! Maybe I should start to think about getting the boat launched?

The boat is currently in Mississauga. The repaired traveller will have to be reinstalled, the mast stepped and the boat launched. One idea would be to get the boat launched in Mississauga and sailed over to Toronto. Another option would be to trailer the boat back. Sailing back could be done in late April but trailering would have to wait until the first week of May. I will have to check out crew availability and interest in the various options. Also I will have to check with Yacht Club staff to see what they require.

I was over to see the boat last week with David. The new traveller needed some adjustments and couldn't be installed. I hope to make another attempt to get the traveller installed later this week. The big news is that the boat survived another winter.

Summer isn't here yet, but it isn't too far away.

AHMEN Dinner 2008

Chris, Brenda, Janet and I attended the AHMEN event at EYC. The event was postponed one week due to a winter storm in TO. Not as many people were in attendance as I recall from last year. The event includes a nice buffet with roast beef. After the meal there were a couple of speakers to promote the Lake Ontario 300 series. The AHMEN Race Chairman noted that the number of spinnacker entries was down form last year. He also wondered whether there should be a special award to encourage younger sailors (under 25) to participate. After much discussion it was decided to leave things as is.

Of course the real reason for my being there was to get the lovely flags!

Chris provides proof that big boats are fun too

Fun in the off season

Who says the off season is dull! On Monday I was expecting a quiet day; with US markets closed nothing much will happen. Right. I turn on the TV to discover that Asian and European markets are down 5 %. Why? Interest rates are down and will go lower (even before Tuesday). The US economy may or may not be in a recession. There is no indication of any spread of malaise in China or other BRIC countries. ? The only credible reason is that sailing season is over. We need a little excitement!

Tuesday was another exciting day. Berenake dropped interest rates by 75 basis points before the US markets opened. This was the US central bank's response to the "recession". The Bush administration came out with a stimulus package. No denial here; no 'the economy is strong'. The US action showed a willingness to respond even before the stats showed that there is a recession. The US economy may or may not be in a recession. Political leadership must deal with a problem that people think is a problem. At least that is the case in the US during an election year.

The market was still spooked on Thursday so everyone blamed Trichet, the head of the European Central Bank. He wasn't going to lower interest rates in Europe. His reason is that there is no European recession. The US commentators were despairing and disparaging. Clearly Trichet just doesn't get it. "This is going to be the Trichet recession". At least no one noted that he was French. There were rumours that a major European bank was facing severe debt problems. The expert commentators went into hysterics: 'sub prime mess, financial contagion, wiping out of equity of all money centre banks'. "Do you know what that would mean!!!!" Whatever facts that were known were taken out of context. Hey, lets all panic!

It all ends up as the result of a rogue trader in France. His employer covers large positions in what must have appeared to the market traders as panic action. The 'market' didn't know what the cause of the despairate trades was, but decided it was better to panic too. Everyone, except Trichet, looks very foolish. The psychological contagion effect was well illustrated; an important example of how markets work. A little bit of 'fun' in the off season.