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?