Port Tack Option

Barges on the Hudson River

2016-09-09T20:30:00.000-04:00

It is a shame to know that the Coast Guard is considering multiple anchoring zones for barges on the river. After many years of cleaning up the river and improving the Hudson Valley, it will be a big step back to allow barges to anchor along the river to save some money on fuel. Besides the detriment to the views, it will also cause boat traffic to have a smaller area to navigate on the river.

This picture would look better without the barge anchored in the middle of the Haverstraw Bay. Waiting for a one-knot current to change is not a good reason to spoil the river.

Jazz For Sale

2015-12-04T13:16:00.004-05:00

After owning her for 10 years, it is time for me to part with Jazz. She was everything I needed her to be, but the time has come to let her go. It is a tough decision to make, but my family now has other places to be and Jazz was not being used enough.

I will post some blogs about Jazz and hopefully someone that likes to race will soon own her. She is a perfect boat for short handed cruising and racing. She never lost a race in winds over 20 knots. In 2014, she won three races on a 20+ day in the Sutherland regatta. She did it with just me on board. That is short handed sailing at its finest.

She also carried my children for the first 10 years of their life. Knowing her strength and heavy air breeding, I was confident that my family would be safe with her. I have many fond memories of sailing around with the kids and not worrying about anything.

My brother's recent purchase of a J-105 has given me a new place to sail on Wednesday nights. That has made it easier to part with Jazz, but still remain active on the river.

Over the next couple of posts, I will explain how I chose a J-28 sailboat. I'll talk about the early days learning the boat. I'll move into the cruising division races we did. Finally, I will discuss the waning usage over the past few years.

I believe that my path through life is similar to a boat's path through a windy bay. You have to pull the sails in and go hard. You need to be ready for any unexpected changes and adjust the boat to the changing conditions. As you work your way to your next waypoint, you need to be in synergy with the waves around you and not try to bash through everything.

The wind in my life is blowing from a new direction. I am going to ease off for a while and see where it blows me. While I do not know the final destination, I do know that my journey is far from over.

Telltales

2015-01-15T15:26:00.000-05:00

Telltales Summary

Telltales are an important indicator of sail trim. When going upwind, the telltales on the jib are helpful in steering properly in relation to the wind. Knowing how to read these indicators will help improve your boat speed at all angles of sail.

Mainsail Telltales

The telltales on the mainsail (main) are usually located on the back of the sail. This is called the leech. The leech telltales will fly nicely when the main is properly trimmed. They will also fly when the sail is eased a little too far, so the luff at the front of the sail is important to watch as well. Telltales are most helpful upwind and on reaches. When sailing deep downwind, the main will be out as far as possible and the telltales will not give much information to the trimmer.

Upwind

When sailing upwind, you will have your main trimmed in tight. The telltale that gives us the most information is the topmost telltale. This is the most finicky of the telltales on the main. In light air, the telltales will be tough to read. As the air gets up to 4-6 knots, you can start to use the top tell tale to help trim. In medium air, the telltale is critical to proper trim. As you get into heavy air, the tales will flow and their informational value will be reduced.

Light Air

In light air, the top telltale should be flowing about 20-50% of the time. When the telltale is not flowing at all, you have trimmed the main too tight. This is an indication that you need to let the mainsheet out a bit. Be careful with the traveler. If you are letting the main out, you will probably want to bring the traveler up to keep the main powered up and not allow it to luff. Play with this a little. You will likely find that you have to move the traveler above center line to get the mainsheet out far enough so that the top telltale flows occasionally and the main continues to be powered up. We do this to allow the main to have some twist, yet not be out so far that the boat can not longer point well into the wind.

If the telltale is flowing all the time, you may have the sail out to far to maximize your power from it. Trim in the main until the top telltale begins to waver and even disappear for a second or two. Once you get back to a 20-50% level of flow, you are in the ballpark for optimal trim.

Medium Air

As the wind pushes above 10 knots, the main will have lots of flow over it. Now it is time to get that top telltale to flow 50-80% the time. If the telltale is not flowing, you have the main trimmed too tight. You will want to ease the main until the top telltale is flowing more than 50% of the time. As the wind increases, this will rise to 100% flow on all telltales. It should not be necessary to have your traveler above center line to keep the main powered up and the telltales flying. Keeping the traveler center line in this wind is a good base position to work from.

If your top telltale is flying consistently, try to sneak in the mainsheet until the telltale starts to flutter a little. Don't go too far. You want the top telltale flying, but a little flutter here and there will help you keep from having the mainsheet out too far and losing the power in the main.

Keep in mind that the leech telltales will fly when the main is out too far. If you are notice a luff in the main that is not a normal luff due to the jib back wind, you need to trim the main in or move the traveler further to windward.

Heavy Air

In heavy air, the telltales on the main will be flowing all the time. If not, you have the sail trimmed in too far and the boat is probably on its side. Over 20 knots, you will have the traveler down and be sheeting the main in and out to keep the heel at an optimal angle. In this wind, the main will be out to keep the boat from heeling too far. When the main is out, the leech telltales flow. The are no longer very helpful to trim the main.

Reaching

When reaching, it is best to have all the telltales flowing off the leech of the main. If the top telltale is not flowing, the main needs to be let out. This is common in our races. People tend to have their main choked in too tight on reaches. Make sure you check your vang too. The vang will remove twist from the main and it can be eased out to get some twist in the main and allow the leech telltales to flow. In general, you want to increase vang tension as the wind approaches 15 knots and then start to ease the vang again as the boat gets overpowered in heavier air. In heavy air, you will have the main luffing to keep the boat heeling over too far, so the top telltale will not be useful.

When reaching all the telltales can help. When no telltales are flowing, you ease the sheet or vang, the telltales will begin to flow from bottom to top. If the top telltale is flowing, but the middle or bottom ones are not flowing well, it could indicate that the jib is in too tight. On a reach, the jib lead is too far inboard and aft. This causes the sail to be trimmed too tight on the bottom and too loose on the top. Some boats use an outboard lead or move the lead forward to help this issue. If you are not moving the jib lead, ease the jib so that the lower two thirds of the sail are trimmed properly and the top is out too far. If the jib is trimmed properly, your main telltales will flow with the top telltale being the indicator of mainsail trim.

Jib Telltales

The telltales on the jib will serve two functions. Upwind, the jib is not trimmed much, so the telltales will help the helmsman know if the boat is heading in the proper direction relative to the wind. When reaching, the telltales will help the trimmer know how the wind is flowing over the bottom, middle, and top of the sail. In this article, we will only talk about three sets of telltales on the luff (front) of the jib. We'll call the sets bottom, middle, and top. We will also refer to the telltales on the inside (windward) of the jib and the outside (leeward) of the jib. Most boats have green telltales on the starboard side and red ones on the port side to allow the helmsman to differentiate between the inside and outside telltales. Depending on the tack of the boat, green or red can be inside or outside.

Upwind

When sailing upwind, the trimmer will use the sets of telltales on the bottom, middle and top of the jib to position the lead properly and trim the sheet for maximum upwind efficiency. The helmsman will reference the bottom set of telltales to steer the boat at the best angle relative to the wind.

Light Air

Let's start with enough wind to get the telltales moving. That happens around 2 knots on race boats and 4 for the cruisers. In light air, the trimmer will be most active relative to higher wind speeds. The trimmer will need to work with the helmsman to keep proper flow over the jib. In general, you will have the sheet out a little bit to get some flow and the fuller shape to generate speed. You want all three sets of telltales to break (waver) at the same time. I would just talk about flow, but in lighter air the telltales are going to break and that is a moment rather than a continuous action. If the inside-top telltales are breaking first, the top of the sail may be out too far and the lead should be moved forward. If the inside-bottom telltales are breaking first, you will want to sheet in a little and drop the lead back. This is common as the wind increases to a medium speed. If the inside-middle telltales are breaking before the top and bottom, you may have too deep a draft. This may be the result of headstay sag. You can try to tighten the backstay or even the halyard if it seems loose. Do not over tighten. You want some wrinkles on the luff of the sail under 10 knots.

For the helmsman in light air, you are only going to watch the bottom set of telltales for steering. You want both the inside and outside telltales streaming back for optimal efficiency. If the inside telltales are wavering, you are steering too high and need to head down a little. If the outside ones are wavering you are either steering too low or you need to ask the trimmer for a little ease on the sheet if you want more boat speed. Do not just "press" the sail in light air and allow the outside telltales to flutter. Ease the jib if you are looking to sail a little lower or you need to get some additional speed.

Medium Air

In medium air, the jib trimmer may not be as active as in light air. It is still important to use the telltales for lead position. If the top inside telltales are breaking before the others, the lead should go forward. If the bottom telltales are breaking first, the lead should be brought aft and the sheet tighten a bit. Keep playing with the lead until all three inside telltales are in sync. We don't talk about the outside telltales here since they should all be flowing. Once the lead is set, the trimmer may head to the high side to reduce the heel.

The helmsman will be looking to keep the outside telltales always flowing in 8-14 knots of breeze. If they are breaking, the boat needs to head higher. If you need more speed, the jib will need to be eased. Do not head down for speed without the jib being eased out at the same time. You will get more speed, but stalling out the front of the jib will hurt any acceleration achieved at the lower angle to the wind.

The helmsman will get his most valuable input from the inside telltales. In medium air, you want these telltales to be flowing most, but not all, of the time. You want them on the edge of breaking with an occasional break every couple of seconds. This means they will be flowing back with an occasional flip up. This is OK. Do not head down when the inside telltales first break, but if they do not immediately head back into a nice flow, you may need to head down a touch until they all flow again. As you get to 14-16 knots, the telltales on the inside will spend more time flowing up than back. This is OK. The boat will be able to maintain a higher angle. Do not allow the jib to luff until you are overpowered by the wind.

Heavy Air

As the breeze gets to 16 knots and above, heeling may be an issue. Some of this can be helped by easing the main. Telltales will be less of a help for the trimmer. The trimmer should drop the lead back to allow the top of the jib to depower. This will lower the center of effort. The inside top telltale should not flow at all.

The helmsman will now have the inside bottom telltales flowing up or totally not flowing. Most boats will be overpowered and even a little luff at the front of the jib will be correct. If speed is an issue due to waves, the helmsman may head the boat a little lower and get the bottom telltales to flow again. Heel and boat speed will be the best indicators for proper trim and heading in these conditions. Do not allow the outside telltales to stall. If you do, you are heading too low and the boat is either heeling too much or making too much leeway.

Reaching

On a reach, the helmsman should be steering to a fixed point. This will depend on many other items, but telltales are not part of the helmsman's input. This means it is up tot he trimmer alone to keep the jib in proper trim. In light to medium conditions, the trimmer will want to move the lead forward and outboard if possible. We do this on Jazz by adding another sheet to the jib that is led to the rail. We ease the tension on the normal jib sheet and trim it using the new outboard jib sheet. Without doing this, you will find the inside top telltales unable to fly unless you sheet the jib in so much that the bottom of the sail stalls. When this happens, the outside bottom telltales will break or droop. If you cannot rig an outboard lead, all the top inside telltales to break, but try to get the middle and bottom telltales to fly as evenly as possible. If you have to choose, stall the bottom a little to keep the middle of the sail flowing.

As the wind goes above 16 knots, the outboard lead becomes less necessary. This is because the boat will become overpowered and having the top of the sail out too far may be beneficial. Over 20 knots, drop the lead back further on a reach and only trim to the bottom telltales. If you are overpowered, it will be fine for the middle inside telltales to be fluttering. Over 25 knots, it may even be necessary to ease the jib to luffing to keep the boat from heeling too much.

Conclusion

Telltales are just one of many inputs to consider when sailing, In light and medium air, they are important tools to understand the trim of the sails, In all wind, the telltales will help you steer the boat at the proper angle upwind. While very important, the telltales are just indicators. Consider them as fine tuning adjustments. Once you have the general principles of sailing down, a clear understanding of what the telltales indicate will help you improve your trim and steering efficiency. Over the course of a race this can add to a minute or two advantage to those who ignore this important input.

Resources

For more information about installing telltales and other info, click here.

You can buy some at your local store or online by clicking here.

Finish a Race on the Course Side of the Line

2014-07-31T18:47:00.000-04:00

Background

Boats were finishing tonight's race from 24 to H. The committee boat's finish line was not perpendicular to the last leg. It really could not have been since boats in the other class were finishing from G. It was clear when looking from the committee boat to 24 that H should be left to starboard by the finishing yachts. It was also clear when looking at the finish line from 24. The current was ebbing hard and boats were sliding south as they approached the finish. Since they had slid so far to the right on their approach, they were not able to tell which side of the line they needed to cross in order to finish. Some boats finished from the wrong side and then called on the radio to dispute that they should be allowed to finish from either side. The following excerpts of the rules will attempt to show that there was only one side that they should have finished from and they were wrong to try and finish from the other side. This has been an issue in two previous races from past years and I blogged about it both times.

Past Blogs

This blog from 8/19/2009 used the old set of rules to discuss a similar situation.

This blog from 6/1/2011 also covered a similar situation and references the proper case.

My Own Observations and Race Decisions

Having blogged about finish line issues in the past, I began to be concerned as to which side to leave H on while we were on the second to last leg (F to 24). As we approached 24, I instructed the crew to keep a careful eye on H and the committee boat to see if it was clear which side we would need to leave H to as we finished. I talk mostly about H since it was much closer to the last mark than the committee boat, so we knew that we would be finishing right next to H.

At 24, we took a sight to H and the committee boat. With H being much closer and to the right of the committee boat, we saw clearly that H would need to be left to starboard in order for us to finish from the course side of the line. As we rounded 24, we sighted H against the bridge in the distance to make sure we did not lose gauge to it due to the current. In other words, I wanted to have the boat head straight to H over the ground. To do this, I had to steer a course 10-20 degrees to the left of H since the current was pushing us right.

We were able to maintain a relatively straight line over the ground and it was clear the entire time that H would be left to starboard in order to finish properly. Before finishing, I gave notice to the crew that if there was no horn, we would need to round H to port and cross the line from the other direction. It seemed clear that we were finishing properly, but I thought it best to be prepared for any possibility, especially since we had a five minute advantage on the rest of the fleet.

As we passed H to starboard, I headed downwind to cross the line immediately. The horn blew and we sailed on away from the line. We had finished.

Observations on the Next Boats

The next two boats behind us sailed a different course. It appeared that they pointed their boats at H for much of the leg. As such, they were continually swept to the right. As they got closer to H, they came from an angle that eventually put them on the wrong side of the finish line. Since they sailed so far from the rhumb line, they could not tell which side to finish on. They crossed from the wrong side.

Radio Misinformation

At least one of the boats instructed the race committee that they could finish from either side of the line. This was wrong and should not have been broadcast. They were correct in asking the race committee to take their time, but they should also record the time of their own finish. The proper procedure is to request redress if you believe the race committee made an error.

Rules Involved

Finish A boat finishes when any part of her hull, or crew or equipment in normal position, crosses the finishing line from the course side. However, she has not finished if after crossing the finishing line she

(a) takes a penalty under rule 44.2,

(b) corrects an error under rule 28.2 made at the line, or

The definition of finish mentions that a boat must cross the finishing line from the course side. Looking from 24 to the finish, it was clear that the pin should be left to starboard. This was also evident after the race by looking from the committee boat back to 24 and seeing the pin to the left of the line of sight. The difference was not slight. It was at least 10 degrees from being parallel.

The boats may claim that the finishing line was laid so nearly in line with the last leg that it cannot be determined which is the correct way to cross it in order to finish. This argument is illustrated in Case 82 of the rules.

Case 82

When a finishing line is laid so nearly in line with the last leg that it cannot be determined which is the correct way to cross it in order to finish according to the definition, a boat may cross the line in either direction and her finish is to be recorded accordingly.

This case would not apply to the race. The case involved a committee boat that was swinging on anchor causing the line to swing from one side to the other from the last leg. The line during our race did not vary in the steady wind and current. It was clear before, during, and after the race that the pin should be left to starboard when finishing from 24.

The boats may claim that from where they were it was not clear. That may be the case, but their error in allowing the current to sweep them far from the rhumb line does not mean the line was laid nearly in line with the last leg. There was a clear way to cross the line and they crossed from the wrong direction.

Rule 28.2 explains that you would have to go around the end of the line to re-finish.

28.2 A string representing a boat’s track from the time she begins to approach the starting line from its pre-start side to start until she finishes shall, when drawn taut,

(a) pass each mark on the required side and in the correct order,

(b) touch each rounding mark, and

She may correct any errors to comply with this rule, provided she has not finished.

Summer Race #10

2013-09-18T18:30:00.000-04:00

Winds were good from the SW between 4-8 knots. Skies were clear. Full moon rose early in the evening. Current was ebbing. Course for A&B was from H to K to G and back. C sailed H to G and back.

We motored out of the harbor at 17:30 and put up the main and jib. It was a nice tight reach to the starting area. We sailed upwind a bit and it seemed like the right side would be favored. We went to the starting line and found it to be square to the wind with maybe a slight advantage at the port end.

We were surprised when the announcement came over the radio that all divisions would go to G as the first mark, since K was the upwind mark. The original course selection was also odd since boats would be finishing on opposite sides of the same line. After some complaining from the A&B division boats, the course for them was changed and they were given a true upwind leg.

For us in C, the course remained G and back. It was a reach to reach course with very little strategy involved after the start. So we looked over the line again and found the pin end to be much closer to G than the boat. Since the line was mostly square, if not pin favored, we knew we would start at the pin.

As the start approached, we ran the line on port and flipped over to starboard with 45 seconds to go. There was a C2 boat in position to win the pin, so we took an aggressive shot head to wind to slow ourselves and then settled into a reach to get that speed back up for the starting gun. We hit the line on time and held a close-hauled course for the first half of the leg. I wanted to make sure we did not have boats going over the top of us. Once we were on the windward edge of the fleet, we headed down for more of a reach and got to G in a hurry.

We were first around, but had to navigate through the other 15 boats that were headed to G on starboard. Once through them, we had an easy sail to the finish. One boat was close to passing us as we got close to G, but they failed to adjust their sails to the reaching angle we were on close to the mark and slowed down. Other than that, it was a quiet race.

Looking back at the fleet on the reach.

A&B fleets reaching to G from K.

We never tacked during the race. It was a close reach followed by a slightly broader reach. The whole affair took about 30 minutes. We were done by 18:45. The course should have sent us to K for the first mark. Buoy races should always start with an upwind leg if possible. You want the boats to have a chance to separate and use tactics in the race. A reach to reach race is all about the start and then boat-speed.

After the brief race, we sailed around for another hour or so. The wind was nice and the full moon made for a nice evening of sailing. When it finally got really dark around 20:00, we headed in and went over for pizza. This time we made it in time to get some fresh slices.

With the season over, I would like to thank John Nonenmacher and John Edwards for their hard work putting this whole series together. Many boats and their crew also deserve praise for doing their turn as Race Marshall. It was a great season and I look forward to next year.

Moon at 19:14, shortly after rising.

19:30, still enough sunlight to see Gusto and the moon is taking over.

Summer Race #9

2013-09-11T18:30:00.000-04:00

Winds were light from the SSW between 2 and 8 knots. Current was slack, moving to ebb. Skies were partly cloudy. Course for all divisions was from H to K to G and back to H.

Tonight was a east side favored night for the upwind leg. We recognized this before the start. The line was fairly square, so we decided to run the line on starboard and start near the pin. As the start time was approaching, we had a lot of steam and we were early to the pin by at least 10 seconds. With 40 to go, a boat tacked right in front of us, so we headed down to hook them to leeward. At this point, we were going way to fast and came up tight while easing the sails to try and slow down. This worked for our boat speed, but it forced the other boat over the line early.

We dipped back down with 20 seconds to go and began to get some speed. With 8 seconds to go, we headed back up to the line and trimmed in for speed. We got off the line on the end we wanted. Unfortunately, we did not stick with our pre-race plan and found ourselves on the right side of the course. The left was favored with current and possibly with wind too, but we missed it.

After some back and forth up the course, we settled back into the left side and were able to get around K ahead of the fleet. We held off the fleet for the entire leg and then stretched out on the final leg for a win.

Many boats got caught in the time limit. It is important to note that the time limit for the early start races is 20:15, not 20:30. I believe this was a new addition for this year.

After the race, the wind was light, but we kept sailing. Soon a NW wind filled in and we were back to sailing in a decent breeze. This kept us going for another 45 minutes before dying out and then we headed in.

The Half Moon was back on the bay. Here is a rough video.

Summer Race #7

2013-08-28T18:00:00.000-04:00

Wind was light from the ENE between 2-6 knots. Current was mostly slack. Skies were overcast. Course was from H to C and back. A&B went twice around.

I left the dock early as I was the only person able to sail this night. It is best to do everything early when sailing alone since it can be tough to overcome any issues that come up. In a light northerly, I sailed over to H and then hardened up to sail to C. I figured that would be the course and wanted to see if one side was favored. I preferred the right side on this preview of the race. I then motored back to the starting area and chatted with the RM about the conditions and the line.

The RM did an amazing job tonight. First, they solicited input from some racers about the wind and whether to start or not. They then reset the line and tried to get a start going. The wind crapped out, but the RM made the difficult call to postpone the first start and wait for more breeze. When that breeze came, they made a good course for all divisions and rolled back into the start. It was just a great job to confer with other boats and postpone the start until conditions were better. They were on top of things.

As my start approached, I noticed that I could run the line on starboard, but it would be tough to cross the pin (port) end on starboard. This set up for a port tack start. With over 1 minute to go, I was running the line on port and flipped over to starboard. I was able to stay close to the line, but then turned down to fend off some port tack boats and keep them out of the good lane. With 25 seconds to go, I flipped to port and started on time. I was ahead of the fleet and covered the closest boat all the way up the leg.

With a good lead at C, I turned downwind and got busy. I poled out the jib to one side. By the time that was complete, the wind clocked to the ESE. I then took the pole down and headed up to move along. The wind continued to change and I continued to adjust everything. Eventually with about 300 yards to the finish, I stopped all the work and just floated across the line.

It was a nice race and I was happy to get the bullet. I then sailed around for a bit since the best wind of the night was building from the north. I sailed on until 21:30. At that point it was dark and I was getting tired. Docking alone is the toughest part of sailing alone. Everything has to be done methodically and I did not want to be exhausted in case something went wrong. Around 21:45, I pulled into the slip and relaxed for a beer before heading home. It was a nice quiet night on Jazz.


Fleet on the course

Summer Race #6

2013-08-21T18:00:00.000-04:00

Winds were light from the NW. Current was ebbing. Course was from H to B and back.

This was an odd race. With a strong ebb and a light breeze, we had to sail all the way up to B and come back to H. For the quicker boats, this was done in a normal 60-90 minute time. For the boats that have a low VMG upwind, they were unable to fight the current and round B.

We had a nice start on the west side of the line. We kept the boat on the west side of the course and eventually sailed into the shallow water by Minniesceongo. This was helpful as we were able to get out of the current and make good headway towards B. After rounding B, we made sure to sail down to the middle of the river to get into the heavier current and make it to H.

We sailed around for a little while after the race and grabbed the last slice of pizza before heading home.

I think a course to 26 for the C division would have allowed more boats to finish.

Before the race, we passed by my brother's boat that was coming home from a long trip along the East coast down to the Caribbean.

Patronus on their return to Haverstraw

Summer Race #5

2013-08-14T18:00:00.000-04:00

Winds were between 12 and 18 from the NNW. Course for all divisions was from H to C to 22 to H. Current was flooding early going slack around 20:00. Skies were overcast.

Another nice windy Wednesday night was on tap for this evening. We left the harbor around 17:30 and hoisted the main close to shore in the lee of the land. We then cruised out to the starting area under main only. With the winds up, the current flooding and a presumed course to 26, we decided not to sail around and try the course.

We watched the race committee set a tough line for the fleet. Under main only, we ran the line in 25 seconds. It was short, especially for the light conditions. The boat was on the wrong end of the line (the port end). The port end was heavily favored. I have written about this before in the past and this night the line was dangerous. With the line being short and the port end favored, the RC became a big obstacle for boats running the line on starboard.

The dangerous line was evident in both starts. Boats crossing on starboard were unable to clear the RC and their long scope. Since the port end was favored, boats piled up there and were soon forced to tack onto port and face the other starboard boats coming at them. Because the port end was a boat and not the mark, it was very difficult to get around the boat to either side.

Taking all this into account, we ran the line with 15 seconds to go and tacked onto port right after the start. We were far enough ahead to clear any starboard tackers, but there was chaos on the line behind us. We moved out quickly towards C which was almost a one tack beat. We made sure to protect the left side of the course as it seemed to have better wind and current. By the time we rounded C, we had already passed two boats from the B division.

Rounding C and heading down to 22 was nice. It was a long leg and the wind was strong enough to keep the boat moving above 4 knots the whole time. We got to 22 and hardened up on port. Kohlinar was just ahead of us at this point and we began to slip into their bad air. We tacked to get back to the left a little before settling in to a nice long port tack.

Interesting note on the last leg. Kohlinar was sailing good upwind. They had a small jib, but were moving well enough that we could not escape their bad air. After we split out to the left, we ended up finishing over 7 minutes ahead. Some of this was due to a jib change, but it also showed how favored the left was for both upwind legs.

We finished and sailed around in the fresh breeze. As the sun set, the wind began to settle down to a light 4-8 knots. At this point, we doused the sails and headed in to the Hudson Water Club for food.

Summer Race #4

2013-08-07T18:00:00.000-04:00

Heavy winds from the south between 12 and 20 knots. Current was ebbing. Skies were cloudy with showers. Course for A&B was H to K to H, twice around. C1 and C2 sailed H to 22 to K to H.

It was our Race Committee night and we were disappointed to have to do it on such a great sailing evening. The heavy winds from the south made for big waves and lots of fun. We motored out to the course area and dropped the hook. Since the ebb was opposite the wind, we had to be careful anchoring as the stern swung into the breeze. This made for an odd motion as the stern was being hit with 2-3 foot waves.

We set the line with the boat end slightly favored. As the start approached, a brief shower came through and brought extra wind. During the puff, the first start went off. One boat was over early and had some trouble getting back. Another quit the race shortly after the start.

After the boats cleared out, we cooked and ate a few racks of ribs and had a few beers. Eventually the current eased up and our bow was now into the wind. This made the anchoring more pleasant.

We chose the above courses in order for boats to finish around the same time. I always like to try and send C on a shorter course, but not too short. I feel a Wednesday night race should be at least an hour long if possible. So we went with A/B going twice around a windward leeward course. This would maximize the strategy for them and they are suited for that course. For C, we sent them to 22 in order for them to have a slightly longer leg. Then they would reach to K before going downwind to H. The timing worked out well as all the racing boats finished within 30 minutes of each other. There was one boat that appeared to have a breakdown and raced without her main. She finished 20 minutes after the fleet, but I cannot plan for boats that do not sail with a main.

We recorded the finishes on three sheets. That way if two disagree we have a tie breaker. We also used the "Rite in the rain" paper I like. This is waterproof paper and for a few bucks makes the whole shower thing irrelevant. I print the score sheets on the water proof paper and we can keep it outside the whole time. It also helps to have a waterproof pen.

After the last finisher, we unfurled the jib and sailed around for a while. We wished we would have been able to race on this fine evening, but the little bit of sailing went a long way to easing that pain.

Some boats withdrew from racing. I thought that this was a good decision on their part. If you and your crew are not up for the conditions, then withdrawal is the proper thing to do. I was happy that there was no radio chatter about it being too windy to race. We are out there for wind and 20 knots is a great sailing breeze. I was happy to be able to allow the rest of the fleet to challenge themselves against these conditions.

In the video below, Mad Hatter and Chi are going upwind. The rest of their fleet is on the left and the C fleets are on the right in the distance.

Summer Race #3

2013-07-31T18:00:00.000-04:00

This was a light air race. We had a bad start and were a minute behind. We should have gone left early in the leg. The current on the right was too heavy for the extra wind to be an advantage.

A boat was motoring within 4 minutes of her start. She should have withdrawn for breaking the rules. No motoring with 4 minutes. You put the engine in gear, you have broken the rules.

Summer Race #2

2013-07-24T18:00:00.000-04:00

Shifty North wind between 6-12 knots. Current was ebbing over 1 knot in the channel. Skies were partly sunny. Course was from H to 26 to K to H. A&B sailed H to 26 to 22 to G to H.

Early in the day, I saw the forecast and the moon rise prediction and thought it was the perfect night for a late night sail. With a northerly gradient, I thought the breeze would hold up well into the night and if we got a break from the clouds, we would get a nice moonrise.

Joey and Tommy

Soon after deciding to skip pizza night and sail longer, I got word that we could take some of the youth sailors out for a ride. I always enjoy this and made arrangements to pick up Joey and Tommy from MYC. By 17:40, we were on the water sailing downwind to the starting area.

We did a test run sailing up the river to 26. The right side was favored in wind and with less current. It was a no-brainer at this point. We crept over to the very favored pin end of the line and waited for A&B to start. During their start, the wind changed at least 60 degrees to the right. The port tack start that we were going to use failed for the A&B boats. The starboard tack boats were coming off the line well and by the time our start was 3 minutes away, the boat end was now clearly favored. We adjusted before the start and got off the line by the RM boat a few seconds after the gun.

This put us in the position of being the right most boat in the fleet as a righty was taking over. We were lifted above the mark and stayed there knowing the current was ripping. By staying to the right, we thought we would have a little less current than the boats below us. We also kept it high since the wind was good and we may need the speed of footing closer to the mark.

Everything worked out well and we rounded 26 a minute ahead of the next boat. We then cruised at 8 knots over the ground to K. This was a short leg, but we were able to gain a little more distance on the fleet. Rounding K, we held port tack for 2 minutes. After tacking back to starboard, the current had shown that the 2 minute lead would not mean much distance on this leg. We let A-Train get above us on starboard tack since we were already making the mark.

I was concerned about this. First, A-Train would be further from the channel and probably in less current. Second, the wind was from the NE now and A-Train was closer to the NE shore. In the end, we got some additional lift and cracked off a bit near the finish. We let the kids drive most of the last leg and across the finish. Although not as talkative as the girls from last year, they seemed to have a great time driving the boat at the end of the race.


Sunset

Their parents were nice enough to pick the kids up at the Haverstraw fuel dock. This made it easy for us to get back out and enjoy the new freshening breeze. The wind went back to the north and built to a refreshing 12-18 knots. These were the conditions we were hoping for to extend the sail into the night. We sailed down to Croton before tight reaching back and forth.

Finally around 21:30, with clouds blocking the eastern horizon, we sailed in for the evening. It was a great ride after the race. The winds were perfect and the sunset put on a nice show.

The Race Committee did a great job. For the second week in a row, two courses were used and the boats came back close to each other. It was a nice length for the conditions.

Pizza night was tough to miss. We love the event, but I could not turn down this night of sailing after so many weeks of light or no air. Since I don't get out much on the weekends anymore, the night was just the sailing fix I was looking for.

Sun behind flag

Post sunset

Summer Race #1

2013-07-17T18:00:00.000-04:00

Winds were light from the NW between 4 and 8 knots. Current was flooding hard all night. Skies were clear and the temperature was warm. Course for C was from H to 26 to 24 to H. A&B sailed to K instead of 24.

The area has been blanketed by a heat wave for almost two weeks now. Wednesday was a hot day and the wind forecast predicted southerlies. When we went out of the harbor, winds were light and variable. We motored up current of the starting area and took a swim to swipe the bottom and inspect the speedo which has not worked all year. After some brushing and forced spinning, the speedo was still not reading our speed. At least the water was somewhat cool and it felt nice to swim around a bit.

As the start time approached, an unexpected WNW breeze began to fill in. We sailed over to the line and were surprised at its length. We knew the start would take place near the committee boat since the line was heavily favored to that side. As we got set for the start, most boats were late, so we were able to make our own comfortable approach to the line and start 10 seconds late, but ahead of the competition. Off the line, we footed for speed and raced to the west side of the river. That was the plan all along.

We took starboard tack all the way to the port layline before flipping over. Most boats had already gone back earlier, but a J/24 followed us to the layline. We overstood a bit since the 24 sails higher than our boat and in the light air, their speed was just as good. We thought it best to make sure they had to overstand or sit in our bad air. This worked out as we were able to foot again and keep good speed to 26. Overstanding also helped us stay to windward of all the A&B boats that were coming at us on starboard. With clear air and a nice angle, we rounded the mark a minute ahead.

The next leg was a broad reach. Sometimes the wind swung ahead and we had to tighten the sails. During the leg, our speedo came to life for the first time all year. As we approached 24, I took the initial part of the rounding wide since the current was pushing us into the mark. It was wide enough, but I still had to turn the boat hard at the mark to get the stern to swing out and avoid it. With the current ripping, I did not want to waste any distance against it.

Once around the mark we headed low of the finish as the current was trying to pull us high of it. We got a land mark and made sure we were steady against it. In the puffs we took the opportunity to head down even lower with speed. When the lulls came, we headed up to keep the speed going, but lost some gauge on the mark. We crossed the finish first and sailed around for a while after the race.

Sunset over Haverstraw

It was great seeing all the boats sailing after the race. It was just a nice lazy night on the river and having sailboats outnumber the stink pots was very cool. The sunset was nice, but the harbor was still hot in the twilight of the day.

The race committee did an excellent job tonight. The courses were the perfect length for the fleets. Everyone finished within the time limit and that was not guaranteed in the light conditions. With A&B on the longer course, their finishes were mixed into the C finishes. Unfortunately, the line was set so that the boats finished from opposite sides, but there were no issues from that. Hopefully we can continue to get races in despite the summer doldrums.

Spring Race #9

2013-07-03T18:00:00.000-04:00

Decent winds from the south around 4-8 knots. Current was flooding. Course was from H to K and back. Skies were overcast with a chance of showers.

For this July 3rd race, I decided to take the kids with me. Haverstraw was supposed to have fireworks that night, so it seemed like a great way to combine a race and some fireworks. Unfortunately, on the drive down, we saw a sign that the fireworks had been postponed, probably due to the forecast. This was disappointing, but we got ready for a long night on the water regardless.

With the grill on the stern, we sailed out to the start. The kids had a great time on the boat before the race. At 5 and 7, they are now able to move about the boat freely and enjoyed being on the bow as I tacked the jib a few times. As the start approached, I had the kids sit in the back with Tara while I moved into the middle to do everything.

We approached the start line in a decent position with about 80 seconds to go. The wind let up and we were a bit late to cross the line, but everyone was later, so it was a good start. There was not much strategy on the first leg. Everyone went to the left side and tacked close to lay-line. We were able to maintain a lead all the way to K and then turned to go downhill.

On the downwind leg, I poled out the jib while the kids and Tara helped with lines and steering. It was fun to see the kids get involved for the first time in their lives. Up to this point, they have just been spectators on races. We have come a long way from the times when Tara was breastfeeding Rowan on the reaching legs. The kids are eager to help with the race and enjoy taking part in it.

After the finish, we sailed around a bit and headed up to Croton to anchor and eat. After dinner we sailed out of Croton and saw the Ossining fireworks at a distance. Around 21:30, we headed back towards Haverstraw in a light southerly. The river was wavy as all the motor boats were going home from the fireworks display. By 22:30, we had enough and motored into Haverstraw for an end to the night.

Hazel steering with help

The whole gang

Rowan Driving downwind in the race

Hazel likes to grind the winch

Spring Race #8

2013-06-26T18:00:00.000-04:00

Winds were light and variable. Current ebbing. Race Cancelled.

Another light and variable night on the river. There was little hope of getting a race off this evening. It is one of the rare times where we did not put up our main.

As the race was in postponement, a racer called in to say that he was counting on the race committee to make the right decision. A few moments later, the race was cancelled. While the thunderstorms that the anonymous radio caller was concerned about never materialized, neither did any breeze and no race would have been held.

With little else to comment on, it is worth noting that the anonymous caller was incorrect. He should not have been relying on the race committee to cancel the race to be safe. He could have gone in on his own. If the clap of thunder was deemed to be a safety issue by any captain, then they should take their boat in. Any responsible captain should have the discretion to make that decision on the water regardless of the race status.

4 DECISION TO RACE
The responsibility for a boat’s decision to participate in a race or to continue racing is hers alone.

In one of our first years on the river, we withdrew from a race 5 minutes from the finish. We saw a squall line coming in on the radar and I decided it was no longer prudent to stay on the river. We were winning the race, but we still withdrew and headed straight into harbor. We got there just as the skies opened up. As captain, I made the decision that the conditions were going to become too risky for a Wednesday Night race and we withdrew.

That is what boats should do, rather than try to encourage a cancellation with the race committee. I think the best thing to do is a simple hail such as "we are withdrawing from tonight's race due to the lightning that appears to be moving in."

Don't rely on the race committee to keep your boat safe. Make your decision as captain and stick to it. What may be safe to some boats may not be safe for yours. The race committee should not be responsible for the safety of all the boats out there.

Spring Race #7

2013-06-19T18:00:00.000-04:00

Winds were light and variable. Current flooding. Race Cancelled.

Early in day there were some good northerlies. They quickly died down when we went on the water around 17:40. We motored over to the start area and found the wind light and variable.

After the postponement, we motored up to Croton and sailed in a nice 4-6 knots from the south. As we made our way back to the starting area, the breeze shifted to the west and died. Looking back at Croton, the wind we saw there also died.

Finally, around 18:45, we motored to the west thinking we saw something near the marina. As we got closer, we saw nothing and finally took the main in. The races were then cancelled for the evening and we were in the harbor a few minutes later.

We then had dinner at the Hudson Water Club. Looking out on the river, we never saw any improvement before we left the restaurant a little after 21:00. The night was pleasant, but no sailing was possible.

Spring Race #6

2013-06-12T18:00:00.000-04:00

Winds were light from the North around 6-10, quickly dropping to light and variable. Current was full ebb. Course for C was from H to C to 26 to 24 to H. A & B sailed to F in place of 26.

Tonight started off rough for me. I usually leave the office by 16:00, but got held up until 17:00. I rushed to the boat and we got to the line with 10 minutes to spare before the first signal. We quickly surmised that the line was square with a slight starboard end advantage. We thought the right side of the course would be favored due to less current and a possible NE bend in the wind there.

As the start approached, I was coming in on port and A-Train was setup well on starboard. We went to tack behind them with 45 second to go, but the jib got caught on the rigging during the tack and we stopped. Due to the light breeze and being 40 seconds from the line, this put us about 20 seconds late at the start. A-Train was much closer to the line at the start and had better speed.

Clearing the line, we both tacked and A-Train continued to maintain a loose cover for the leg. As the breeze died down, A-Train continued to stretch out on us. This is typical for Jazz. In light air, we have to win the start and cover our competition to have any chance of staying ahead for the first mark. With A-Train out ahead, they just stretched and stretched until they were ahead by 5 minutes at the mark.

We finally made it around C and stayed very high to make sure we did not lose bearing on 26. The GPS can be very helpful here as can a sight of the mark against land. We had to head 15-20 degrees high of 26 to make a course over ground (COG) straight at it. We managed to make the mark before the wind died. Only three C boats made it to 26.

Getting to 24 was easy thanks to the current. We pointed the boat straight at it and the current carried us there. A-Train again rounded well ahead and they reached out to the East side looking to catch a light easterly that had filled in. We tried to do the same, but the easterly was gone by the time we reached the spot where it had been.

After floating away from the finish, we finally dropped anchor. This improved our boat speed, but the COG was zero. We stayed on anchor for about 10 minutes before a light SW breeze filled in. This was enough to get us moving again, but with an ETA at the finish of 20:43, we knew that we would miss the time limit.

The time limit expired and we motored in to the finish. It was a disappointing night. I blew the start as I left no wiggle room should something go wrong and of course something did go wrong. In light air, I really need to focus on staying on top of the competition and making sure we get a lead right away. Once A-Train was ahead, we needed a mistake and they did not oblige. Even when they were ahead, I went a bit nuts trying to get to one side of the course while they sailed to the other, but that meant that I was not playing the shifts properly. Next time I will accept being behind and try to keep it close. We can close distance on A-Train in light air when the boats are sailing downwind. We ended up so far behind that there was no chance of catching up.

The weather was at least nice so that anchoring was enjoyable. We got to watch the sunset. Blah, blah, blah. We had a bad race, so everything else was bullshit. See you next week.

Spring Race #5

2013-06-05T18:00:00.000-04:00

Clear skies. Wind was from the southwest between 10 and 15 knots. Current was beginning to flood as the race started. Course for C was from H to 22 to K to H. A & B substituted G for K.

When I got to the marina at 17:00, the river was beginning to come to life with a southerly filling in. By the time we left the harbor at 17:35, the wind was a nice 10-12 knots and we sailed around to check out the current. Nothing was unusual, so we went back to the start and prepared for our start.

The line was nice and square, but a little shorter than usual, but it still took 35 seconds to run the line. We decided to get out to he right for better breeze and therefor to start on the right end of the line. As the start was approaching, I was relieved to not see a bunch of bargers setup on the starboard end. There was one or two boats reaching in, but they responded to our hails of leeward and we got off the line nicely. We soon tacked to port and headed to the western side of the course.

We were very close to Dream Chaser and traded the lead on the upwind leg towards the mark. We made a bit of a gain on them when my crew executed some nice tacks. It was just enough to hold a 30 second lead as we began the reach to G. We had to stay high on the reach as the current was pulling hard to leeward. We rounded G and stayed high to get back into the fresh breeze and more current. This worked out, but we did not stretch out from Dream Chaser who was threatening to take our wind. When it was time to wing it out, the crew once again executed it well and we made a little gain before finishing.

We then sailed around for a little while and headed into the Hudson Water Club for pizza and beer. It was a nice night on the river and we were happy to sit out on the deck and continue to take it in, despite the annoying line dancing that was going on.

Something worth noting is how bad the west side of the course can be near 22. We lost a few boat-lengths on the windward leg when we were west of the competition. We saw other boats get hurt even worse on the west side. It is a predictable pattern. When going up to 22, it is best to stay a few hundred yards to the east and then take a port tack into the mark. If you get up into that channel, the wind will not cooperate and you can lose some serious time. At least when the flood is going and the wind is from 180-200.

Spring Race #4

2013-05-29T18:00:00.000-04:00

Wind was light and shifty from the SW between 5 and 10 knots. Current was starting to ebb around the start time. Skies were clear. Course was from H to 24 to D to H.

For the fourth time in a row, the early forecast called for bad weather. Continuing the streak, the weather turned out to be great. When we left the harbor, we put the sails up and immediately noticed the 30-40 degree shifts happening on the west side of the river. The wind was from the southwest and the puffs would roll in from a west direction.

We checked out the current on 26 and were surprised to still see a flood at 17:30. The current table we usually use said the current would change at 17:15. Around 17:50, we sailed by 24 and still saw a light flood. I will have to remember that the channel does not change current for at least 40 minutes after the table says it will. By the time the race started and we got back to 24 around 18:40, the current was in a good ebb by then.

The start was crazy. The starboard end was heavily favored. This made the fleet converge up there. In the A&B start, a C boat was crossing the line with 30 second to go on port. Not sure why they were there, but when I saw them tack onto starboard my heart sank. Then I saw the jib was not released, so the jib back-winded and the boat spun to leeward and hit another boat. This incident made me very cautious going into our start.

When our start was approaching, I saw the typical barging boats coming in. This time there were at least four boats barging into the start. We were set to start inside A-Train, but sailed to leeward at the last second since the bargers were unaware of how to start and I knew they would not move for anyone. We then reached down the line and let A-Train get screwed by all the bargers that were not aware of their lack of rights. One of the bargers was sailing down onto us and I hailed for him to change course higher. This hail was not welcome, but I was still reaching and wanted to sail higher, but the closing gap was not enough for me to make a good course alteration. In the end, we were able to maintain clear air while A-Train got caught up with the barging boats and lost 6-7 boat-lengths through no fault of her own. These types of starts are crazy and it is why I wrote a long blog on barging.

Once clear of the mess, we sailed up the course nicely. We then hit a really bad wind change during a tack near 24. This put us back to the next boat in the fleet. As we approached 24, we were on port fetching the mark. A-Train was approaching the mark on starboard. I originally thought it best to duck A-Train's stern at the mark and be the inside boat. I then decided that the rules with tacking near the mark may not be clear and I did not want to put myself between A-Train and a government mark.

As we got closer, I made sure A-Train had enough room to tack at the mark inside of us. We were on a collision course, but I knew his proper course was to round the mark. What I did not put together in this moment was that rule 18 did not apply. Yes, we are rounding a mark that we are fetching, but rule 18.1 turns off if boats are on opposite tacks heading to windward. Here are the rules that applied.

10 ON OPPOSITE TACKS
When boats are on opposite tacks, a port-tack boat shall keep clear of a starboard-tack boat.

18 MARK-ROOM
18.1 When Rule 18 Applies
Rule 18 applies between boats when they are required to leave a mark on the same side and at least one of them is in the zone.
However, it does not apply
(a) between boats on opposite tacks on a beat to windward,
(b) between boats on opposite tacks when the proper course at the mark for one but not both of them is to tack,
(c) between a boat approaching a mark and one leaving it, or
(d) if the mark is a continuing obstruction, in which case rule 19 applies.

While I was thinking of 18.2 and 18.3, I forgot that 18.1(a) turns off 18. We were two boats on opposite tacks on a beat to windward. Even if I were no longer beating, 18.1(b) clearly means the rule is turned off. We broke rule 10, so we fouled.

I did not realize this on the course. I continued to sail and made no penalty turns. Once we got to pizza night, I talked to Bert and still was not clear on the rules. I downloaded a racing rules app (very cool) and was able to quickly realize that 18.1(a) meant that we were wrong. Luckily the sailing instructions allow a penalty even after racing is done, so I emailed the RM the next day to accept a penalty. The only other option would have been to withdraw.

I only accepted the penalty because I write this blog about rules. It would be hypocritical to break the rules, no matter how little other people follow them. This is the rule I could not get around:

BASIC PRINCIPLES
SPORTSMANSHIP AND THE RULES
Competitors in the sport of sailing are governed by a body of rules that they are expected to follow and enforce. A fundamental principle of sportsmanship is that when competitors break a rule they will promptly take a penalty, which may be to retire.

As soon as I realized I had broken a rule, I took my penalty. End of story on that. There was a lot of confusion at the mark in both divisions, so I will try to add a special section on starboard windward roundings in the future. Don't hold your breath. The one on barging took about a year to write.

Our downwind leg was tense. We had two boats threatening to take our breeze and one off to the south that seemed to be in a better breeze. Luckily we stayed ahead into D and rounded to finish ahead of the other boats. We ended up with a first on the water which got knocked down to a second after the penalty was applied.

The RM did a good job. Pizza night was nice and we still got to catch the sunset.

Spring Race #3

2013-05-22T18:00:00.000-04:00

Another threatening forecast followed by another great evening. Winds were from the south once again between 7 and 14 knots. Flood current was just starting at the beginning of the race. Course was from H to K to G to H.

A light wind most of the day gave way to a healthy southerly by the time I reached the river at 17:00. The chart on the right is from WeatherFlow at the site south of Croton Point. While the wind came up pretty strong before the race, it settled into the 8-10 knot range during most of the race. This chart is always a little less than the actual wind.

We left the marina and sailed close-hauled to the starting area. From there we sailed upwind to get some readings and found the course to be pretty good. The right side seemed to have some better pressure and with the flood starting at 18:15, we though the right side would be better for current. I am starting to really understand how the east side of Haverstraw Bay changes current at least an hour before the middle of the river. Since a flood was beginning, we thought the east side would be more affected than the west side.

The start line was backwards again with the Race Marshall on the port end. I first wrote about what end the RM should setup on in 2010. Here is an excerpt.

It may not seem like it should matter which side of the line the boat is on, but it can make a big impact. The side of the line matters because of the racing rules. Since starboard tack has the right of way over port tack, most boats will start the race on starboard. This causes them to leave the starboard end of the line to windward and the port end of the line to leeward. Since the boats are heading upwind, it can be tough to get above the leeward end of the line. Because the boats are on starboard, it is the port end of the line that will have most boats struggling to clear. If the port end is a buoy then it is easier for boats to clear it since there is no rode extending upwind from the mark. Using a mark at the port end makes it less of an obstacle.

The impact of being on the port side of the line is made more significant by a long scope. When a committee boat has a long scope, it makes a bigger obstacle for the racers since its anchor rode will need to be avoided and the rode is upwind of the committee boat. You now have a 100-foot obstacle to get above when starting.

The port end was favored and that is where the RM was, so we setup for a port tack start. The fleet left us enough room to cross ahead on port and we were on our way to the preferred west side of the course.

About halfway out to the layline, we saw our speed over ground (SOG) numbers improve by over half a knot, so we knew the right side was the place to be. We even passed the entire B fleet by taking advantage of the right side. The wind seemed to be fresher and the current was negligible compared to the flood on the left side. We also noticed that boats that were only 200 yards to our east were being hampered by the current, while we seemed to be out of it.

When we got to K we saw the flood was running at half a knot and steered a course just high of G to compensate. After rounding G, Frank noticed that the boats that were close to H were being headed. Since I wanted to get away from the east shore and get to the stronger breeze in the middle of the river, knowing a knock was in store allowed us to head high and get into the better breeze. Once that breeze hit, we got knocked enough to make the finish without having to wing.

There was a rules issue we heard about. A boat in C2 hit G and asked what they should do. Here are the rules:

31 TOUCHING A MARK
While racing, a boat shall not touch a starting mark before starting, a mark that begins, bounds or ends the leg of the course on which she is sailing, or a finishing mark after finishing.

44 PENALTIES AT THE TIME OF AN INCIDENT
44.1 Taking a Penalty
A boat may take a Two-Turns Penalty when she may have broken one or more rules of Part 2 in an incident while racing. She may take a One-Turn Penalty when she may have broken rule 31...

44.2 One-Turn and Two-Turns Penalties
After getting well clear of other boats as soon after the incident as possible, a boat takes a One-Turn or Two-Turns Penalty by promptly making the required number of turns in the same direction, each turn including one tack and one gybe. When a boat takes the penalty at or near the finishing line, she shall sail completely to the course side of the line before finishing.

By touching a mark a boat breaks rule 31. Rule 44.1 addresses this breach and says that a boat can take a penalty for touching a mark. That penalty is a one-turn penalty as described in rule 44.2. Please remember that a one-turn penalty should be taken as soon as possible. If you hit a mark, you should immediately sail away from other boats and execute the penalty turn. It is not OK to sail for a while and then do the turn late in the leg.

Overall, it was another great racing night. The race was run very well by the RM and the conditions were great. The hazy sunset put on a nice show. There was also a full moon opposite the setting sun. It was nice to see a bunch of boats hanging out after the race to catch the sunset.


Hazy sunset.

Sunset with Blue Horizon under it.

Spring Race #2

2013-05-15T18:00:00.000-04:00

Another tough forecast followed by a great evening. Winds were from the south between 7 and 14 knots, getting lighter as the night went on. Current was ebbing. Course was from H to K to G and back to H.

Going into this Wednesday, the forecast was once again poor. Showers with thunderstorms were possible, but the weather cleared out early and we were left with a perfect May sailing night. I had a bag of foul weather gear that was luckily never used.

When I pulled into Haverstraw, I looked out on the river to see a nice 12-14 knots of wind. The brown waves were churning up the water pretty good and there were a decent amount of whitecaps on the river. I stepped out of the car and got a taste of how cold the wind was compared to the warmth on land. I knew I would be leaving the marina in a T-shirt, but throwing on some layers once I got out to the river.

My crew was different this Wednesday as Bob from my home town was out and the crew from the previous week were all unable to make it. Bob and I hoisted the sails and sailed upwind for a while to get a feel for the conditions. Similar to the previous week, we had a southerly and the current was ebbing. Once we sailed upwind for a bit and found the conditions even across the course, we decided not to repeat the previous week's mistake and cover the right side of the course.

The A&B boats had an interesting start with some circles going on. We did not see an early advantage to either side of the course as they headed upwind, but still thought the right side was best. With that, we setup a little early for a starboard end start. We got off the line with little room to spare and immediately tacked to port to head right. We had a good lead on most of the fleet from the start with Dream Chaser on our hip. We sailed out a mile or so and tacked a little early to stay away from a barge. You do not want to get caught in the barge's wake because the backwash will really hurt your speed.

After tacking to starboard, we were heading for Dream Chaser's stern. They held their course on port and I held mine, but we were about 5 feet away from them at the cross. This was pretty close for a crossing and surprised me since they could have nailed us with a lee-bow maneuver. They ended up tacking to starboard about 30 seconds later and I was still more confused.

Lee-Bow Maneuver

When you are crossing or close to crossing a boat on the opposite tack, a lee-bow maneuver is a way to slow the other boat down and head to the side you want. This is done by tacking ahead of the other boat and just to leeward. You need to execute a good tack for this to work right. After the tack, you will find yourself slightly ahead and to leeward of the other boat. Once you get your speed back from the tack, you can begin to pinch up and give the boat behind you bad air. This should make the boat behind slow down and head lower to keep their speed. As they head lower, they will be in more of your bad air and you will gain an advantage. You can also over-trim and stall the main during the maneuver to hurt the boat behind some more, but this will also slow you down as well. Properly executed, a lee-bow will allow the lead boat to gain a boat-length or two and either force the other boat to tack away or spend more time in your bad air.

Click here until I can load the video into the page.

As Dream Chaser and Jazz headed to the port lay-line, we tacked first. Dream Chaser soon followed and we went to the starboard lay-line. We again tacked first and Dream Chaser tacked a boat-length to leeward of us. We did not get much bad air from them and were able to round the mark with good speed. We held a high course and were just able to roll them and take the lead. We managed to barely hang on to that lead by about half a boat-length by the time we rounded G. From there we headed high again to get back to the middle of the river where I thought the wind was better. Dream Chaser took the low road and we stretched out a little on the last leg.

It was a beautiful night and I was able to take the below picture that shows some of the spinnaker boats heading downwind on the last leg.

Spinnaker boats heading to finish.

After finishing we reached back and forth across the river a few times and enjoyed the sunset. After the sunset, we noticed some clouds building in and the wind continued to get lighter. It was almost calm by the time we made it in to the dock. Luckily the forecast was wrong and we all enjoyed another great night on the river.

Sun setting on the river.

Spring Race #1

2013-05-08T18:00:00.000-04:00

There was a light SE breeze from 5-8 knots. Current was ebbing in the channel, but flooding early on the East side (or so I think). Course for all divisions was from H to K to G to H.

After a long winter, it was nice to be back on the water. For me, this was only the second time out on Jazz. I went out two weeks prior, once I finished getting the boat ready and was greeted by some heavy wind. Not the ideal shakedown cruise, but it was a lot of fun. I managed to get a video.

We left the harbor under cloudy skies and a light breeze. Once clear of the breakwater, we put up the main and unfurled the jib for a nice reach to H. H was a little shorter than I remember as it appeared the top of the mark was sliced off by a passing boat. Once we got to H we went upwind and noticed better pressure on the left side of the course. Given the history of this condition we convinced ourselves that the left was the place to go.

We talked about the right side having more current. The old wisdom says that winds are fickle, but the current can be predicted. We ignored this passing thought and committed to the left side right from the start. Even after watching the A boats that went left lose on the leg, we still stuck it out. Needless to say, this was the wrong move and cost us on the first leg. When we finally tacked back and headed towards the rest of the fleet, we found ourselves behind three boats. Current definitely won the day here as we had good pressure the whole time on the left side, but it was like running on a treadmill. The guys on the right had the current pushing them and we were fighting the early flood on the left side of the course.

We did catch a break here. We tacked to leeward of the three boats and they seemed hell bent on making the mark. All three seemed to be pinching to make it from way to far out. This allowed us to make considerable forward progress against them and we held it out to the port layline. Once we got there, we were pleasantly surprised to round first and start the reach to G.

The rest of the race was pleasant. We reached to G, gybed, and then headed down to H. We ended up winging the jib at the end as the wind went to the SE and finished with a comfortable margin over the next boat. It was a very nice night to sail and we were fortunate that a big mistake early did not do us in.

Sailing to the finish as the sun peaks out.

The race committee did a great job. It is tough to be the first RC of the year, but the execution was perfect. I loved the course as I always prefer reaching legs to dead downwind in cruising class. The signals were on time and the announcements at the finish were an added bonus.

We definitely had a good takeaway here. So often the winds from the south make the races seem like the same over and over. Tonight was different. With a SE wind, the east side of the course was favored for the better breeze. The current changing around 19:00 made it different. The east side of the course had the beginning of the flood already. The west side had a good ebb to ride in. The current was a known factor and we should have given it more weight. Next time we sail in a southerly at the end of the ebb current, it will take a much stronger case for us to abandon the known benefit of the current. Wind can be a fickle thing. The current is not so fickle and we should have given that more consideration in our prestart. We will next time.

End of Season

2012-11-19T09:43:00.000-05:00

Jazz was spared any lasting damage from hurricane Sandy. Unfortunately, not everyone was so lucky as there was extensive damage in the area. Part of what helped Jazz survive was that she was tied up to the dock across from her. I did not do this. I would like to send out a big THANK YOU to the person who helped keep Jazz from riding even harder into her dock spot. I do not know who did it, but it saved Jazz from getting scratched up worse than she did.

Jazz is now put away for the winter in the West yard of Haverstraw Marina. Hopefully the winter will pass quietly and we'll be back on the water before long.

Summer Race #10

2012-09-19T18:00:00.000-04:00

Winds were from the northerly direction at 4-10 knots. Wind varied from almost ENE to WNW. Current was ebbing hard. C sailed from H to C to 26 to 24 to H. A & B sailed H to C to F to 24 to H.

Tonight was just Peter and I from the regular crew and a sunfish sailor from Cupsaw lake. We left the harbor pretty early and sailed over to the starting area. I was surprised to find Gusto there on station. John had sent out a call for a volunteer to do Race Committee and even though quite a few boats never had a turn this season, Gusto was there for the second time in three weeks.

While sailing around, we noticed the northerly would bend and blow from the direction of the land. John Nonenmacher explained this concept clearly in his Hudson River sailing tips class. Tonight was the ultimate example. On the East side of the river, the wind was from the NE and even close to due E when you got close to the shore. On the West side of the river, the wind bent to the NW and even WNW.

With the above in mind, we decided to try and protect the left side. The left side of the line was also favored, so starting there was the best move. With the current ebbing hard and pulling boats away from the line, we stayed above the line before the start. Due to the line's angle, port tack was the only good way for boats to actually cross the line. So at the gun we were on the left side of the line with a good port tack start.

Soon after the start, we flopped to starboard hoping to push West and get the stronger NW breeze. We could see the NE breeze on the right side of the course, but thought that to be the weaker of the two battling breezes. Right after the start, this looked wrong, so we went back onto port tack to get into the NE breeze and then back to starboard again. Finally we were on the lifted tack, but lost some ground on the other boats.

We still believed in the left side being favored, so instead of pointing high on starboard tack, we footed for speed allowing the boat to still slide left and expecting the NW to influence us soon. As we got knocked more and more, I was getting happy. Rather than tacking back into the NE breeze area, we dug into the West side and the NW breeze built up and continued to move west to the point where we were no longer making positive VMG (velocity made good) to the mark.

So we then tacked onto port and found ourselves pointing about 20 degrees high of the mark. We stayed high knowing that we were eventually going to get knocked again as we got closer to the east shore. This worked out and we rounded the first mark with a good lead over the fleet. We even passed some of the boats in the earlier start on this leg.

Foot to a Header

Not sure if this is an proven concept, but I learned early in sailboat racing to foot to a header. If you expect a header to be coming either from looking at boats ahead or a predictable wind shift, the old thinking says to foot. This will push you more towards the header and get you there faster. Once in the header, you will soon want to tack over to the lifted tack and the extra distance you made to leeward on the old tack will be favorable on the new lifted tack. In the case above, footing allowed us to get left faster than other boats so when the big header hit, we were on the inside of the new favored tack.

After rounding the weather mark (C), we stayed high to get to 26. We once again expected to have the breeze go left as we got closer to the west side, so staying high would allow us to reach the whole way rather than tighen up as we approached 26. The current was also a big factor and staying up current would buy some insurance should the wind die down. The wind did go left, but the velocity remained good, so we rounded 26 nice and clean.

The broad reach in the WNW breeze got us to 24 in no time. From there, we rounded and tightened up to upwind mode on port tack. We were 30 degrees high of H, but stayed up here since the breeze was good and we expected to get knocked as we moved east to H. The lighter NE wind came sooner than we expected and we were in full upwind mode to finish. With the wind getting lighter and the current going strong, I was worried we would repeat the pattern from a few weeks ago where boats parked a few hundred feet from the finish.

This did not come to pass and we were able to cross the finish line after about 10 minutes of fighting the current within 200 yards of the finish. We got to sail into the harbor after that. It was a bit annoying that in the dark a motoring boat was not yielding and we had to tack to avoid them. When we tacked back to go in, the same motoring boat was again not yielding, so I gave a hail to let them know we were sailing and they should avoid us. I assume they thought they were going to give us room, but in the dark, I prefer more than a boat-length cushion for safety.

With the season over, I would like to thank John Nonenmacher, John Edwards and John Beck for their hard work putting this whole series together. Many boats and their crew also deserve praise for doing their turn as Race Marshall. It was a great season and I look forward to next year.

Summer Race #9

2012-09-12T18:00:00.000-04:00

Perfect late summer evening. Wind was from the south between 6 and 14 knots. Current was flooding. C course was from H to K and back. A&B sailed H to K to G to H.

We arrived at the usual time for the race. The boat had some water in the bilge, so we spent some time on boat maintenance before heading out to the course around 17:30. As soon as we cleared the breakwater, we turned into the southerly and hoisted the sails. We were a little tight on time, but the Half Moon was in the area, so we cracked off and went to take a look.

Seems like the boat still had its original crew of surly prisoners because we did not even get a wave from the people on deck. It was about 400 years ago when the crew told Henry Hudson that the river ended shortly and he never did go much further. Maybe they are channeling that energy.

After seeing the floating replica (complete with radar and generator running), we turned upwind to get to the start. It took a while against the current and I fired up the iron sail to get a reading on the start line. The starboard end was favored. Since the line was backwards, the starboard end was the pin.

We decided early to start at the pin in a barging position. We assumed like last week that boats would get pulled back from the favored end and give us enough room to hit it at the start with good speed. We also decided to make sure we covered the Bugaboo maneuver. As I have written many times, the Bugaboo maneuver is going left towards Croton in a southerly. Having the current flooding made this an iron clad requirement for us and we would do everything we could to protect the left.

The start went as planned and we had the main competitor on our heels. I stuck the boat up for about 2 minutes in an effort to get the competitor to tack away to the right. When they finally tacked, we started sailing properly and our speed went from 3 knots to about 5. The left side paid off early and we only had to deal with the boats that went left with us.

About half way up the leg, we were straddling a 40 degree wind shift. We got knocked 40 degrees, dug in a little, tacked and then got knocked again on the new tack. We decided to head back to the left as the Bugaboo effect works pretty much up the entire leg. This second tack put us way to the left of the competitors and that allowed us to get a decent lead by the first mark.

The ride downhill was great. We had the current at our back and cruised across the line. The wind built up a little and we sailed around for a while. As it got darker, it felt like 21:00 when it was really 19:30. Shortly after 20:00, the wind completely stopped. This was odd as it went from a 12-14 from the south to 4 from the west. At this point, the sign was clear and we headed in.

It was a pleasant night on the river and all boats finished the race. After the race, I counted at least 4 other boats sailing around in the waning light. The conditions were ideal and it was nice to see some boats take advantage of the second to last Wednesday night. Having the darkness creep in sooner was a stark reminder that the season ends next week.