[Public-List] Two days sailing...

Tue Jun 12 19:53:41 PDT 2018

Balance the sails on a reach, jib sheet to tiller hard on, by hand downwind.

Zach

On Tuesday, June 12, 2018, Michael Connolly via Public-List <
public-list at lists.alberg30.org> wrote:

> Gord,
> Now that I know you don't have a tiller. What simple system would you use
> if you had a tiller? What would be simple and reliable to jaunt up to the
> mast loosen the halyard and jaunt back to the cockpit?
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
>
> From: "Michael Connolly" <crufone at comcast.net>
> To: "Alberg 30 Public List -- open to all" <public-list at lists.alberg30.org>
>
> Sent: Monday, June 11, 2018 5:35:47 PM
> Subject: Re: [Public-List] Two days sailing...
>
> Gord,
> What do you use to handle the tiller whilst you go forward to the mast to
> adjust halyards, etc.? Bungee cords? Auto helm? Tiller tamer?
> Michael
>
> ----- Original Message -----
>
> From: "Gordon Laco via Public-List" <public-list at lists.alberg30.org>
> To: "public Alberg 30 List -- open to all" <public-list at lists.alberg30.org>
>
> Cc: "Gordon Laco" <mainstay at csolve.net>
> Sent: Monday, June 11, 2018 9:15:22 AM
> Subject: [Public-List] Two days sailing...
>
> Hello gang…
>
> Well I got out on the water both days this past weekend… they were very
> different days sailing…
>
> On Saturday I had intended to work on my MG, which is undergoing what has
> become a massive rebuild. Well I should say I was going to hold tools and
> watch while my friend did the work, but he had to cancel so I sat here
> wondering what to do with an unexpected day with no obligations… then I
> remembered that Saturday is the day our Club was running its annual Single
> Handed Race. I gulped my coffee and made it to the club just as the
> skipper’s meeting was ending, and got my name on the list. When asked if I
> was wanted to be rated flying sails or white sails, I first said ‘naw,
> white sails only, I don’t feel very energetic.’
>
> Then I looked out the clubhouse windows at the glassy water, slack flags
> and masthead wind indicators pointing all different directions and thought
> about the misery of the downwind leg back from Flat Point… and said ‘Oh,
> can I change that… flying sails please’. They changed it.
>
> As usual for a weekend race, the fleet was much diminished, being composed
> of myself in SURPRISE, two Express 30’s, a CS27, three Sharks, the deadly
> fast VOODOO DANCER, a well sailed Viking 28, and my friend and arch rival
> Matt in his Pearson 27. Matt and I chatted bit on the wharf catching up…
> but suddenly I saw the committee boat shooting out of the club… crap, we’re
> late, better get out there for the start.
>
> So out SURPRISE and I hummed, when out at Midland Shoal buoy I shut down
> the mill and hoisted sail. Looking back over my shoulder I saw Matt in
> SUNDANCER hoisting sail right at the club’s breakwater… hmmm, he’s got a
> long way to beat to get to the start, I thought, and joined in the to and
> fro swinging. Before the start.
>
> No sooner had I got into the fray but the air started filling in. East
> with a bit of north in it… could this be? Yup… Like a slow motion movie
> being sped up to normal speed, all the yachts began showing bow waves, then
> heeling over as the breeze built. The five minute horn went, I caught it on
> my stopwatch… down came the sequence and as the last seconds counted down
> here comes the herd all on starboard tack jostling each other up to the
> line. Were was I? On port tack of course, reaching along at 5 knots. I let
> them all cross our bow and the line… then hardened up my sheets and crossed
> alone in clear air at speed. The rest of the fleet all ran a few hundred
> meters on starboard then one after the other tacked onto port and started
> down the course.
>
> I should describe the course… the Single Handed is a ‘distance race’,
> normally running east to Flat Point off Port McNichol, then north and a bit
> west up to Ross Shoal, then back round Midland Point to a finish off the
> Club’s breakwater. Because the air looked so light, the course was
> shortened to just Flat Point and back…. and it was looking like I could lay
> it in one long close reach. Could this be? Oh yes.
>
> The wind steadily built, and backed a little more to the north so after
> the first fifteen minutes we found ourselves bounding along at 6.4 knots
> with sheets cracked a little, heeling about fifteen degrees… in first
> place.
>
> Several miles later, I knew we were nearing the red pin off Flat Point,
> but as usual I couldn’t see it against the trees behind it. I swear it’s
> one of those pins that is mischievously moved by the CCG just to annoy
> people trying to find it… then I saw it… a few degrees to leeward. The
> leaders of the pack were now about even with me but several hundreds of
> yards to windward… and clearly they hadn’t seen it yet and were still
> sailing the higher course. They were VOODOO DANCER and two of the Sharks.
> haha.
>
> Then the air got softer, SURPRISE slowed dramatically to 4.1 knots. I
> dashed up to the mast and eased my halyards, eased the outhaul, then jumped
> back to the tiller. As I returned I saw my foes had finally seen the mark
> and were coming down, carrying a renewed breeze with them…. They got by me,
> one of the Sharks blanketing me a bit but we all rounded together…
> SURPRISE’s bow nearly overhanging VOODOO’s transom. One of the Sharks,
> VOODOO and SURPRISE started back to Midland… the new breeze making the
> return again a close reach. At first the Shark and VOODOO stayed in close
> company… but as the wind built again I could not only keep up but felt like
> overtaking. The Shark took a shot upwind with tight sheets…. I was in about
> a boat length behind VOODOO. I could see him continually glancing at me… I
> guess he could hear my bow wave and this was annoying him. I feigned a shot
> to windward myself as it I were going to try to drive over him but as soon
> as I saw him tightening his sheets to climb himself in order to block me, I
> eased sheets and dove to leeward. VOODOO didn’t look back for a fatal four
> or five minutes during which I got far enough to leeward that I could drive
> through below him out of his wind shadow… and got by.
>
> By this time VOODOO was far enough up that he was feeling the nearness of
> the Shark, and for the rest of the race the two of them jostled each other,
> the Shark trying to get by, VOODOO trying to defend his lead. I left them
> to it, and concentrated on getting the most out of the building air. I was
> up to the mast and back several times tuning for the increasing breeze that
> was romping us along at 6.1 knots. We passed Midland Shoal buoy, one mile
> from the finish… when VOODOO saw that we were going to beat him to the
> finish. He finally stopped fighting with the Shark and eased sheets a
> little in order to use his windward position to come down and catch us. It
> didn’t happen.
>
> So SURPRISE, a full keeled yacht heavily laden with cruising gear that I
> can’t be bothered to unload despite the fact that we race every week… won
> on real time, then was catapulted ahead by our PHRF rating. What a great
> race. I think what saved us was the fact that the shortened course didn’t
> have any hard beating to windward, just close reaching both ways which of
> course is our best point of sail. Wahoo.
>
> But what happened to Matt in SUNDANCER? He was very late to the start… so
> didn’t do the race. I don’t know what happened to him, but hope nothing
> broke.
>
> Sunday, I went for a sail out of Toronto with my good friend Janice in her
> A30 LITTLE WINGS. Down in the city it was blowing 20 - 25kts or so,
> whipping white caps in the harbour and sending Albacore dinghies planing
> back and forth as we took the tender over to the island. We tucked a reef
> in the main, but ended up sailing under genny alone all day and that was
> plenty of sail for a pleasure jaunt. Out past the East Headland, the east
> wind was sending waves down the length of Lake Ontario, so the waves were
> nice mature 5-6 footers with an occasional breaking crest. We bounded away
> south for a while, then tacked and bounded back to the city. Wonderful
> sailing in really exhilarating conditions.
>
> A fellow in a trimaran paced the racers on Saturday and took a series of
> nice photographs of some of the boats in the Single Handed Race on Saturday
> (two of the Sharks, the CS27, an Express 30 and ourselves) I’ll forward
> them if anyone wants to see them.
>
> Nice weekend.
>
> Gordon Laco
> www.gordonlaco.com
> #426 Surprise
>
>
>
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