Archive for October 2019
The wind was light and fickle and if that was all the story it would be ok. The new gas lift boom vang was supposed to solve a lot of our light air tight leech problems and while it kept the boom out of the cockpit it was probably not cocked up enough to let the leech fly free in the very light conditions. Again we had to resort to dropping the main halyard in the light and raising it the gusts which takes time to execute.
The conditions certainly favour the more rounded buoyant yachts with less wetted surface to drag through the water and once the breeze picked up we were able to catch the tail of the fleet. Nevertheless the front markers were into the breeze first and enjoyed stronger conditions to finish well ahead.
The difference in wind pressure was notable with the Blue fleet who started 5 minutes behind but only went to Goat Island still trailing the last of the Black fleet who had gone back around Cockatoo Island after rounding Goat.
The photograph from the deck of a Blue fleet yacht shows the lifeless conditions through Humbug on the way home.
Of course the secret is to get to the front early and have that first use of the new breeze but we have found ourselves very slow through Humbug this season.
We did beat one yacht around the course and did beat one yacht on handicap. We almost caught Lisdillon who were on the same handicap so the 10 second margin in their favour over the line was also 10 seconds on handicap.
Through Humbug on the way out Lisdillon ran over the top and while it is dangerous going too close into Greenwich Point on the way out it worked for them as they passed us and Joli. Indeed Joli was below us at this stage and forcing us head to wind as we all seemed to have different wind angles around the point. Joli pulled away and went for the stronger breeze in the middle of the course and left us behind while Lisdillon did the same from above. Much Ado V was having the same sort of problems as we and did not get a clear break until half way to Goat Island but by this stage Joli was off chasing Meridian who was chasing Jackpot who was chasing Dump Truck. As Dump Truck came around Goat Island reaching back through Snails Bay we were still in Snails Bay working towards Goat island so it is no surprise they beat us by 17 minutes. Jackpot prevailed over Dump Truck by eight seconds and picked up a first on handicap. This reverses the across the line result from last week so these two are having a great tussle at the front of the fleet.
Current forecast for next week is just slightly stronger so perhaps we will get a reasonable ride through Humbug.
The conditions for the tail of the Black fleet and all of the Blue fleet on the way home.
We set a new low benchmark for fastest times and handicap performance on Wednesday night and the only one to blame is the skipper for going low on the reach into Humbug on the way home. Many times this has worked very well and we have been able to lift up the Onions Point shore staying out of the tide. To make that side more appealing was the sight of yachts up in Humbug lifting on Port tack away from the Onions Point shore. In practice all we had was very light breeze swinging widely from tack to tack. It has taken me a day to realise that this was eddies of breeze rolling along the shore and not an oscillating sea breeze.
Today I took the opportunity to review the tracks from Wednesday night. The tacking angles going up to Goat Island were better than I had remembered and the ones going back into Humbug in the light and flukey conditions were nowhere near as bad as I had recollected so why did we set a new low benchmark?
For the evening we set our No 1 heavy genoa which seemed to be working very well for us while the breeze was fresh. We made a timely start and were on the tail of Jackpot going into Humbug with Joli reaching up from below looking for room around the new Onions Point clearance mark. In Humbug we died, the sails hung limp and could not decide which side of the yacht to hang. Embarrasingly Dump Truck again passed to windward with their sails drawing nicely in a light zephyr while ours were hanging like washing from the clothes line. When that little zephyr reached us Dump Truck was well gone and Lisdillon had progressed well along the Onions Point shore. Next it was Much Ado V turn to run over the top in still very light conditions but stronger breeze did come and we arrived at Cockatoo Island closely following the above mentioned yachts. Around Cockatoo we did pick up a shift to windward and made up some valuable distance on Joli, Much Ado V and Lisdillon so that by the moored yachts off Greenwich baths we were still on contact with Much Ado V and now ahead of Joli.
Around Goat Island the leading yachts, Jackpot, Dump Truck, Much Ado V and Lisdillon seemed to jump out from Passion X and Joli and also make their way back around Long Nose Point before the great doldrums set in. We sat there for a very long time while the Nor’easter battled with the southerly. During this phase the tail or the fleet arrived with fresher southerly breeze and carried momentum up past Passion X while Joli a few metres to windward got the next Nor’easter puff to pull away. We managed the run, reach, run, conditions back along the Balmain shore reasonably well to be in a close bunch of Sweet Chariot, Fireball and Joli around Cockatoo Island when I made the fatal decision to go low for speed and try to break through the lee of this group. It did not work as the pressure always seemed to be to windward and we were too close to the shore to be able to pull away in the knocks.
Looking back over the race we tacked well with the lifts and knocks when there was breeze and out tacking times were all very sharp. Where we seemed to fall down was in responding to the lulls too slowly and that is one area we will have to work on.
Another race and Dump Truck goes by again with sails drawing nicely. Note Passion X’s main hanging limply.
Passion X heeling in a nice patch of breeze.
Good angles tacking to Goat Island
Reasonable angles against the tide going back into Humbug
The scores from last weeks Greenwich Flying Squadron first race of the season were updated to include Dump Truck after a minor correction to the entry list. That gave Dump Truck a well deserved fastest times and third on handicap. Meanwhile Passion X was moved down a place to sixth so that puts the record straight.
As for false hopes 65 yachts lined up for the start of the twilight race and only ten percent finished inside the time limit of 2015 hours. The talk around the deck at the post race BBQ was that some were just metres from the finish line but a miss is a miss and we and Much Ado V were lucky that the front runners failed to finish. Both of us were lined up at the start on the Hunters Hill side mark when the breeze died and to make matters worse headed us. I could not say windward or leeward mark because in the absence of breeze sails were on different sides of the yachts and only the tide was giving the appearance of wind. We sat there for five minutes as the lucky ones carried a little whiff of breeze up to Onion Point and into the run out tide of Humbug. At the last minute Dump Truck make a late appearance which left Much Ado V sideways across the starting mark from which position it took a long time to extricate themselves. Somehow Dump Truck caught and passed us while we jostled with the Blue fleet around Onion Point . Eventually a bit of wind camo over the Greenwich and carried us out of Humbug where we could see the tail enders of the Black fleet rounding Cockatoo Island to port. Meanwhile back in Humbug Much Ado V was still becalmed and providing us some consolation from our own miserable position.
Around Cockatoo Island we could see the Blue fleet who were heading straight to Goat all becalmed and before long we had worked the Balmain shore to be crossing tacks with the Blue fleet yachts. Now we could see Jackpot, Joli and Utopia all reaching home down Snails Bay while we still had an island to round.
Rounding Goat was a triumph of hope against reality as the flags on the bridge gave hope of some approaching wind while the reality on the water was nothing.
At this stage we had no idea that the lead Black fleet yachts were becalmed in Humbug and discussion with the Blue fleet neighbours was about who was going the start the motors first. With just seven minutes to the cut off when not even a hurricane from behind would carry us home we retired. A day later and it is blowing 25 knots to 40 knots on the harbour which breeze would have resulted in an abandoned race.
The ominous calm before the start
Dump Truck and Passion X on opposite tacks going nowhere fast
The early start fleet already on the way home
Catching the Blue fleet
With the advent of daylight saving in NSW a weekend ago the twilight season started at GFS last Wednesday in fresh and gusty conditions.
The forecast had been for 20 knots all evening but as so often happens the breeze died even before we reached the turn around Goat Island. For the conditions we set our No 3 jib and a reef in the main. The reefed main allows us to do the windward work with the fat head of the mainsail passing safetly inside the running backstays and while the wind was strong we travelled reasonably well.
At the start we held back and pinched up to the start line on starboard tack while the early arrivers has to run down the line. Only Jackpot managed to start above us and with their extra 2.3 tonnes of displacement soon worked up above us and eventually the whole fleet. Joli made a spectacular work on port into Onion point and cleared the moored yachts by the smallest of margins to be ahead of Jackpot and Passion X working up Humbug. Dump Truck, while not on the starting list, made a fast entrance onto the scene loaded up with mobile ballast in the form of extra crew. Soon they were to windward of Passion X and as soon as they tacked to go down harbour we followed in their dirty air. Joli had gone a bit wider and lost the lead but were now using that height to sail faster and go over the top of Passion X while we had the dual problems of dirty air from Dump Truck and being a bit too low on the line to clear the moored boats. While we did clear the line we were still low on the navigation mark off Balls Head and a fast catching Utopia was making good progress under a similarly reefed main.
At Balls Head the breeze started to die and only a late gust kept us in contact with the leaders around Goat Island.
On the run back we decided to take the reef out of the main but the leeward backstay was on tight and the only way to get it around the sail was to gybe the main, ease the backstay and gybe back again.
In these manouvers the fleet drew away a little and the breeze died some more. It was now quite calm and the trip around the back of Cockatoo Island was painfully slow.
Humbug was our last chance to make up ground but only the reefed Utopia seemed to suffer by going too wide of Onions Point so we managed to beat her by a minute on handicap for a fifth place in a small fleet of 7 finishers. For a windy start to the season the 5th place is quite a good result as it keeps our handicap intact for the races when the full fleet turns up.
Hopefully Dump Truck and Much Ado will get their entries in for next week and will have to spread the movable ballast over two yachts which might not be such a bad idea given the forecast of light winds for this coming Wednesday.
Across all the fleets there were another 6 yachts that had not finalised their entries so hopefully we will get a larger fleet of starters this week.