F5, 2012

This weekend was boat show weekend at the KYC.  It looked like a good turnout for the many vendors located in the parking lot and docks along the water front.  The weather was certainly much better than many previous years for the show and offered mostly sunny skies with almost no breeze.  The RC elected to once again start us at the C mark to avoid sailing through any traffic from the stink pot power boats out for a test drive.  There was a massive floating debris field of logs, branches and bark that stretched from the X mark almost all the way North to C.  It must have been caused by the heavy rains this past Thursday combined with the start of spring run off.  I was careful to motor around it as best as I could while making my way towards the starting line.  The course for today was posted as CPCDCXC and quickly turned into a downwind start with about 2 knots of breeze out of the South.  We started at the pin end right on the line and sailed at full speed towards the committee boat.  We managed to pull off a good start but got shadowed below TBD after they jybed on top of us.  All was going well with our progress towards P until we got stuck in the mud just North of Sutherland Bay.  I was quite sure we had good water depth with 2 Santanas well inside of us, but due to the very cloudy water it was impossible to see the bottom and know for sure.  We managed to free ourselves with very little effort and continue toward P mark.  Arriving at the pumphouse I have not seen a parking lot like that since a Saturday at the mall.  The entire fleet was parked just North of the mark rounding.  In fact many boats who arrived first were actually worse off as everyone kept rounding the mark and setting up inside of them, stealing their breeze and allowing the little bit of North flowing current to drag them further away.  Everyone sat there motionless for about 1/2 hour before a beautiful 6 knots of breeze filled in from the North.  We found ourselves actually out in front leading the entire fleet for a few moments with Ghost Rider just behind.  The breeze lightened up again and remained steady at a 4 knot Northernly for the remainder of the race.  We crossed the line 4th just behind Allan B's Fitz.  Bad Dog and Ghost Rider had the first two positions.  I think we could have shaved another minute or two off our time if it wasn't for the branch we were towing behind us for who know how long, only discovered after crossing the finish line.

A few new boats

On the boat sales front we have had a couple of local Okanagan sailboats change hands here lately.  Danny (lightening strike) F has bought ShadowFax a Hotfoot 27 from the south end of the lake and has raced it successfully for the last two races.  Pentameter Pete has also got himself a great new sprit boat with the purchase of Chaio, the Blusail 24 formally owned by Michel T.  I am happy to see these additions to our local KYC racing fleet.

F4, 2012

Finally some heat for our weekly Sunday regatta.  With a forecast high of 25 degrees and winds of about 7 knots out of the North we had ideal conditions out on the water today.  There was a great turn out with many new Santana 525s back out on the line and the continued presence of a few out of town boats.  It was the first race with two starts so the "A" fleet had the advantage of watching the 525s head out first.  It looked like a slight pin end advantage to the line but almost everyone came in closer to the committee boat in one large mass.  We tried our version of a dingy start and positioned ourselves about 3 boats below the line just under the committee boat and luffed our sails waiting for about 30 seconds to go before trimming in and running just under the line with speed.  The only other boat around us was Bad Dog and we both found ourselves leading the first beat.  The course was SPTCDAF.  We held our own until rounding the T mark but just couldn't seem to find the right angle downwind.  We were on the verge of planning several times so I made the fatal flaw of abandoning VMG and a soaking angle to chase the need for speed.  Let's just say it didn't work and leave it to that.  Combine our less than impressive downwind technique today with a terrible shift heading back to A mark and we surely were not the rockstars of the Okanagan today.  We lost our good friend Michel T this week who has decided to take a job out East for the summer.  It might take us all a few weeks to settle into our new roles but we look forward to the challenge.

m

F3, 2012

After a very disappointing race last weekend we were rewarded with much more favorable conditions for this Sunday's race day.  The winds were still quite light, in the 5-7 knot range, however I don't recall ever seeing a more consistent speed and direction for the whole race.  The startline was moved down to C mark to keep us away from the annual ski to sea activities happening closer to the bridge.  The course was CXDCPTC and offered a little bit of everything.  There was a great turn out today with many out of town boats in the mix, proof that Peter's plan of attracting more competition has indeed worked.  We had a great start positioned right on the line near the boat end just off of Ghost Riders right hip.  I was quite happy with our ability to hang with several fast boats in both the upwind and downwind legs despite these lighter conditions.  It was a rare treat to find winds so steady that I found myself actually able to take my eyes off the telltales for a few moments and was afforded the chance to actually look around to take it all in.  We were neck and neck with Alan B's Rocket and Ghost Rider right up to the last beat when we decided to split tacks and unfortunately found ourselves on the unfavored tack as the other two boats pulled ahead.  It sure is a much more enjoyable sport when you add boat for boat tactics into the mix instead of just racing alone against the ever ticking clock.  Lets hope this season continues to improve and attract even more competition on the startline.

M

F2, 2012

For the most part today was a windless wonder offering little in the way of sailing excitement. I was as least as enthusiastic as the next guy to be racing but in almost any other part of the world there would not have been a start today. We raced from SPDP in no more than 3 knots of wind with about 3/4 of the time spent with about 1 knot of breeze. It is frustrating sailing in these conditions because rating adjusted speeds do not factor in and it simply comes down to who has the biggest sails. J ghosted across the line followed by Ghost Rider. John on Flat Chat Too crossed next leading his 2 boat fleet followed closely by Litonya with Pentameter somehow flying a kite hot on our heels. It is always great to be out on the water but after last weeks extraordinary conditions today was a fizzle.

Video

The website at www.oksailing.com has been completely redesigned for a new sailing season and currently features some highlights from last weeks awesome race day. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Marc

F1, 2012

Oh what a day it was indeed!  What started off today as a light Southerly build to a truly adventurous outing for most racers for the first KYC Fringe series.  The course was to be SAPCPAF and offered little in the way of winds.  We had a very shifty 5 knots out of the South that constantly swung from a boat end to a pin end favored start line.  Most boats stacked up towards the pin end on starboard tack during the final 90 seconds of the sequence.  The winds quickly shifted left with most everyone flipping over to port within the first minute of the race.  We were able to hold a port tack all the way to the windward A mark and tack onto starboard for the offset mark.  Now this was something new to our race course for this season and I really liked it today.  We have a proper offset mark, which admittedly was a little too long, however it was much easier to prep for the spinnaker hoist not beating upwind but rather on a reach to the offset.  If there was any part of today's race that left us wanted more it was the hole we managed to get caught in for about 15 minutes on the initial run.  We tried to stick closer to the yacht club but had to endure watching most of the fleet closer to the middle of the lake sail on and leave us in their dust.  The breeze finally filled in with a vengeance just as we sailed by Sutherland Bay.  I estimate we saw a steady 20 knots with gust to 30 for most of the race.  We managed to narrow the gap between us and the race leaders even passing 2 of the 4 lead boats.  J and a freshly minted Ghost Rider held on to their leads but we must have been getting pretty big in their rear view mirrors as the race stretched on.  If I had to pick a favorite moment it was the  run from C back to the pump house which we did under spinnaker and jib at a sustained 10-12 knots of boat speed.  What a rush it is when the nose comes up and Litonya's bow comes out of the water.  Despite the slim number of boats represented on the score card, there was actually a strong turn out today, however many dropped out of the race due to high winds or possibly have not paid their registration dues yet.  A strong showing by J with Danny F at the helm and it was great to see the Ghost back in the water after a 9 month vacation on the hard.  I had the cameras rolling today which should make for some great footage, check it out tomorrow on www.oksailing.com

m