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Nationals Regatta 10/3/20 |
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Nationals Regatta 10/3/20 |
(If you like, you can skip down through the prose and go straight to the pictures below!)
With COVID-19 keeping Golden Gate Yacht Club closed to group events, our Measurer Kit Wiegman (Cassiopeia) came up with the idea of running our own race over a simple fixed-mark course with double-handed crews which meet the COVID guidelines. And, picking up on our earlier "Rally" concept to get Islanders on the water, a Rally option was offered too. The details are all below.
The wind and sailing gods must have approved, because we went from an unhealthy air situation on the Bay on Friday to a glorious 10 - 12 knot westerly with crisp blue skies and sparkling water. 9 Islanders signed up, as you can see in the table below, and 7 made it to the starting line. Zingara had a family relative medical situation and our hero Kit, had his fuel pump fail on the way to the starting line and barely limped back to his slip.
As planned, Rick & Sandy drove to the Golden Gate Yacht Club, parked so the back of the car was just on the starting line between the GGYC flagpole and the X buoy and set up shop as Race Committee, complete with a 6' PVC pole with an old blue and white Commodore's flag looking like an RC flag. 😊
All the racers checked in on VHF channel 72 and the starting signals went off as scheduled. Funny thing, another fleet somewhere on the Bay was doing the same starting sequence and twice, also on channel 72, a female voice counted down the times to the Warning and Prep guns. But everyone got the message and we had a clean start with seven glorious Islander 36s stretched along the starting line.
Windwalker got a clean start at the weather end of the line and we had some good picture taking opportunities as the fleet short tacked to the A mark in front of St. Francis Yacht Club. There had to be some glorious 6 and 7 knot speed on the reach to Harding Rock buoy, and maybe greater with a 2 knot flood to sweep them along. Rounding to starboard, the tactical challenge was how to get past the leeward side of Alcatraz Island without being blanked by a big wind shadow trying to get to the Blossom Rock mark. Sailing low and away from Alcatraz gets you more wind, but alos increases the distance since the rhumb line almost touches the island.
And then there was the great, dead upwind beat from Blossom Rock to the finish. The wind gods were most generous and it held steady at about 10-12 knots, when a normal San Francisco Bay October day would be north of 15 or 20 knots. Highlighter emerged the winner for the 3rd year in a row, followed by Windwalker and Luna Sea. Their finish times and the rest of the fleet times are below.
Enjoy the invitation, the sign-ups abd the results.
The Invitation
Islander 36 Call To Arms!
Our Nationals Regatta is coming up on Saturday October 3rd, and with COVID-19 keeping Golden Gate Yacht Club closed, we're trying something a little different. We would like to encourage everyone to come out and join the fleet for a really fun event to wrap up the season. We'll have a Race for the Nationals Trophy, plus a Rally for those that want a lower key exercise. You may even decide which you want to do in the starting area based on conditions at the time.
The Nationals Race will be double-handed (like the Three Bridge Fiasco), and the Rally will be a family-focused opportunity for members of your household, pod or living unit to safely get out on the water and enjoy your boat with an organized rally with some fun options. Both the Race and the Rally will comply with the Social Distancing and Face Covering requirements of the counties where your marina is located. Participating boats may only be crewed by members of the same household, pod or living unit. Face coverings must be carried by all people and worn when transiting between parking areas and your boat if you cannot maintain a 6' distance between your household and other people.
Here's a chance for all of you who haven't raced this year to get in one last day on the water before the season ends. We are once again sailing in clear view of the Golden Gate Bridge starting in front of the Golden Gate Yacht Club. Join us and show that you haven't lost any of that pizazz. Cruisers, the Rally is an opportunity to cheer the racers on and watch the fun.
So mark that calendar and make it a date - Saturday October 3rd, the Nationals Regatta and Rally starting off the Golden Gate YC.
Here are the details:
The Nationals Race will be sailed using the Racing Rules of Sailing; the Rally will follow the US Government Rules of the Road.
Starting Area & Time
Gather at the "X" buoy in front of the Golden Gate Yacht Club between 12:00 - 12:25 All participants are instructed to maintain a radio watch on VHF Channel 72 throughout the event. When you arrive in the Starting Area, check in with the Rally Coordinator on Channel 72 to confirm if you are in the Race or the Rally.
The Starting Signals for the Race are:
The starting time for the Rally is 12:40.
The starting sequence will be broadcast on VHF Channel 72, and there will not be any signal flags.
We may use a "Rabbit" start, or we may have a volunteer Race Committee on station. The decision will be announced in the starting area via Channel 72 or emailed, with instructions for a "Rabbit Start", to registered participants by October 2nd.
The Race Course is: the starting line is between "X" and theGGYC flagpole; leave buoy "A", in front of the St. Francis Yacht Club, to starboard; leave Harding Rock buoy (RG "HR") to starboard; leave Alcatraz Island to starboard; leave Blossom Rock buoy(GR "BR") to starboard; finish between "X" and the flagpole at Golden Gate Yacht Club. Each boat shall record their own finish time using GPS or cellphone exact time, then communicate it to the Nationals Coordinator on Channel 72.
Rally participants my sail the Race course above, or opt for a Rally Course of: leave "X" buoy, Harding Rock and Alcatraz all to starboard, then "finish" by passing Blossom Rock buoy to port and reporting that you have completed the Rally course on Channel 72. This avoids both the short beat to "A" buoy and the typical long beat to windward from Blossom Rock to Golden Gate. (This option is often preferred by some First Mates!)
Any changes to the starting time or course would be made by the Nationals Coordinator on Channel 72 in the starting area before the start.
To encourage more participation, we're are going non-spinnaker, and we will give some rating credits to encourage participation as follows:
Rating adjustments:
Fixed 2 blade prop = +10 sec/mi
Fixed 3 blade prop = +15 sec/mi
Largest headsail 136% or higher = -6 sec/mi
Tall rigs = -6 sec/mi
Non-Spinnaker - no adjustment
Roller furling - no adjustment
Boat weight - no allowance for weight differences
There is no Entry Fee for existing members. If you want to participate but have been putting off joining the association here is your chance. You can join for $50 and get a membership through 2021! What a deal!
Sign-ups
Sail # Boat Name Skipper Prop P-Allow Jib J-Allow Tall? Rating 6763 Cassiopeia Kit Wiegman O 0 135 0 0 144 28312 Highlighter Bill Hackel O 0 135 0 0 144 57449 Island Girl Frank Burkhart E 0 135 0 0 144 533 Jonesque Jones Peter Kacandes I 15 100 6 0 165 438 Kapai Rick Egan E 0 125 0 0 144 420 Luna Sea Dan Knox E 0 135 0 0 144 580 Some Day Roy Samuelson I 10 135 0 0 154 57307 Windwalker Tom Schoenhair O 0 135 0 0 144 484 Zingara Jocelyn & Steve Swanson O 0 100 6 0 150 Race Management & Other 11543 Vanishing Animal (Tall) Rick & Sandy Van Mell
Results
Race Mi. Rally Mi.
Scratch Rating: 144 6.1 4
Start: 12:35:0 Decimal Second = 1/86400
Course Score Finish Elapsed Corrected
Sail # A/B Boat Name Skipper Time Time Rating Allow. Time Place
28312 A Highlighter Bill Hackel 13:38:34 1:3:34 144 0:0:0 1:3:34 1
57307 A Windwalker Tom Schoenhair 13:40:38 1:5:38 144 0:0:0 1:5:38 2
420 A Luna Sea Dan Knox 13:41:59 1:6:59 144 0:0:0 1:6:59 3
580 A Some Day Roy Samuelson 13:43:55 1:8:55 154 0:1:1 1:7:54 4
438 A Kapai Rick Egan 13:45:17 1:10:17 144 0:0:0 1:10:17 5
57449 A Island Girl Frank Burkhart 13:50:33 1:15:33 144 0:0:0 1:15:33 6
533 A Jonesque Jones Peter Kacandes 13:53:18 1:18:18 165 0:2:8 1:16:10 7
6763 A Cassiopeia Kit Wiegman DNS 144 0:2:8
484 A Zingara Jocelyn & Steve Swanson DNS 144 0:0:0
Pictures by Rick Van Mell and ???. Click on images to enlarge, click "Back" to return.
 Fog at the Gate |
 Island Girl |
 Luna Sea |
 Windwlaker |
 CG Cutter in fog |
 Kapai & Luna Sea |
 Lined up |
 Some Day & Island Girl |
 Setting sail |
 Big & Little |
 Alcatraz Island |
 SF Skyline |
 Golden Gate YC |
 St. Francis YC |
 In the clear |
 Luna Sea ... |
 looking good |
 Jonesque Jones |
 Practice time |
 Sizing up |
 TackingP1000728 |
 Highlighter ... |
 heading up ... |
 and tacking |
 Jonesque Jones |
 Running the line |
 Some Day |
 Scattering |
 Converging |
 Lining up ... |
 starting run ... |
 here they come ... |
 getting close ... |
 line in sight ... |
 they're off! |
 Kapai to leeward |
 Luna Sea to windward |
 Close aboard |
 Kapai tacks |
 Fleet on starboard |
 In the groove |
 Great weather ... |
 great sailing |
 Tower tactics |
 Splitting takcs |
 Bee line |
 Fog at Fort Pt. |
 Approaching Mark A |
 Rounding ... |
 and the rest |
 Off to Harding Rk. |
 Nice reach |
 Pelicans ... |
 soar ... |
 overhead. |
 Beautiful day |
 HIghlighter ... |
 tacks for 1st |
 Windwalker is 2nd |
 Luna Sea |
 tacks for 3rd |
 Kapai is 5th |
 Island Girl ... |
 tacks for 6th |
 Jonesque Jones 7th |
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