Racing News!

Yesterday’s race had 5 fleet and 2 guest boats racing around Moresby in conditions that were slightly worse than forecast, both in terms of partial sun, and wind.  All boats completed the race with the guest boats finishing the race in the lead. 

Thank you again, Allan, for starting the race!

From the outside, two strategies were in evidence: Carib and Whiteshell II, along with the guest boats bet on good winds mid channel on the leg to the south end of Morseby.  Their course was generally further to the east and closer to Pender Island.  Kermit, Gadgets and Velero were betting on slower winds and therefore hoping (at least in Gadget’s case) to float down the ebb current on east side of Morseby.  In the event, winds did pick up and the mid-channel strategy was the better option, allowing those boats to reach the timepoint at the south end of Morseby, in the lead. 

The next two legs back to Pender were uneventful, but slow with the south winds gradually taking the fleet home.  Since the winds started picking up around 2 pm, the lagging boats tended to pick up time on the front boats.  Kermit in particular sailed further north than Gadgets or Carib.  This gave Kermit better mid channel winds and sail angle approaching Shingle Bay, allowing it to finish in front of Carb.

Whiteshell II came in 1st with a time of 281.3 minutes, followed by Kermit in 2nd, 11 minutes later.  Carib came in 3rd, one minute after Kermit.

PHRF results

Whiteshell II came in 1st, and Carib picked up 13 minutes on Kermit to place 2nd.  Kermit came in 3rd.

This was a fairly long race with lots of points; Whiteshell II picked up 10.9 points to extend their commanding lead for the series, with 35.4 points.  Gadgets picked up 6.1 points to put them past Windfall for 2nd place.  Carib picked up 9.3 points to move them to 3rd from 5th place.

The Harvard Trophy goes to Whiteshell II.  The combination of Wally, Adrian (and Bert for this race), with a lighter boat, appears unbeatable this season!

Yesterday was a beautiful fall day on the water with sun, warm temperatures and decent winds.  Four boats from the fleet and Daisy III started and finished the race, most within about 2 hours for the 6.4 NM course up to U60 (to the northeast of the Channel Islands).

Daisy III had a good start and kept it’s lead for all of the race.  Gadget was second out of the start line and kept close to Daisy II for the first leg.  Whiteshell II was in third.  For the return leg, pointing ability came into play, with Whiteshell II pulling ahead of Gadgets and coming in 2nd, and Gadgets in 3rd.

PHRF results

Since Daisy III does not score, Whitehell II came in 1st with an elapsed time of 109.3 minutes, followed by Gadgets in 2nd (9.5 minutes later) and Carib in 3rd(16.8 minutes after Gadgets).  Handicapping did not change these results. 

For the series, Whiteshell II solidifies its 1st place lead with 24.5 points.  Windfall holds onto 2nd place with 13.7 points, and Gadgets overtakes Kermit into 3rd place, with 12.5 points.

5 sailboats and 1 powerboat (thank you again to Allan for acting as starting boat) participated in yesterday’s race which was decided on the dock to be around Portland Island, on the hopes that the prevailing winds would continue to the south of Portland.  The day itself was nice with forecasted winds of around 10 knots in Swanson Channel, but crap to the south of Portland. 

Gadgets and Whiteshell II made it around the full course, but Velero and Windfall made it only to the first time point.  Carib did not make it that far, for a DNF.

Unadjusted results

Gadgets executed a running start (a thank to Mike for strategy and trim tips) which gave them a slight lead which they maintained across Swanson Channel.  Winds from the northwest gave lift to all boats. With similar strategies, the fleet kept close together until we approached Moresby Passage.  The northeast winds gradually dissipated to nothing as we approached Shute Passage where very light winds from the west end of Satellite Channel took over.  With a flooding current and light winds, Gadgets was able to tack up to U14, getting there at 11:36 AM.  It looked like the west winds from Satellite and the flooding current were dropping behind us to the point where the following boats were dead in the water.  In any event, it took them until about 12:24:00 to get to U14. 

 The leg from U14 to the north end of Chad Island was a slow one for Gadgets (and as well for Whiteshell II).  As we got closer to Chad Island, the west winds disappeared and we floated sideways for a time until we were able to catch the northwest winds in Swanson Chanel.  This took us home for a 1st place finish, followed by Whiteshell II.  Windfall and Velero quit the race after time point 1.

PHRF results

Gadgets was the 1st boat to U14.  Windfall and Whiteshell II came in 48 minutes later for a 2nd and 3rd place finish, respectively.  Velero came in 9 minutes later for a 4th place finish.

After handicapping, Gadgets kept it’s lead for 1st place.  Whiteshell picked up 3.5 minutes on Windfall to take 2nd place.  Windfall gave up time to Velero but was still ahead far enough to beat Velero by 4 seconds to keep 3rd place.  Velero came in 4th.

For the series, Whiteshell II’s win last race and 2nd this race gives them the lead.  Windfall stays in 2nd place, and Gadgets replaces Kermit in 3rd,

4 boats competed and finished in yesterday’s race to UN, U60 and Shingle Bay.  The race was slow on the outbound legs but sped up considerably for the return home.

 Kermit came in first with a time of 165.85 minutes.  Avocet came in 9 minutes later for 2nd position, and L’l Whiteshell and Windfall came in 11 minutes after Avocet for 3rd and 4th place respectively (Windfall lost to L’l Whiteshell by .03 minute or 2 seconds).

L'l Whiteshell (or whatever Wally decides to call her) is the latest incarnation of Daisy II.

PHRF scoring

Today’s race started out with a particularly slow first leg.  With an average speed of 1.7 knots for the fastest boat, this leg does not count, making the results anyone’s guess.

And here they are (Avocet did not have a time for the first time point so I was not able to determine placement) :

Before handicaps, Kermit still came in first (72.65 minutes), followed by L’l Whiteshell in 2nd (74 minutes), and Windfall in 3rd (74.37 minutes).

With handicapping, L’l Whiteshell picked up 5 minutes on Kermit to take 1st place, Windfall picked up 2.43 minutes on Kermit to take 2nd place, and Kermit takes 3rd place.

Golf handicap scoring

Handicap scoring includes all legs so the raw finish counts – Kermit:1st, Avocet: 2nd, L’l Whiteshell: 3rd, and Windfall: 4th .  This order was maintained after handicapping.

The following handicaps were used:

                              PHRF                   Golf

Kermit                  169                       141

Avocet                 238                       221

Windfall              205                       187

L’l Whiteshell    244                       244

For the spring,  The Boat took 1st place.  They participated in 7 races, improving their raw performance by one position in 3 of those races.  They had two 1st, three 2nd , and two 3rd. . They had 49.5 points or about 7 per race.

Kermit took 2nd place, participating in only 4 races, but with three 1st, and one 3rd , picked up 33.4 points, or 8.35 per race.

Carib took 3rd place, participating in 5 races, picking up 26.94 points or 5.4 points per race.

Today was the final race of the spring series.  Winds generally were good and as forecast, but coming from all directions, so being in the right place was critical.  The Boat, Kermit, Gazelle and Carib participated.

On the crossing from Shingle Bay to U15, The Boat, Gazelle and Carib took a route closer to the wind, and Kermit sailed lower.  (One of The Boat, Gazelle or Carib might comment on their winds on the crossing.)  For most of the crossing, it looked like Kermit was keeping pace or passing the higher pointed boats.  However as we got closer to Portland, the winds died down for Kermit, and we could see The Boat and Carib pulling ahead as they entered Moresby Passage on the south side.  The Boat in particular was catching very good winds and was heeled over nicely, completing the first leg to U14 in 57 minutes and a blistering speed of 5.6 knots.  Carib was 3.5 minutes behind.  Kermit’s winds on the north side were less, passing the time point 5 minutes after Carib.  Gazelle rounded the first time point about 2 minutes later.

This is where it became more interesting for Kermit.  Rounding the first time point, Kermit stayed on Carib’s starboard but gradually closed the distance to Carib.  At the closest, Carib crossed Kermit’s bow to sail closer to Portland while Kermit followed The Boat’s course, which was more mid channel.  Gazelle followed behind Kermit.  As we passed Portland on the west, winds were changing constantly and it was a matter of being in the right place.  At any rate, being ahead of Kermit, The Boat was closer to Saltspring, and lost their winds, whereas Kermit was able to catch a developing wind from the east to pull ahead.  Carib kept pace with Kermit until Chads Island where they started to lose ground – I suspect the wind from the east was not that strong where they were.  Gazelle followed behind Kermit.

Kermit took the second leg with a time of 25 minutes, at a speed of 4.86 knots, and Gazelle passed the mark 6 minutes later.  Carib passed the time point in 34 minutes and The Boat in 43 minutes.  Once past Portland, the winds for Kermit were more or less consistent for the final leg to Shingle Bay – Kermit headed first to Beaver Point on Saltspring and then across to Shingle Bay for a time of 51 minutes and a still respectable speed of 4.34 knots.  Gazelle took a similar route but the winds were less consistent, resulting in a time for the final leg of 73 minutes.  The Boat followed in with a time of 78 minutes.  It took a while for Carib to get out of the slow winds around the north of Portland, taking 105 minutes to complete the final leg.

For the race, Kermit came in 1st with an average speed of 4.7 knots, Gazelle came in 2nd, The Boat in 3rd, and Carib in 4th.  The time spread between boats was sufficient that PHRF handicapping did not change these results.

3 boats participated in the race yesterday: Windfall, Carib and The Boat.  The first leg was relatively uneventful with all three boats passing the first time point within 6 minutes of each other. But the baby oil that Art smeared on Windfall’s hull (some saw an Amazon van dropping off a 45 gallon drum in front of the Curtis residence) really paid off, coming 27 minutes in front of the next boat.

Windfall took both legs but Carib and The Boat traded places, with The Boat taking second in the first leg, and Carib beating The Boat in the second leg.

Windfall came in 1st, The Boat in 2nd, and Carib 3rd.

PHRF results

Despite Windfall’s lower rating, its lead was sufficient to keep 1st place.  The Boat has a higher handicap than Carib, so kept 2nd, and Carib came in 3rd.

With 2 races left in the series, with The Boat’s commanding lead, it will likely win the spring series.  However, Carib and Kermit are fairly close so 2nd place is up for grabs.  3rd place may go to one of these boats, but with Windfall back in, they are a possibility for 3rd place.

  Yesterday’s race was to Ben Mohr Rock, U51 and return.  Winds were more or less as forecasted at around 6 knots in the morning, increasing to 10 and higher in the afternoon.  Currents were flooding on the way up and started to turn as we got close to Shingle Bay.  Kermit, Gadgets, The Boat and Velero participated in and finished today’s race.

  Kermit got off to an early lead but got caught in low winds around Portlock Light and giving a short lead to Gadgets. Gadgets had a slow start but sailed further into the channel than the other boats picking up more wind and allowing it to pass other boats.  However, Kermit quickly got back into the winds and was able to pass Gadgets to round Ben Mohr with an 8 minute lead.  The Boat caught up and was just behind Gadgets at the Ben Mohr turn.

  Kermit was also the first boat to round U51, however The Boat finished that leg in the same amount of time, both taking approximately 40 minutes.  Gadgets lost some ground, coming in at 43 minutes.

  Kermit completed the final upwind leg against stronger winds to Shingle Bay in 79 minutes, for a total race time of 230 minutes, a speed of 3.1 knots, and 1st place.  Gadgets picked up 8 minutes on The Boat over the final leg to come in 2nd with a race time of 254 minutes.  In stronger winds, it looked like Gadgets could replicate Kermit’s pointing, but lost ground in lighter winds.  The Boat pointed lower than Gadgets just after U51, causing it to fall behind, but improved its performance over the course of the final leg.  The Boat finished in 3rd with a time of 259 minutes.

  Velero kept its fourth place position over the course of the race, with slower first and third legs.  However, it did exceptionally well over the second leg from Ben Mohr to U51, covering that distance in 37 minutes at a speed of 4 knots, almost 3 minutes faster than Kermit!

PHRF results

Kermit’s lead was sufficient to keep it in 1st place.  However, The Boat picked up 16 minutes on Gadgets to take 2nd place.  Gadgets came in 3rd.

For the series, The Boat solidified its 1st place position.  Kermit has moved from 3rd to 2nd, displacing Carib which is now in 3rd place.

The wind started light but everyone managed get across the start line reasonably close to their assigned time.  On the first leg, The Boat caught Corpernicus before UN with the remainder of the fleet battling it out. Gazelle took an inside line at the turn and regained the advantage over Gadgets. In the end the race was won or lost very close to the finish with Kermit sneaking past The Boat and holding off a late challenge by Gazelle to win!

4 boats participated in the race around U15 and UN (Velero, Kermit, The Boat and Fandango). Kermit won all three legs and had the fastest time (3.8 knots average speed) with 172.4 minutes. The other three boats came in about 1.5 hours later. The Boat finished the race in 259 minutes to come in 2nd, and Fandango came in 8 minutes later with a time of 267 minutes.

PHRF results

Kermit’s lead was sufficient to keep 1st place after handicapping.  The Boat also kept 2nd place, but Velero picked up 17 minutes on Fandango to take 3rd place.

For the series, The Boat keeps 1st place, and Carib keeps 2nd.  However Kermit moves from 6th to 3rd place, displacing Gazelle.

Three boats participated in and completed last weekend’s John Quitzau Memorial Race around Moresby. The race was a combination of 2 very fast legs and one very slow .

• Gazelle set the fastest time for leg 1 with an average speed of 5.8 knots

• Whiteshell set the fastest time for leg 2 with an average speed of 6.08 knots

• Gazelle set the fastest time for leg 3 at 1.68 knots.  Since this is under 2 knots, this leg is excluded from PHRF results.

PHRF results

The race to the second time point was very close with Gazelle coming in 1st with a time of 11:37:00.  Carib came in 2nd, 59 seconds later, and Whiteshell came in 3rd , 3 seconds later.

As a trophy race, Mike takes home the John Quitzau Memorial Trophy.

Today’s course took us to Shute Reef and return.  Kermit, Carib and Gadgets started but Kermit dropped out early, leaving Carib and Gadgets to finish the race.  The promised winds of 10 knots gusting to 15 came through, and the rains stayed away, to make good racing conditions.

Carib took the first leg to Shute reef at an average speed of 2.8 knots (lots of tacking – speed over ground was likely double that), and 4 minutes faster than Gadgets.  On the home stretch, Gadgets set the pace with a speed of 5.4 knots and 5 minutes faster than Carib, and also coming in 1st .  Carib was only 47 seconds behind.

Under PHRF, Carib picked up 12 minutes on Gadgets, to take 1st.  For the winter series, Carib solidifies his position in 1st, Gadgets remains in 2nd, and Windfall continues in 3rd.

Under full handicap, Carib picked up only 4.8 minutes on Gadgets, enough to take 1st place.  Series positions are the same as under PHRF.