Wintering in Michigan

This is the first time in five years Carinthia has not sailed the southern US seas. Time to catch up on maintenance missed the last winter trips. Been a while since Carinthia has seen snow.

Sailing Detroit Boat Basin

LH100 - The Big Suck

The Lake Huron 100 is a circle trip with 5 legs. Last year 33 boats sailed this race and with many more out of town boats there was a growth to 43 entries, proving that this race is starting to become popular. From the start at the base of the lake we traveled to the northern red channel buoy, northeast to Kettle Point buoy, north to the weather buoy, west to Port Sanilac, and south to the mouth of the Black River in Port Huron. We had a Saturday start at 17:10. The wind was gusting up to 15 knots out of the northwest with temperatures in the high 80s. The starting line was unfortunately misaligned with the buoy side nearly pointing toward the first mark. We had 7 J120s in the start so it created near havoc at the gun with the winner of the start gaining the valuable real estate at the pin. Flyin Irish and Carinthia got caught barging and had to spin out. Night Moves was on the pin side in the trap and fouled Hot Ticket. Soon after NM had to do her 720 penalty spin. At the start the wind came directly from the mark but soon went northeast. In fact the boats on the west side of the rumbline got lifted and rounded in the front of the fleet. 

J120s at Port Huron Yacht Club

Beautiful sunset

With the wind shift the next leg was again a weather beat to Kettle Point. Halfway through the leg the wind again shifted, giving an advantage to the boats on the left side of the course leverage. Night Moves was the farthest north so she rounded ahead of the other J120s with a solid lead. With the new wind shift it was another beat to the weather broadcast buoy. At the bottom of the leg it was an even split but again the boats on the left side of the course were lifted to the mark when the wind shifted to the northwest again. Night Moves with their soothsayer navigator was on the correct side and bagged the lead again. Nautiboys, Carinthia, Flyin Irish, and Jayhawker were in the middle of the course and rounded close together. Hot Ticket and Irresistible had gone right and got the big suck rounding last. The top leg was a lot more fun. Carinthia put up our code 0 and went fast across to Port Sanilac. We managed to put Nautiboys and Jayhawker away but as the sun came up after Port Sanilac the wind took a vacation. 

Flyin Irish holding off Jayhawker

Trapezoid romp around the lake

We tried to sail with our spinnaker but it got really slow....The wind shifted again from the Michigan shoreline and all boats were going south still slow. At this point Flyin Irish and Jayhawker had a solid 2nd and 3rd. 

8 hours later Flyin Irish still holding off Jayhawker

Below the Bluewater Bridge 

This is where Carinthia took a flyer. Reasoning that as the sun comes up there may be a onshore breeze, she went right toward shore. The farther south she went, the more of a lift she got. Eventually she put up a spinnaker and entered the St. Clair River ahead of the other two J120s and held the lead to the finish for second place.  Irresistible followed Carinthia in and managed to pass Nautiboys in the end. Most of all Night Moves was so far ahead of everyone else all she had to do was not go aground. 

At this point Carinthia had gotten a lift off the shore and was well ahead of Flyin Irish 

This was a slow challenging race and at times very discouraging, but in the end it was a great typical experience on the Great Lakes. 

Crew of Night Moves celebrating a well deserved victory

Final results: http://www.yachtscoring.com/event_results_detail.cfm?Race_Number=1&eID=628

Wirth Monroe Fort Lauderdale to Palm Beach - Are you sure we will fit under the bridge?

Carinthia has done this race now a number of years so it was very close to the conditions we have seen before. As part of the southern circuit Hot Ticket again joined us for the "race to the buffet". She was late getting to the start for which was explained to us later.

Apparently a crew member who was late delivering a sail caused HT to miss the 9am opening of the Fort Lauderdale 17th street bridge to reach the Atlantic Ocean. After much discussion the decision was made that they would be able to clear it.  Except a scary moment occurred when the radio antenna on top of the mast scraped the bottom of the bridge and navigation lights on the spans in spite everyone sitting on the end of the boom to tilt her.

Route up the course

To make things worse after arriving in the starting area their #3 genoa went up incorrectly and had to be taken down minutes before the start. With all that distractions we were the first boat to the ocean side of the line at the gun with the J105 Loki a little behind and to our leeward. HT was noticeably late on the shore side of the line. We decided that we would start with our #1 with the wind speed in the high teens close hauled and from the northeast. In the first 10 to 15 miles Hot Ticket managed to match speed with us, but we made every opportunity to point as high as we could so we could sail into the gulf stream. Loki soon fell back and we were the farthest right in our fleet. We started getting lifted and continued to get out farther right. About 20 miles up we were heavy in the Gulf Stream with the miserable 8 foot pounding waves that accompanied it. On the conveyor we got nearly a 2 knot kick that catapulted us ahead of everyone in the PHRF fleet including Ticket. By the time we reached the end of the 40 mile course the other J120 was nearly 4 miles behind us. At the end we were headed but made the finish line without tacking. The boats behind had to tack 4 times to stay off the beach. 

Arrival at Sailfish Club in Palm Beach

All in all, we managed to place 1st in class and 1st overall, second year in a row. 

Here is the link for the finishes: http://www.yachtscoring.com/event_results_detail.cfm?Race_Number=1&eID=543
Crew Members: Bob Declercq, Chuck Stormes, Eric Ryan, Karl Kuspa, Dave Shriner, Pat, Nicole Neely

Ted Neesley and Mike Lawrence with the rum babe

The trip home was also successful. Karl managed to bag 6 fish and we ate really well that night with fresh seared tuna and broiled mahi-mahi, a taste treat indeed. 

Bullhead dolphin fish

Catch of the day

Miami Nassau Race - Swiss Cheese Sail

Carinthia with code 0 at the start

This race was across the Florida Straits from Miami around Great Issac and Stirrup Reef and down to Nassau. This year our Bayview Yacht Club dock neighbor and fierce competitor Hot Ticket elected to do the race with us. The wind was out of the northeast at 12 knots but it soon proved that a code 0 was in order.  When we rounded Great Issac we turned about 20 degrees to the right and went to a 3/4 spinnaker. 

Wind conditions and path for the race

Spinnaker Change

At least it is warmer than Detroit - Spence Colpaert, Nicole Neely, Clemens Lorscheid

Hot Ticket then put up their .6 oz and at that point we caught up and rolled her. But as long distance races go it was not over as the wind clocked some more. After dark we could see Ticket catching up and we went to our .6 runner but it was not enough. She rolled us and continue to pace away from us. It turns out that this 4 year old spinnaker was just too porous and we just could not get enough juice to keep up. For us this was a two boat race and this is one we wanted to beat her. In all Ticket finished 8 minutes ahead of us. But at least the conditions were great...full moon, steady breeze, and temperatures in the 70s.

Paul Falcone

After rolling Ticket the wind started backing

We finished just behind the "other" Hot Ticket

Finish in front of Nassau Lighthouse

Ticket's finish just ahead of us

Its all about the party

Here is the final finishes link

Crew members: Nicole Neeley, Paul Falcone, Jim and Cynthia Best, Karl Kuspa, Clemens Lorscheid, Jim Dalessandro, Spencer Colpaert, Lance Smotherman

However the fishing was pretty good on the delivery back

Windsor Night Race - September Cruise

Here is a cool video made by Jeff Pearson last September on a Wednesday night race. Most of the Detroit J120s are in attendance.

Bayview Long Distance Race - I'm Late for a Very Important Date

This was the 2nd day of racing after the EBC on Friday night. That race we managed to get a good start and with Ken Brown's help we managed to lead the entire way. We started the BYC in light air out of the south and this year they had the entire fleet start in two waves. Unfortunately we were late and put up the main after the gun went off. We only had Hot Ticket to race against in our class and spent the entire time catching up which we almost did. We only had 6 people while HT had 5.

One lap around the lake

The first leg was a beam reach and the wind came up to 15 knots by the time we got to the Thames River buoy. Hot Ticket gybed ahead of us with their .6 spinnaker, while we did with our .75. Eventually we both changed to the code 0's. At the St. Clair Light we both went back to our ap1 genoas. We tacked back and forth with the hope we could get from outside of HT's line. 

The storm at first did not seem to contain much wind but looks were deceiving

Eventually off of Gaukler Point the clouds got darker out of the west. I remember saying I do not see much wind in those clouds but prepare to roll in the head sail. Ticket was about a 1/4 mile to the west and I saw them get clobbered.

You can see the boat turn down to get the headsail under the mainsail

I called for a tack and then to roll in the head sail immediately. We were hit 10 seconds later.  Unfortunately we were slow rolling it and I had to turn the boat down to do it in 35 knot winds. We eventually got it in and just ran with it until the wind abated. We then rolled it back out and fetched the rest of the way to the club with Ticket finishing a little ahead. 

Considering the crew was some put together with a couple of other J120 people we did OK under difficult circumstances. Nicole trim the spinnaker competently for nearly the entire trip and with enough breaks from Tom Jackson I steered nearly the whole race.  Fortunately for us we saw some boats finishing the race while eating dinner with drifters up. Apparently the storm had sucked all the wind out of the area. 

Bayview Mackinac Race - Tea for Two

This was the first race that the J120s have ever done the shore course. The beginning of the race was very light air with spinnakers. We had a goal of starting on the right side of the line. We crossed on port and gybed in front of Hot Ticket just before the gun. The rest of the fleet sailed closer to the shore. They did get an early lead because there was more pressure inshore.

Expedition course for Carinthia off of Harbor  Beach

Flyin Irish managed to gybe in front of us at dusk where the at that point more wind was out in the lake vs. the shore where many of the J120s were sailing. We sailed closer to shore as the wind was blowing about 6 knots out of the northeast. Flyin Irish and Carinthia pulled ahead of the rest with a little more air and a little lift off the shore. Although it gets a little tricky off the thumb with giant rocks, we kept an eye on the gps and sweated it out. 

Yellowbrick version of the J120s

Changing to the genoa south of Harbor Beach

Crossing Saginaw Bay the wind started to fill in from the southeast at 15 knots and later went more northernly. Hot Ticket tried to fly their code 0 and it was just too much sail. Before the wind filled in we were very close to Flyin Irish for the lead. We never fell more than a 1/4 mile but could just not make it up. 

Expedition view of the journey to the straits.

When we passed Presque Isle, Hot Ticket went in closer to shore. Considering she was the boat behind us we should of gybed to cover but stayed with Flyin Irish. HT was going a knot faster than both of us and when she came back up to our line was nearly a mile ahead of both of us.

The rest of the race was the equivalent of a train ride to the finish. We all arrived to Bob Lo at dusk and unfortunately as predicted there was a shift from the west that made the last few miles very slow. With the easterly current it took nearly an hour to finish past the point. We could of been 1st or 2nd but because we blew a fundamental rule of sailing (cover your competition), Hot Ticket ended up with a bullet and 3rd overall. Carinthia and Fyin Irish ended up with tea for two while the Hot Ticket gang drank champagne.

Link for finishes: http://www.bycmack.com/mack/results.cfm?Class=J120&Class2=OD

FIFO - First In, First Out

This was the Detroit Yacht Club Point to Point Race starting from the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club on Lake St.. Clair. We had 5 J120s participating. The wind started out of the south at about 7 knots. We had a nearly perfect start at the committee boat side at the gun. Night Moves was over early in front of us and had to restart. Jay Hawker and Ihnsanity were behind us so they started late. Hot Ticket was to the left but up at the gun.

This race started at about 7 knots but picked up to 20 when the clouds moved in

In the first part of the leg a typical Lake St. Stupid event occurred. Although we were unable to point at the mark the boats behind us were able to point 10 to 20 degrees higher. We all flew code 0s in the last half of the leg from the lift and really got moving. Of course that meant we got squeezed out at the mark in 4th place. The next leg was a an upwind and could not find a passing lane. 

Code 0!

Rail meat

Winner and champion...Night Moves

The rest of the race was just trying to fight off Ihnsanity off into the river.
Finish: 4 out of 5 J120s
Crew members: Jim D., Nancy, Brian, Fred, Colleen, and Nathan  
Here are the final results:
http://www.drya.org/race2011/Results/DYC%20Results%2005-28-11.pdf

Here is the track with Night Moves (lower course)

Just a Taste of Spring

Since returning to Michigan I have not made any Carinthia updates, as the weather has been a little inclement.

Since Carinthia was in the sling, we were the first sailboat to go in the water at Bayview

Last week was the Warren Jones Memorial Regatta. It is usually early early in the year so that the keelboats can experience the fair spring weather of Michigan. Needless to say,  the race was cancelled because of inclement weather. After all, the temperature was in the low 50's, wind in the low 20's, and a cold rain. But because we wanted to sail we had a private race with Hot Ticket.

We went out to buoy R2 at the base of Lake St. Clair and back to Bayview. Below is the video of the finish.

Great photo

As a new season begins we got a fantastic surprise...US Sailing placed a picture of Carinthia sailing the 2005 Key West Week in an ad in the April Sailing World. It was kind of neat to see this photo with some old friends. Here is the old post from that series: http://carinthiasailing.blogspot.com/2005_01_01_archive.html

Fort Lauderdale to Key West - Some like it cold, we like it fast.

Crew included Kevin and Greg Thomas, Mike Henk, Nicole Neely,  Camper Pete Petersen, Bob Declercq, Brian Finocchiaro, Karl Kuspa, and Art Levassuer down below playing with the computer

Soon after the start.
The red, black, and white chute
is the shoal draft J/120 Tampa Girl

The day before the weather was in the 70's but overnight a northerly was settling over Florida, bring colder temperatures. The course at the start was nearly south. The current was negligible at Fort Lauderdale. We got a pretty decent start but the boats that went farther out in the ocean got a little more push from more wind pressure. Thin Ice, an Aerodyne 38 managed to slide in front of us and we were never able to make it up. As we slid farther down the course the temperature turned colder and the wind built. By 03:00 it was blowing around 24 knots and as we bent right it became more of a reach.

You can see from the chart that Thin Ice & Galilee has already pulled ahead

Just before sunset

Although it was cold at least we did not get rain.

The last mark was an unlit buoy and passed it just before dawn. The last leg we went to a #3 and tacked to finish about 15 minutes after Thin Ice. 

The object was to stay out of the current without hitting the reef.

At Mackinac Island it is horses
but at Key West it is wild roosters in abundance.

It did not end well for this race. We just could not get that breakout even though we were sailing a reach. It was really frustrating to be sailing neck and neck with a Hobie 33 and a full spinnaker J/105. You can see the tracking of the race at http://www.kattack.com/webplayer/?raceGUID=22cb9f15-b4ad-4016-a96c-1f5e772a9acb&startTime=38# This is the last southern race for Carinthia so when you read this she will be up on the stands at Bayview with all the other sailboats waiting for warmer weather.