Windsor Wednesday Race - Who Me?

This was another start in about 10 knots of air out of the west. The right pin was extremely favored so I wanted to come in on starboard without barging. I went away from the pin at 4 minutes to the start and tacked back at about 2:30 to go. I pretty much made it right on time but Jayhawker was just to the left of us. I say he had lost his steering so he had to go a little left so I saw that we had room to sneak in. I am positive we did not go over early because we were at the pin but were called over early. We did not hear the announcement until 45 seconds into the leg so we tacked rerounded and started again on starboard. I saw no future following the other J120s so I continued on starboard until we were left of all the boats. We then tacked on port and the pressure was better in that lane and I saw there was a lift farther up the leg. We did manage to round in 3rd behind Flyin Irish and Hot Ticket. Again I saw that it was going to be a reach so we put up the .75 oz. We did manage to catch up to HT and Irish at the next mark but I saw that the next leg was a run so we did one of our patented spinnaker change gybe. On the next leg we stayed to the left and took the boat all the way to the layline. Fortunately Flyin Irish gybed back so when we drove up to the mark so they had to stay on the outside. Merlin had gone right so coming in to the mark they were going fast. We did a Mexican takedown but because it was a 180 degree turn we came out a little slower than Merlin with FI behind. At this point it came down is if we could foot ahead we had Merlin. If Merlin footed ahead they had us. Unfortunately we eventually got backwinded by Merlin and had to tack. At this point it was game of chess and we crossed back and forth with Merlin. Merlin barely made DP5 but Dirty Harry tacked across and just enough ahead to interfere with us so Merlin managed to finish out a little ahead.

We did manage to accomplish what we wanted. If we just finished behind Merlin we would win the spring series which we did.

Result: 3rd out of 6 J120s
Link: http://www.windsoryachtclub.com/regatta2006/WYC%202006%20Spring%20Race%207.pdf

COURSE C - 7.6 nautical miles
Start to DP8 (243o) leaving it to port
-then to A (091o) leaving it to port
-then to B (007o) leaving it to port
-then to DP7 (247o) leaving it to starboard
-then to finish leaving DP5 to starboard.

DBC/GPC Regatta - Oh Canada!

This was a triangle course starting in front of the Grosse Pointe Club with marks to starboard with the first mark Z. We were the 18th start so we started behind a bunch of other sailboats. The wind was pretty much on the nose at 7.5 knots for the first leg with starboard being favored. I had watched the earlier starts and the boats closer to shore seemed to get a little lift and were coming out ahead in their groups. In our start were the farthest left on the line but a little late. We managed to just keep clear air from Hot Ticket to our right. Merlin bailed early when they got bad air. When it got a little shallow we tacked and HT covered. We tacked back on starboard and HT fortunately did not cover. From that point on as we went up the leg we managed to put the other J120s behind us. After rounding Z I decided to stay on starboard a half mile to cover HT to our left and tacked when Merlin tacked at the mark. At his point the air got fluky and Merlin managed to squirt out ahead of us with a little more pressure to our right. Further up the leg the wind almost died. Merlin got the new air first and with a lift to the right HT and Merlin rounded at Mark C before us. I noticed that Merlin was having problems with their .6 oz runner with the light air (3-4 knots) at maybe a 60 degree angle. I had the crew change out the spinnaker to the .75 oz all purpose before putting it up which is better on a reach. Both Merlin and HT ahead of were going a little slower and higher. About 2 miles into the leg HT started going real high on the course. In fact they went so high they were nearly on the Canadian shore. They said later they got on the wrong side of the dumping grounds. In the light air we kept moving where a few times Merlin lost their spinnaker for lack of pressure. In any case we gybed down to the finish and finished a couple of minutes ahead of the next boat.

This race was highlighted by good boat trim by Mike, Colleen, Lynn, and Nathan. Lynn was especially helpful in finding pressure on the course. After the race most of the crew went to the BYC summer party and managed to serenade a chorus of Oh Canada to Mike Kirkman who tooked the ribbing good natured.

Result: 1st out of 4 J120s
Link: http://www.drya.org/race2006/Results/gpcdbc.htm

Windsor Wednesday Race

This was a start in 10 knots of air to weather to mark B. I carefully watched the earlier starts and took wind readings and thaought the right end of the line was favored. Night Moves got on the line before me and because he did not move down quick enough I had to go underneath him to hopefull pry him over early. Unfortunately it was not enough so we had to tack early to get out of the hole. It was evident that the boats that started on the left side of the line where going to get lifted. I tried to get over there as best I could in a series of tacks. The last tack I let Flyin Irish cross in front of us on starboard but when we tack back on lay line we had them at the mark. The next leg was a run with the .6 oz and when NM had problems raising his we simply ducked him and got ahead. The next boat up was Jayhawker. This is where it got complicated . We were mixed in with a J105 so it got difficult to pass him. At the next mark Merlin had moved up on both of us because of clear air. Fortunately Jayhawker gybed way too early and he was moving slow and low to get to the mark. Merlin gybed in front of us but we magaged to gas him so we kept him to the outside. Because we now had boat speed and clear air we managed to cross in front of Jayhawker to get back over to the left and clear air. Fortunately we kept the boat speed going to DP7 and finished ahead going fast in the river. We did have one moron on a 27 footer who because he did not know how to keep his boat speed going decided to go up all of sudden behind our spinnaker. He started yelling at us and we did not even know where he was. We could of t-boned him. Then he started going on about 40 footers do not have any rights on 27 footers. He is lucky he did not get a sprit up his behind. In any case the Hot Ticket had stayed ahead the whole race so we were never able to catch him.


Result: 2nd out of 6 J/120's
Link: http://www.windsoryachtclub.com/regatta2006/WYC%202006%20Spring%20Race%205.pdf
Course: COURSE B - 7.5 nautical miles
Start to B (065o) leaving it to port
-then to D (261o) leaving it to port
-then to DP8 (208o) leaving it to port
-then to CC (063o) leaving it to port
-then to D (309o) leaving it to port
-then to DP7 (212o) leaving it to starboard
-then to finish leaving DP5 to starboard.

Toledo Yacht Club Mills Regatta - Our Mills Cup Runneth Over

It took me a long time to come back here but what a comeback. All I could remember were the little green bugs that swarmed all over the boat when I was on Lake Erie 20 years ago. It took an awful long time to get the stains out of everything.

What we saw at the start was a 80 degree wind of about 6 knots where the pin side was favored alot. I knew that both the 50-foot Crazy Horse and Stripes, a 70-footer, wanted that side of the line too. They could run over us and smother us - a little 40-footer. We saw more air on the right side so we took our lumps by starting on port behind four other boats a little farther down the line. It paid off by keeping us close to Stripes and Crazy Horse but out of their wind shadow. We hit the pressure and because there were 15 degree shifts we tacked back and forth to get on the favored leg. As the leg continued, the wind got up to 12 knots as well as going more north. By the time we got around the Niagra Reef buoy we were 3rd in the entire fleet with only the bigger boats ahead of us. By the time we rounded the Sandusky lighted buoy by Cedar Point, the wind had switched to the north and was blowing 21 knots. We knew we had to switch to a smaller headsail but as with all J120s we had to do it bareheaded and of course it just took too long. At that point Perodactyl had caught up behind us.

We beat 22 miles on the northeast leg, in typically miserable, square, deep Lake Erie waves. I think every fifth wave would slam into the boat and slowing it down by 1 and a half knots. We developed a system where the crew on the rail would yell "big wave" so we could roll over it. According to crew member Tom Schulte, "The waves just kept coming. The rail crew was yelling 'weird wave' all night." In fact it was ijust tough to keep my balance steering. Slamming into the waves would sometimes just throw me over the wheel. The best I could do was to just wedge myself in. Tom would ease the main so I could turn down at the right time. He would also announce the wind speed and ease the main in the puffs and trim in the lulls. We kept track of wind shifts tacking when the wind would change. Of course Baker, our wave barometer, puked more than 5 times and being in the front he injured his siatic back nerve, which can be very painful.

The fun part was putting up a .75 oz. spinnaker when the apparent wind went to 80 degrees after rounding at the top mark by Point Pelee. After passing the next mark we put up the .6 oz. We did 9 to 10 knots in the puffs to the finish and gybed when we got knocked.

How the forecast, even though the direction and velocity was off, what the wind did with respect to oscillations was spot on. Basically meaning that the front was just in a different spot when it came through. So even though some of the shifts were only 10 and 20 degrees, knowing they were coming helped us determine when to tack / jybe -- especially on such long legs. For example, the last kite leg, we knew the wind was going to make a 10-15 degree shift --- allowing us to potentially not have to jybe --- so we waited and waited, and it did shift where we made it all but the last 100 yards. So keeping track of that type of stuff throughout the race allowed us to put the boat in the right spot.

Also the crew did what they needed to by mostly staying awake the entire time and on the rail. Heather nearly got hyperthermia by getting wet and not going inside.

Crew: Frank, Heather Papp, Tony Lawrence, Lynn Kotwicki, Nathan Caspers, Tom Schulte, Colleen Flanagan, Dave 'Baker' Keeler

Result: 1st in PHRF, 1st in PHRF Overall, 2nd in IRC - Winner of Mills Trophy, Commodore Harry Wood Trophy, and the Commodore Holton Navigator Trophy to Colleen Flanagan
Link: http://www.toledoyachtclub.com/millsrace/PDF/2006_Finishes_R1.pdf

Course: From the starting line in an eastsoutheasterly direction to Niagara Reef lighted buoy (G “5” Fl G 4s) leaving it to starboard, then in a southeasterly direction to the flashing Red Buoy No. 2 (R “2” Fl R 4s) at the Sandusky Harbor (Moseley) Channel, leaving it to port, then in a northeasterly direction to the Mid-Channel buoy (RW “X” Mo (A)) approximately 1 mile south of Southeast Shoal Light, leaving it to port, then in a northwesterly direction to Pelee Passage Light (Fl 4s), leaving it to port, then in a west-southwesterly direction to the Bell Buoy (G “1” Fl G 4s) off the easterly tip of Middle Bass Island, leaving it to starboard, then to the finishing line leaving Ballast Island to port. Total length of course 75.15 nm