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**war dog** · 04-19-2013, 03:45 PM

It's great to see Steen is getting X-Dream back out there!

**PSutchek** · 04-19-2013, 06:43 PM

We'll be there ! For all that fun !

3D · 04-19-2013, 10:08 PM

I'm in......on the lone Dark-Side entry.

Looking forward to it!!!

-3D

**PSutchek** · 04-20-2013, 04:28 PM

I think we did well !

**Photoboy** · 04-20-2013, 05:56 PM

1st to finish (I thinks) in what was a virtual stampede of boats...a quick ride fer sure!

David Kuettel's Custom Thompson 48' "Serena"...

**Photoboy** · 04-20-2013, 06:12 PM

A few more...time to change gears and make some dinner..

**Idiotwind** · 04-20-2013, 07:35 PM

Looking forward to the Official Results, so we can plug in our stats TOT. We finished at 1500.15. Should be interesting. Thanks to all on the course for your understanding and support. There was not one negative reaction, and we look forward to the next race.

Richard

**BobJ** · 04-20-2013, 08:24 PM

I don't know what I would have been reacting to - didn't see you on the entry list so whatever you were doing, you weren't racing.

Were you trying to make some kind of statement or something?

**buster_hymen** · 04-20-2013, 08:40 PM

Nice ride in and out, it's been a while!

Nice turnout!

**Photoboy** · 04-20-2013, 09:05 PM

While I know it's important to check here for pics to post on social media to share with your buddies...please take a moment
to add a little color to the process. It's part of the program, and the reason this place was built in the 1st place.

Only through sharing info and experiences will this place continue to grow, and hopefully, someday support itself...

If you want it to grow and provide you and friends a place to share, then add to it and share with crew and fellow sailors.

If you know of a cottage sailing industry entrepreneur, help them gain a foothold by introducing them....

Support those who support us....

Seriously....

**war dog** · 04-20-2013, 09:18 PM

Ok....hi my name is War Dog but some know me as Tom....I didn't sail today because I'm in a small town in Norther Cal visiting my MIL..my son threw up twice on the way here and 10+ more times after we got here at 11:30. I would love to hear how day one of J Fest, the Light Ship race and all of the other great sailing shit I missed out on went today....now I'm going to have another drink even thought I would rather celebrate 420 day but i'm unemployed and can't take a chance of failing a drug screen if one of the interviews I had last week calls me back!

**Andy Newell** · 04-21-2013, 09:10 AM

Originally posted by Idiotwind View Post

Looking forward to the Official Results, so we can plug in our stats TOT. We finished at 1500.15. Should be interesting. Thanks to all on the course for your understanding and support. There was not one negative reaction, and we look forward to the next race.

Richard

What did the sign say?

Were you pan-handling?

**BobJ** · 04-21-2013, 09:43 AM

PB wants color, eh? Well, there's WD's son's technicolor kind of color. Sorry WD - I hope he's better today and I hope you DO get a call back this week. Then there's the verbal color of the chap in the red snapper, who met me behind the STD and asked why I was racing in the ocean instead of parked in the office doing taxes!

Yep, I'd drug my sorry, out-of-shape ass out of the office to see if I had another ocean race in me after "tax season." The ocean won.

On Friday, I delivered Rags from VYC to her new home at RYC, then spent the rest of the afternoon making her back into an ocean racer. I'd not had a chance to get pre-inspected so I knew the odds were good I'd get called in after the race for a gear check (I was), so I made sure I had every bit. By the time I drove home Friday night I felt like I'd had a good weekend on the boat . . . but wait - I hadn't done the race yet.

I got re-acquainted with a boat commute early Saturday morning. That was one good thing about VYC - it was 15 minutes from home. Another thing is, it's a GREAT club full of regular folks who like to sail. I enjoyed my time there and felt downright selfish moving on - but I missed the Bay and ocean.

I arrived at RYC's gate at 0715 and it was locked. "Oh good, I can go home and back to bed." But wait, here comes another sailor with a key, so it's on again. I motor down to StFYC and on the way I make the right decision to hoist the #3 vs. the #1. It was light but there was breeze and the forecast was for lots more later. Had I just stayed with the #3 all day I would have had a much better race. But I'm ahead of myself.

The R/C ran a leisurely start sequence, sans the rolling starts we're used to in SSS. Combined with good announcements on the radio it was almost serene, especially back in the cheap seats of flag F (SHS). Then I got a rude reminder of singlehanded multi-tasking when I got a great start but immediately lost it by focusing on trimming the jib instead of getting up on the wind. I dropped out of my lane immediately. I tacked over onto port and headed out into the ebb, but crossed some sterns I shouldn't have had to cross.

It was stunning out there on the way to the bridge - chamber-of-commerce weather - and I'm thinking "I'm BAAAACK!" Sailing around Vallejo you get used to very dynamic current so I'd kept both mast displays on speed - one on SOG and the other on boat speed. This was nice going out the Gate and I think I'll leave them that way.

It got really light off Pt. Bonita. When I dropped below three knots I couldn't stand it any more and went for a headsail change - BIG mistake. I was rusty and it took far longer than it should have. Meanwhile the rest of my division sailed away and within a half-hour I wished for the #3 again anyway. I gutted it out with the #1 and reefed main but it wasn't pretty. I'd gone out on the north side and was able to hold my lane along the north channel markers and was a bit overstood as I approached the Bucket - or so I thought. I just missed it and had to tack over. When I did, the J-lock came off the secondary genoa sheet and I was flogging my good #1. I rolled it up (sometimes furlers are nice) and rounded with main only. In that brief ugliness, Pat and Steen passed me.

Then the reach home. I was already beat-up and the boats around me who'd set were broaching. The wind angle was okay but the seas were twisting the boat around more than I thought the autopilot could handle, so I chickened-out on setting. I'm not a JAM sailor and felt like a failure coming back in, but had a much easier ride and was able to sail high to avoid some of the still-ebbing flow out the Gate. There were several of us doing that. I gybed in and out of the coves along the north side and finally took the final gybe across current and over to the finish. That's when PB asked me about his taxes (flash-back to Monday: "Wait, was I doing YOURS too?")

I thanked the R/C for the race and Nancy responded with a very pleasant but dreaded "You've earned a post-race inspection, please proceed to the StFYC docks." So it's roll up jib, main down and furled, fenders and docklines out, motor in and get checked, then motor back out, main back up, stow the fenders and docklines, and sail back to Richmond. Single-handers aren't exempt (nor should they be).

Now I need to go back down and clean up. The #1 is still on the furler, poor thing.

**Andy Newell** · 04-21-2013, 11:46 AM

Welcome back Bob!

Ahi had a wonderful day.

The forecast was for 15-25 and the 0650 buoy report from 46026 was 22 knots and it looked like it had been blowing all night but not much longer than that. At the start line we had about 10 knots, occasionally building to 12, but not often enough to let us start the race with the #3. We put the #1 up on a spin halyard since we only have one jib halyard and would need it for the #3 later. We figured we would need to change somewhere around Bonita.

We got a decent start but were inside a bunch of boats and really wanted to go out for ebb. We waited for things to thin out and thanks to the Islander 36 Pilot for seeing I was getting nervous close to the beach who tacked out early. I think we ducked a stern or two, but not by much. From there we headed to the north side of the middle. We could see Jim Quanci and Green Buffalo over there so we liked the choice.

We stayed on the north side of the center on the way to Bonita and had nice current push. We tacked so we would end up near the center when we got to Bonita so we would not have to deal with the south flowing water in the Bonita Channel.

From there it was an easy starboard tack fetch to the Light-bucket. We had the same 10 knots of breeze (sometimes less) we had in the bay and it clocked around to the northwest as advertised. The seas were 7-8' but not steep and most of the larger ones had a back side so it was fairly mellow. At about the last set of channel markers my bowman started asking about the sail change. He has sailed with me long enough to know that I tend to wait until it is too late, and then yell at him to hurry up. The crew did an excellent inside-out change with no tack and once the change was done our speed was at least as good, maybe better. By the Lightship the wind had picked up to 13 which would have been a little beyond where we like our #1. As we approached the mark we were reaching off a little and then saw some boats on port tack having to put in a hitch so up we went back to close hauled. We ended up right at the mark plus a few boat lengths for a nice safe wide rounding.

Our friends on Green Buffalo had dropped back quite a bit in the lighter stuff near Bonita since they started with their #3. About Bonita they did a bald headed change to the #1 and at about that time the wind came up a bit so from Bonita to the Lightship they were slowly catching us. We rate even with the Buffalo and we have a lot of respect for Jim so we always keep track of where they are. We can often stay in front of them on the weather leg, but downwind they have so much more sail area (their kite is 300 square feet bigger than ours) that they always catch us. We have been sailing Ahi since 2010 and have not beaten Green Buffalo yet.

As we rounded the Lightship GB was way too close. We know from experience that they can be far enough behind to barely recognize at the weather mark and still beat us. Now they were only a few hundred yards back.

Before the race I decided that I wanted to come in on the north side for current relief. Get on the northern bar, come in right at Bonita, work the north shore and gybe for the finish at the North Tower. As we rounded we could see that in order to carry the kite boats were heading at the Cliff House, presumably hoping for a lift as they got closer to shore. We often let our strategy be dictated by the desire to be a lemming and follow the group but decided to stick with the plan even though we could not carry at first. We were a little higher than a beam reach and moving nicely at 7-8 knots. As we went north, seemingly by ourselves, my crew was like kids in the back seat on a long car ride except that the question was 'can we hoist yet', 'can we hoist yet'. We carried the #3 longer than I planned and were at least half way back by the time I gave in. Up went our big heavy kite and suddenly the knot meter hit 14 and we had a rooster tail as we fell off a wave. We are just making Bonita and now I wish we had hoisted a little sooner. By now we were joined on the north side by Racer X and Whirlwind so I did not feel so lonely. We saw lots of 10+ knot surfs on the swells which were nicely positioned on our weather quarter. Who-hoo! Ocean sailing!

WE gybed a couple of times to get around Pt Diablo and stay out of the middle and then made our dash to the finish. We could see several of our competitors on the south side abeam or behind, but they did not have to cross the ebb like we did. We had a thrilling headstay reach from the north tower to the finish line and at times I was not sure we could sail high enough. We managed to make the finish and there was Green Buffalo, a few boat lengths in front of us. We think the flyer to the north helped, but we'll never really know for sure. We do know that if we had simply gone the same way as the Buffalo they would have rolled us and continued to stretch, and probably finished much further in front of us. Either way it was a fantastic day. I was relieved to finish, get the kite down and have a beer shoved in my hand.

I can hardly wait for the Duxbury Lightship on June 1st!

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Looking Good For Crewed Lightship!

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