It is only a few days until we hit the start line for the 2010 edition of the Border Run. This is the second year for this race that is an alternative to Newport to Ensenada.
On the crew for this race we have Jim Merk, Jack and Carolin Lusby, David Harper, Liz Roberts, Risa K. Scott and myself. The start is Saturday (April 24th) at 1100 hours off the Balboa Pier in Newport Beach.
Check back next week for the results and the recap of the race.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
LBHIS #2 - Easter Race
On Saturday, we raced in the second race of the Long Beach Harbor Invitational Series. This race was the Easter Race and was hosted by the United States Power Squadron Number 13. Thanks to the crew of Jack and Carolin Lusby, David Harper, Liz Roberts and my darling co-captain Risa K. Scott.
The start for this particular race was on the southeast side of Oil Island Freeman which posed two unique challenges, first it blocked much of the wind and it didn’t allow for a run at the committee boat end of the start line as is the usual starting maneuver. However, even with those challenges David called and helmed us to a good start right in the mix with the rest of our class.
The first leg was a close hauled windward run out towards the Long Beach breakwater. We improved our tacking and were in a comfortable third place at the rounding of the first mark. We then had a downwind leg along the breakwater before we turned towards the coast near the entrance to Alamitos Bay. Considering the difficulties we had the week before, we had a excellent spinnaker hoist and a good run even though the wind was light and puffy and not even close to steady. This makes for more work for the trimmers as they have to be constantly trimming the chute to keep the boat moving as fast as possible. The forecast was for the winds to build to 10-12 knots by this time of the afternoon but it was not to be.
As we made our beat to windward back towards the breakwater and the first mark the pecking order for our class stayed steady with Mille in third place. The winds finally started to fill in on this leg and we were able to make the fourth mark with four very well executed tacks. After rounding the fourth mark we again had a good hoist of the spinnaker and a much steadier run to the fifth mark which was near the Belmont Pier. The practice that we have had as a team is starting to show as we doused the chute right as we rounded the fifth mark and were able to power up for the next to leg. The last two legs were windward beats which for Mille is a good point of sail. We crossed the line still in third place and finished in third based on corrected time.
This was the final race before the Border Run on Saturday, April 24th and 25th. This race starts off the Balboa Pier in Newport Beach, rounds the north Coronado Island and ends in San Diego and will be Mille’s first overnight race – should be exciting.
The start for this particular race was on the southeast side of Oil Island Freeman which posed two unique challenges, first it blocked much of the wind and it didn’t allow for a run at the committee boat end of the start line as is the usual starting maneuver. However, even with those challenges David called and helmed us to a good start right in the mix with the rest of our class.
The first leg was a close hauled windward run out towards the Long Beach breakwater. We improved our tacking and were in a comfortable third place at the rounding of the first mark. We then had a downwind leg along the breakwater before we turned towards the coast near the entrance to Alamitos Bay. Considering the difficulties we had the week before, we had a excellent spinnaker hoist and a good run even though the wind was light and puffy and not even close to steady. This makes for more work for the trimmers as they have to be constantly trimming the chute to keep the boat moving as fast as possible. The forecast was for the winds to build to 10-12 knots by this time of the afternoon but it was not to be.
As we made our beat to windward back towards the breakwater and the first mark the pecking order for our class stayed steady with Mille in third place. The winds finally started to fill in on this leg and we were able to make the fourth mark with four very well executed tacks. After rounding the fourth mark we again had a good hoist of the spinnaker and a much steadier run to the fifth mark which was near the Belmont Pier. The practice that we have had as a team is starting to show as we doused the chute right as we rounded the fifth mark and were able to power up for the next to leg. The last two legs were windward beats which for Mille is a good point of sail. We crossed the line still in third place and finished in third based on corrected time.
This was the final race before the Border Run on Saturday, April 24th and 25th. This race starts off the Balboa Pier in Newport Beach, rounds the north Coronado Island and ends in San Diego and will be Mille’s first overnight race – should be exciting.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Sunset Cruise
Last Friday evening we had the chance to meet Geoffrey and Marsha Graham and to take them for a sunset cruise around Long Beach. We had donated a sunset cruise on Mille Onde to the Dog and Cat Shelter of Sheridan, Wyoming and Marsha’s uncle bought it at the auction and then gave it to Geoff and Marsha. Although they have lived in Long Beach for five years, they had never had the opportunity to see the city from the water.
We headed out around 6:15 with an appropriate ration of wine, beer and cheese to enjoy as we all watched the sun set over Palos Verde. As most of the readers of this blog know we are usually out racing on Mille and so it was a pleasant departure from the norm for us to take her out, raise just the main and just cruise around. Fortunately, we had enough wind to make it a nice cruise without having to raise the jib and a great time was had by all.
Thanks to Geoff for the great pictures. They really show what a beautiful place Long Beach and this part of Southern California is!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Disappointing Race
We raced this past Saturday in the April Fools Race hosted by Shoreline Yacht Club – little did I know that I was to be the fool for most of the day. Thanks to the intrepid crew of Jim Merk, Liz Roberts, David Harper, Jeremy Scott and my darling co-captain Risa K. Scott for enduring my version of April Fool.
The winds were light at the start (about 6-8 knots) but projected to build during the afternoon. We did not get a good start thanks to my first tactical error of the day by calling for two quick tacks rather than luffing the sails as I thought we were going to be over the start line early. As it was we were almost 2 minutes late to the line a deficit which would seem to be a problem but was overshadowed by an additional tactical error. We were close hauled to the first mark with good crew work on the several tacks needed to make the mark.
After rounding the first mark, we had a good spinnaker set for the downwind run to the second mark. Our spinnaker trimmers and helmsperson did a great job keeping the boat moving fast and we were looking forward to a good rounding of the second mark hopefully having gained a bit on the other three boats in our class. As we neared the mark and I looked for the competitors, I sensed something was wrong, they were nowhere in sight. For this race, the course is designated approximately 5 minutes before the start by signal pennants which I had read incorrectly. Therefore we were sailing the wrong course and it was too late to fix my mistake, so after some deserved verbal flogging from the crew, we decided to turn the day into spinnaker practice.
After a good beat to the windward mark (and avoiding the boats still racing in another class) we set the light spinnaker again and made another downwind run. The set and the run were good but we fouled the afterguy on the gybe and had to douse the chute which came off cleanly.
By this time the wind was building so we decided for our third spinnaker run we would switch to the heavier chute, which is not only heavier material (1.5 oz nylon versus 0.75 oz nylon) but also a smaller sail. Just as we went to set the chute the wind gusted to approximately 24 knots (I learned this later) and we struggled to get the sail up. We again fouled the afterguy (need to work on this part of the maneuver) and had to drop the chute into the water and then haul the wet sail back into the boat. All in all not one of our better jobs but it gives us room to work on the “most improved crew” award. By scoring a Did Not Finish (DNF) we had fourth place in our class (of four boats) firmly in our grasp.
On Sunday, we took Mille out and worked on our starts. Thanks to Jim Merk for his great coaching and to Liz and Risa for their crew work. I feel confident that we will improve our starts and not leave ourselves in a competitive disadvantage right off the line. Although we still need to work on our spinnaker handling, due to crew size and wind conditions, too much of one and not enough of the other, we opted to leave the chutes in the bag and instead focus on another area.
Next race – Long Beach Harbor Invitational Series Race 2, hosted by United States Power Squadron, Saturday, April 10th.
The winds were light at the start (about 6-8 knots) but projected to build during the afternoon. We did not get a good start thanks to my first tactical error of the day by calling for two quick tacks rather than luffing the sails as I thought we were going to be over the start line early. As it was we were almost 2 minutes late to the line a deficit which would seem to be a problem but was overshadowed by an additional tactical error. We were close hauled to the first mark with good crew work on the several tacks needed to make the mark.
After rounding the first mark, we had a good spinnaker set for the downwind run to the second mark. Our spinnaker trimmers and helmsperson did a great job keeping the boat moving fast and we were looking forward to a good rounding of the second mark hopefully having gained a bit on the other three boats in our class. As we neared the mark and I looked for the competitors, I sensed something was wrong, they were nowhere in sight. For this race, the course is designated approximately 5 minutes before the start by signal pennants which I had read incorrectly. Therefore we were sailing the wrong course and it was too late to fix my mistake, so after some deserved verbal flogging from the crew, we decided to turn the day into spinnaker practice.
After a good beat to the windward mark (and avoiding the boats still racing in another class) we set the light spinnaker again and made another downwind run. The set and the run were good but we fouled the afterguy on the gybe and had to douse the chute which came off cleanly.
By this time the wind was building so we decided for our third spinnaker run we would switch to the heavier chute, which is not only heavier material (1.5 oz nylon versus 0.75 oz nylon) but also a smaller sail. Just as we went to set the chute the wind gusted to approximately 24 knots (I learned this later) and we struggled to get the sail up. We again fouled the afterguy (need to work on this part of the maneuver) and had to drop the chute into the water and then haul the wet sail back into the boat. All in all not one of our better jobs but it gives us room to work on the “most improved crew” award. By scoring a Did Not Finish (DNF) we had fourth place in our class (of four boats) firmly in our grasp.
On Sunday, we took Mille out and worked on our starts. Thanks to Jim Merk for his great coaching and to Liz and Risa for their crew work. I feel confident that we will improve our starts and not leave ourselves in a competitive disadvantage right off the line. Although we still need to work on our spinnaker handling, due to crew size and wind conditions, too much of one and not enough of the other, we opted to leave the chutes in the bag and instead focus on another area.
Next race – Long Beach Harbor Invitational Series Race 2, hosted by United States Power Squadron, Saturday, April 10th.
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