commodore’s comments...so if you sail a slower boat, come on out on a wednesday night, get an...

HUMBOLDT YACHT CLUB SEPTEMBER 2019

- S a i l i n g t h e B a y , L a g o o n s a n d O c e a n S i n c e 1 9 3 8 -

IT’S HERE !!

Pursue the FOGAt one of the Wednesday evening FOG races about a month ago, Mario Kalson mentioned that he was starting early and asked if I wanted to join him for a 10 minute early start. This evolved into a fun starting sequence in which slower boats are free to start at 5:50pm if they choose and faster boats start at the 6 o'clock hour.

Not only does it give slower boats a 10 minute head start but a 10 minute advantage during the time when the wind is usually the strongest! This makes for more boats sailing closer together and great passing situations as the faster boats catch up. Also, we avoid the situation in which a slower boats gets stuck out on the course with lighter and lighter wind, dragging in a half hour after the fast boats finish.

So if you sail a slower boat, come on out on a Wednesday night, get an early start and enjoy a great sail! We have been loosely defining "slower boats" as those having a TCF (non spinnaker) of 0.83 or lower. Not sure of your TCF? No worries, if you consistently finish way behind on Wednesday night, you have a slower boat. We are only uptight about one thing on Wednesday night and that is safety!

See ya out there, Larry

C O M M O D O R E ’ S C O M M E N T S- b y L a r r y F o x -

T H E

N E W S L E T T E R

HUMBOLDT YACHT CLUB SEPTEMBER 2019 (Pg. 2)


BOARD OF GOVERNORS

Commodore: Larry Fox

Vice Commodore: Rich Robletto

Rear Commodore: Joe Hough

Co-Secretaries: Mari & Stephen Pepper

Treasurer: Garrett Coonrod

Port Captain: Bruce Braly

Members At Large: Bridge Randall Wesley Hodges Brad McCabe

Past Commodore: Stacy Lane

Newsletter Staff: Richard Hendry, Editor

Lee Braces Mark Rounding

HUMBOLDT YACHT CLUB Post Office Box 445

Eureka, California 95502

humboldtyachtclub.org

WELCOME ABOARD

Jacob Toppas & Caitlin PickensPlease help welcome them to the yacht club.

THE EL TORO CHALLENGE VIDEO

The “El Toro Challenge” was revive recently during the Big Lagoon Picnic on July 21st. Mario Kalson was nice enough to submit a short video for us to enjoy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EadNvtwQc0E&feature=youtu.be

BEERS OR BEARS?- by John Bradley -

Adrianne and I got out on the blue-green waters of Lake Minnewanka for a narrated “Beer Cruise” during our travels to the Canadian Rockies this summer.

The tasting and the scenery was fabulous with selected beers from the Canmore Brewery. “Better Beers than Bears” was our motto.







The Columbia River Gorge goes from Cascade Locks, OR to past The Dalles to the east about forty miles. The prevailing wind blows from west to east except when it comes from the east occasionally. It has a reputation for strong winds, usually 20 to 25. The Columbia Gorge Racing Association puts on regattas from June to August at Cascade Locks. If you go to their website there is a section for weather forecasts. There is a full time camera looking east from the launching area.

There is a woman by the name of Temira who issues daily weather forecasts that can be found at the site. The name is “The Gorge is my Gym”. What she does is analyze the difference in air pressure in the west and east. The increment will tell how much and what direction the wind blows. Check it out.

So the wind blows up river towards the current which creates fun waves to surf. Being able to catch waves in relation to other sailors means one (me) can make up for their crappy upwind speed. That is, until it gets over 20, then you can just head straight downwind on a full plane. You have to sit waaaay back to keep the bow from “pearling.” That means the bow going underwater. It’s an old surfing term. The first time I did this was off of Santa

Cruz heading in after a day of racing. I wasn’t paying too much attention and dang! the bow disappears all the way to the mast. Had no idea what to do so I just hung on. Well, the boat stopped, then rose up sending a wave down the boat, filling the cockpit. I just tried to keep the boat level and sailed on while the cockpit bailed. I’ll never forget it.

Also, downwind in a Laser there is a technique for surviving. Their design is unique in that the mast goes into a hole (mast step) in the deck. You could rotate the boom 360 degrees, but you don’t want to do that. This relieves stress on the gooseneck, which is a good thing. The trick going downwind is to let off the Vang almost all the way so that the top of the sail twists off. This depowers the force of the wind on the sail. But, the rule here is to never let the sail out to or past 90 degrees in relation to the boat. This will cause a windward capsize, known to Laser sailors as a “death roll”. See, the top of the sail gets around the top and blows the boat over on top of you. The trick is the windier it gets the more one sheets in. At 12 about 80 degrees and 70 degrees when it blows harder. This keeps things stable. Sailing by the lee also helps tremendously. Kids that didn’t know any better figured all this out.

C O L U M B I A R I V E R G O R G E- by Bruce Braly, Port Captain -



A U G U S T S A I L I N G


keeping a weather eye:

Sept. 1 Redwood Regatta - 1100 hrsSept. 7 Social Hour - 1700 hrsSept. 8 Whistler #3 - 1300 hrsSept. 10 Board Meeting - 1900 hrsSept. 18 FOG Watch BBQ - 1700 hrsSept. 22 In-Bay Keel #4 - 1200 hrs

Note: NO POTLUCK IN SEPTEMBER

At a recent FOG race, I observed an exchange between boats near buoy #19. Two class boats were vying for the lead between them, both on a on a port tack. Another boat was approaching them from nearly dead-ahead but slightly off to their port, and this boat was, of course, on the starboard tack.

As the boats got within hailing distance, the skipper of the boat on the starboard tack yells ‘STARBOARD,’ signaling his desire to stand-on while the other boats would give-way by altering their course appropriately. You see where this is going?

The two boats did not give way, but instead held fast until the last possible moment, and then cut in front of the stand-on vessel. As the

two boats went by the skipper of the stand-on boat was heard to exclaim, “Gentlemen, Rules of the Road.” From my personal observation, the other skippers looked totally puzzled. Wait, wait - - there are rules of the road ???

Editor’s note: There have been many articles submitted for this newsletter discussing the 3 basic “rules of the road” while out on the water: (1) when boats are on opposite tacks, a boat on the starboard tack has the right of way, and the boat on the port tack must alter its course, known as Starboard Tack Rules; (2) when boats are on the same tack, the leeward boat is the stand-on vessel and the boat to windward must give-way; and (3) a boat that is being overtaken is the stand-on vessel and should hold her course.

“GENTLEMEN, RULES OF THE ROAD”- - by Mark Rounding -

commodore’s comments...so if you sail a slower boat, come on out on a wednesday night, get an...

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