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2021 SSS Rocks Race Pixs and Stories!
- Thread starter BobJ
- Start date
Black Jack
Pretty Penny, Mull 30
Epic long sailing day on Saturday - as a now "veteran" non spin solo sailor who is always tried in a full moon tides races, we know the days are always long. I was the last boat in my division to start as the race was pushed back and did not feel the need to rush the line to get a fleet head start. I sailed hard and caught many of the fleet at Harding rock after short tacking around to avoid the tug and barge that split the fleet along the city front. The run to Richmond through raccoon straights was good then turned into a 3 1/2 hour fight to make the Brothers from the Richmond bridge under white sails and a raging ebb. I nearly made it to the twins once before but the wind died and got pushed a mile down stream. I had to battle against the ebb another hour and a half to get close to them again. Wiser folks who were behind me at first stayed clear of the currents that follow the rocks and took a route farther north and made a wide turn ensuring a successful circomnavigation. Unfortuantely I was boarded by the Coast Guard at 6:30pm directly under the Richmond Bridge going sideways in a tidal slide with the current. The chief was unable to get a hold of race committee on 72. (Bummer.) The Coast Guard crew were professional and after 30 minutes of looking around my boat with two masked coasties in my cockpit and and one below, the coast guard unit gave me a complete passing grade and wished me well on my race. Having them aboard and having the large CG boat beside me made it difficult to drive, line handle and tack. The rubber sided CG vessel did rub my hull pretty hard with the boarding and will require some touch up... Most likely I wasn't gonna finish the race do to my series of hang ups and fall backs but still it did dampen my day long hard fought efforts to get a chance to complete the course. The ride home along with my sister Mull boat, Lively Lady, to Alameda was spirited with a wind I could have used 3 hours earlier under a full moon sometimes making nearly 10 knots with the tide. Both got back to the dock at 10:30 pretty beat but happy to have be a part of these community, among the large set of fun, good sailors and getting the chance to sail along side such variety of great boats.
A few moments on Saturday.
A few moments on Saturday.
Last edited:
solosailor
New member
What a bummer. I always wondered if I would get boarded during a race. I'd certainly be pretty firm with them that I am participating in a COAST GUARD PERMITTED EVENT and that maybe if they want to do a safety inspection another time or follow me to the the dock once I complete the participation in THEIR permitted event. We have to meet much more stringent safety requirements than the USCG requires for said permit and they should cut a slight bit of slack considering they are the issuers of them.
solosailor
New member
Oh.... I forgot a major point. I did get pulled over by a Sheriff near the finish of the Delta Ditch Run and he could care less. Made me drop sails and side tie to him.
captleasure
New member
Ahoy! Thanks to the race comitte for another successful smoothly run race!
Please add any pics and short videos you took during the day to this SSS album:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/LnWHtfK6bGr6Jj9r9
My story is below with a video I made of the day.
Well we made it around all the rocks but not the finish line! With the dying breeze and counter currents there wasn’t enough time to make the cut off for the SSS Round the Rocks race this weekend. I took solace in the fact that about 8 of the boats I regularly sail against were in the same predicament. At the start of the race there was a 15 min postponement due to the light breeze. I had the big jib ready to go and by the time my class started the breeze had filled in nicely. From the start at the Berkeley circle the first mark for our course was Alcatraz to starboard, so it was an upwind beat. The westerly in the slot really picked up and with the big jib, Tortuga was getting overpowered so I took in the first reef to minimize the weather helm and not have to make a head sail change knowing as soon as we rounded the Harding marker we’d be off the wind. I could see lots of the other boats stalling in the lighter wind and building ebb in Raccoon Straight so I opted to go around the other side of Angel Island and try my luck there. We had a great broad reach/downwind sail jibing a few times (even saw a small humpback whale!) until about Southampton Shoal and I was thinking I made the right decision. Then the wind really shut down. I drifted around for about an hour and almost called it a day when I was going backwards in the ebb. With the full keel, as soon as you get caught in the river of current it’s futile. I stuck to my 20min rule before I pulled the plug to see if the conditions improved. As luck would have it, I got pulled over to the Marin side of the bay and found some steady breeze. I had a nice beam reach almost all the way to the San Rafael Bridge and was making about 2-3 knots in the ripping ebb. Once I got under the San Rafael Bridge and was heading towards East Brother Lightstation the wind started getting really light again and I saw most of the other boats that I regularly race against struggling in the ebb so I wasn’t feeling totally defeated. The group of boats were all trying to get up and around The Brothers rocks. We all traded places in a comical way as one boat would start making good head way they would get sucked into the current river and lose all of their ground they just made. This went on for well over an hour as we all eventually sailed way past the Brothers before daring to make the turn. Once up and around, there was about an hour before the race cut off and still a chance to make the finish. Of course the wind went super light again under the bridge and hopes of finishing we’re fading with the daylight. I was drifting sideways under the bridge with the benefit of the ebb in my favor now. As a beautiful moon started to rise over the east bay hills after sunset we were making some progress towards the finish. I was relaying progress of some of the other boats to the Race Committee on the VHF and even though we had an extra 15min added to the cut off time due to the delayed start, there just wasn’t enough time to finish and the group of boats on the course didn’t make it including Tortuga. Regardless of not finishing it was a beautiful shorts and T-shirt day on the bay with all range of conditions. Till next time!
https://youtu.be/2xmCV7S6-VM
Cheers,
Randy
W32 Tortuga
Please add any pics and short videos you took during the day to this SSS album:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/LnWHtfK6bGr6Jj9r9
My story is below with a video I made of the day.
Well we made it around all the rocks but not the finish line! With the dying breeze and counter currents there wasn’t enough time to make the cut off for the SSS Round the Rocks race this weekend. I took solace in the fact that about 8 of the boats I regularly sail against were in the same predicament. At the start of the race there was a 15 min postponement due to the light breeze. I had the big jib ready to go and by the time my class started the breeze had filled in nicely. From the start at the Berkeley circle the first mark for our course was Alcatraz to starboard, so it was an upwind beat. The westerly in the slot really picked up and with the big jib, Tortuga was getting overpowered so I took in the first reef to minimize the weather helm and not have to make a head sail change knowing as soon as we rounded the Harding marker we’d be off the wind. I could see lots of the other boats stalling in the lighter wind and building ebb in Raccoon Straight so I opted to go around the other side of Angel Island and try my luck there. We had a great broad reach/downwind sail jibing a few times (even saw a small humpback whale!) until about Southampton Shoal and I was thinking I made the right decision. Then the wind really shut down. I drifted around for about an hour and almost called it a day when I was going backwards in the ebb. With the full keel, as soon as you get caught in the river of current it’s futile. I stuck to my 20min rule before I pulled the plug to see if the conditions improved. As luck would have it, I got pulled over to the Marin side of the bay and found some steady breeze. I had a nice beam reach almost all the way to the San Rafael Bridge and was making about 2-3 knots in the ripping ebb. Once I got under the San Rafael Bridge and was heading towards East Brother Lightstation the wind started getting really light again and I saw most of the other boats that I regularly race against struggling in the ebb so I wasn’t feeling totally defeated. The group of boats were all trying to get up and around The Brothers rocks. We all traded places in a comical way as one boat would start making good head way they would get sucked into the current river and lose all of their ground they just made. This went on for well over an hour as we all eventually sailed way past the Brothers before daring to make the turn. Once up and around, there was about an hour before the race cut off and still a chance to make the finish. Of course the wind went super light again under the bridge and hopes of finishing we’re fading with the daylight. I was drifting sideways under the bridge with the benefit of the ebb in my favor now. As a beautiful moon started to rise over the east bay hills after sunset we were making some progress towards the finish. I was relaying progress of some of the other boats to the Race Committee on the VHF and even though we had an extra 15min added to the cut off time due to the delayed start, there just wasn’t enough time to finish and the group of boats on the course didn’t make it including Tortuga. Regardless of not finishing it was a beautiful shorts and T-shirt day on the bay with all range of conditions. Till next time!
https://youtu.be/2xmCV7S6-VM
Cheers,
Randy
W32 Tortuga
Last edited:
Black Jack
Pretty Penny, Mull 30
I sandbagged the start in singlehanded non-spinnaker, as is my way, but somehow was the second boat over the line. The upwind legs were all great sailing, while the downwind leg was a bit trying, and I didn't have the misfortune of ever going backwards or coming to a full stop.
Based on the current prediction, I was sorely tempted to go via Pt Blunt and ride the very last of the flood, but followed the crowd and went via Raccoon Strait instead. Staying well south of the reef paid well, I saw other boats go right over the top of it and lose many lengths. Point Stuart and the Brothers themselves offered good, but brief, current relief. Plenty of spinnaker boats were working the angles hard around me the whole way and I traded places with many of them dozens of times, but in the end wing-on-wing can only do so much. A close in track around the Brothers looked a far too exciting for me when I rounded -- about 7 boats were within just few lengths of one another, each slowly going some different random direction.
A timelapse video of the first half of the race:
Thanks again to the race committee for putting on a great day of racing!
Based on the current prediction, I was sorely tempted to go via Pt Blunt and ride the very last of the flood, but followed the crowd and went via Raccoon Strait instead. Staying well south of the reef paid well, I saw other boats go right over the top of it and lose many lengths. Point Stuart and the Brothers themselves offered good, but brief, current relief. Plenty of spinnaker boats were working the angles hard around me the whole way and I traded places with many of them dozens of times, but in the end wing-on-wing can only do so much. A close in track around the Brothers looked a far too exciting for me when I rounded -- about 7 boats were within just few lengths of one another, each slowly going some different random direction.
A timelapse video of the first half of the race:
Thanks again to the race committee for putting on a great day of racing!
Boy, that is something. The deck was staffed with 3 person at 6:30 p.m. I heard a transmission from someone in the afternoon and thought it was VTS, so inquired with them and they said No. We gave them two telephone numbers in the morning and any repeated hails should have been picked up by us if they transmitted on their house VHF. Odd.
Is there a Loch Awe in Scotland?
Is there a Loch Awe in Scotland?
There certainly is. The ruins of the maternal families 14th century castle are on Froech Eilean (heather island) in Loch Awe. Immediately adjacent to Froech Eilean is the island of Inishail, a "thin place" where history is palpable, if there ever was such a place.