Farallones Race Questions

[pogen]

Next weekend is shaping like last weekend, wind-wise.

 

[K38Bob]

Pzz571-162145-
point reyes to pigeon point 10 to 60 nm offshore-
232 am pdt fri may 16 2014

small craft advisory in effect from this afternoon through
saturday afternoon


today
nw winds 10 to 20 kt...increasing to 15 to 25 kt this afternoon.
Wind waves 3 to 5 ft. Mixed swell nw 3 to 5 ft at 7 seconds and s
3 ft at 14 seconds. Patchy fog in the morning.

Tonight
nw winds 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 3 to 5 ft. Mixed
swell nw 4 to 6 ft at 7 seconds and s 3 ft at 14 seconds. Patchy
fog after midnight.

Sat
nw winds 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 3 to 6 ft. Mixed swell nw
4 to 6 ft at 7 seconds and s 3 ft at 14 seconds. Patchy fog in the
morning.

Sat night
nw winds 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 3 to 7 ft. Mixed
swell nw 3 to 5 ft at 7 seconds and s 3 ft at 19 seconds. Patchy
fog after midnight.

Sun
nw winds 5 to 15 kt...increasing to 15 to 25 kt. Wind
waves 3 to 5 ft. Mixed swell nw 3 to 5 ft at 7 seconds and sw
3 ft at 18 seconds. Patchy fog in the morning. Patchy fog after
midnight.

Mon
nw winds 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 3 to 6 ft. Mixed swell nw
4 to 6 ft and s 3 ft. Patchy fog.

Tue
nw winds 15 to 25 kt...increasing to 20 to 30 kt. Wind
waves 3 to 8 ft. Nw swell 5 to 7 ft and s 3 ft...increasing to
7 to 9 ft. Patchy fog.

$$


232 am pdt fri may 16 2014
.synopsis for the central california coast and bays including
monterey bay national marine sanctuaries...

Northwest winds will increase today into the weekend as high
pressure builds over the eastern pacific. The moderate winds will
result in steep fresh swell.

$$

 

[dhusselman]

This was my second race and first offshore race on TIJD, my new First 30JK. I have done the SSS Farallones many times on my previous boat Xpression (C&C 110).
Starting with small jib (85%) and reefed main. The boat handled well but I could have used a second reef. The big difference between my previous boat and the F30 is that it moves really well through the waves. No slamming whatsoever and good speed. The wind lightened a little past light bucket and dropped to 15 knots TWS close to the Farallones. It was a beautiful ride. I set the asymmetrical chute on the way back. Currently the only chute is an A2 and it is huge. Making good speed going home and I was able to stay it touch with Freedom and close enough to Racer X on handicap. Wind picked up closer to half way down the channel and I was getting ready to take the chute down. The boat rounded up and the spinnaker twisted around the headstay. For some reason the jib sheet came loose and the chute got tightly twisted. Only the top 1/3rd stayed full. Nothing I tried could get the twist out as the top of the spinnaker stayed full, no matter what I tried. I decided to wait so that I can tuck in under the north shore to untangle the chute. That worked, the chute filled and I the boat took off under the GG bridge. Before I could take the chute down, the boat broached and was pinned broadsided. The sheet got stuck and the only way to get the boat back up was to blow the halyard. The halyard was still stuck at the top of the curler. I blew the tack line which allowed the boat to come up. The halyard worked itself free and the spinnaker floated behind the boat. To make things worse the boat slowly made it's way to the south tower and I couldn't bear off due to the spinnaker, acting as a sea-anchor. I decided to use the jib to bear off and then pull in the chute. However the jib would not unfurl. Later I found that due to the spinnaker jerking the foil had bent and got stuck. Being close to the south tower I decided to start the engine, which allowed me enough control to bear off but also retired me from the race. This is the worst spinnaker cluster-fuck I ever encountered and it made me think of the incident with Fast Forward years ago. I can totally see how a combination of events can lead to a bad outcome.
I never expected to get into this situation, having sailed many single-handed races in the last 14 years. Lesson learned is that I should have sailed the boat conservatively and not assume I can sail it the same as my previous boat. Also many little errors lead to big problems. I hope to sail the next 14 years without experiencing something like this again...

BTW the boat is a lot of fun and it was definitely user error that got me in this situation.

Video of the first part of the race on board TIJD: http://youtu.be/1pSbmqnIrb8

Dirk- TIJD (First 30 JK)