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Pictures of Three Bridge Fiasco

Matt

Matt

Tinker - Wilderness 21
Here is a link to my web album from the race: http://picasaweb.google.com/MatthewRBeall/TBF2010#. Not the best pictures but I was single handed and had to gybe the spinnaker pole too many times to count. I was out in front of a lot of boats and got some good pictures of Puppeteer closeup while stuck by Red Rock..

I would also like to say thank you to the race deck for a great race. I did radio in my withdrawal and got confirmation but still got a call later after the race to call in.

The race lived up to it reputation for me this year. I caught up to Blueberry and Can O' Wopass right before Black Aller after starting slowly 5 minutes late with the spinnaker and a South breeze against the flood. Rounded the mark behind one other boat cleanly and then watched over 50 very large sails block my wind as I tried to escape the shadow of their sails. Several 36' yachts played bumper boats as they avoided my starboard beam reach tack, down wind and down current from their positions. I could do nothing trapped by their enormous sails compared to mine. I made a bad decision to go through Racoon straights and took a long time getting out from the shadow of Angel Island. I think John and Richard went around and made it to Red Rock before the ebb. I spent about 2 hours fighting the current around Red Rock before drifting too close to the restricted zone and deciding to turn around. Then, hoisted a good VHF antenna and radioed in the DNF. Great race and I can't wait to see the results.
 
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3 Bridge photos from Dazzler

We felt the gentle breath of air at our 10:16:12 start, thought about the tides, and headed for Red Rock on the flood. Made it around the rock about 11:50. We did our best to observe the well-documented SSS restricted area around Richmond Long Wharf, but some skippers seemed oblivious and cut it pretty close around the tankers.

Yerba Buena was next, and we found some dead air pockets along the way, but finally the breeze filled in and took us around against the current. We passed the green lawn and lighthouse at 2:26pm. Speeding down the ebb tide with a good breeze, we hit 10 knots (our fastest of the day) and made Blackaller about 3:24.

The run back to the finish line was slowed by the ebb but we kept moving in the right direction to finish about 3:48pm in a mixed bag of boats that included the J/120 Mr. Magoo, Express 27s Verve, Wiley Coyote, Lightn Up, and Take Five, the F27 Sea Bird, Olson 30 Think Fast, Beneteau First 36.7 Ay Caliente!, and a sister WylieCat 30, Crinan II. It was a chilly day despite the sun, and it felt good to make it back to the harbor before dark.

Photos posted here:
http://www.pbase.com/estey/20100130_threebridge

Sue Estey
Tom Patterson's Wyliecat 30, Dazzler
 
The Race Committee figured you'd called in your retirement but I'll admit to more than one or two moments when the two of us listening didn't match everything. Now to your photos!
 
Tinker said:
SNIP

The race lived up to it reputation for me this year. I caught up to Blueberry and Can O' Wopass right before Black Aller after starting slowly 5 minutes late with the spinnaker and a South breeze against the flood. Rounded the mark behind one other boat cleanly and then watched over 50 very large sails block my wind as I tried to escape the shadow of their sails. Several 36' yachts played bumper boats as they avoided my starboard beam reach tack, down wind and down current from their positions. I could do nothing trapped by their enormous sails compared to mine. I made a bad decision to go through Racoon straights and took a long time getting out from the shadow of Angel Island. I think John and Richard went around and made it to Red Rock before the ebb. I spent about 2 hours fighting the current around Red Rock before drifting too close to the restricted zone and deciding to turn around. Then, hoisted a good VHF antenna and radioed in the DNF. Great race and I can't wait to see the results.
Click to expand...

Picture 16 0f 37 taken from the deck of the Venture 21 Tinker indeed shows Blueberry my Nonsuch 22 and Can O'Whoopass A Cal 20 inching down on Blackaller. Taking an hour to round Blackaller did not seem to be such a great idea when nervously looking back over my shoulder at that cloud of sails following me down the course.

As luck would have it, Blueberry rounded just inside of the Catalina 250K Lapras with Can O'Whoopass right behind the two of us. To my surprise and delight, my nemesis Tinker did not immediately emerge to chase me down from what was by now a parking lot around Blackaller. The three of us who did make it away from Blackaller avoided Raccoon Strait. There was mild shuffling of order on the way to Red Rock when Lapras went closer to Angel Island than either Can O'Whoopass or Blueberry, the furthest out of the three.

Can O'Whoopass ignited his afterburners, passed Blueberry , rounded Red Rock and gradually pulled away towards TI. Again came my surprise and delight on rounding Yerba Buena to find Can O'Whoopass stuck in a wind hole and we came to with a few ten of feet to each other before the breeze I brought with me freed us both and we headed upwind towards the finish at GGYC.

Can O'Whoopass finished a country mile, maybe more, ahead of me at the GGYC. Did I mention that Richard vonEhrenkrook and his Trapeze Artist crew member ( I regret I can't find his name) (they use a Trapeze on their Cal 20 in the summer winds, but did not use it for the TBF) are super upwind sailors? So is the Venture 21 Tinker with Matthew Beal, and so are the fastest Santana 22's of that fleet.

Yeah I know, what do I expect with a 5000 lb 22 footer that has the water plane of a harbor tug? The answer I know I can learn more to just maybe do better than I did against them. My proof that I still have a ton to learn about racing sail trim after cruising my own boats and teaching cruising on other people's boats for 61 years before beginning my racing career with the TBF in 2008, was that as he went by me on the way home, Kame Richards of Pineapple Sails, the maker of Blueberry's sail, yelled across the water something I sure wish I heard clearly enough to make his sail trim suggestion effective. You bet I will ask him what he said on Monday.

Bottom line, a wonderful day. A lot of boats finished before I did at 4:35, a lot of boats withdrew, and a lot of boats finished after I did before the 6:30 deadline. One of the beauties of being among the first to start in a pursuit race, is that I can enjoy a longer time out there battling it out with my nemesis boat buddies than most of the guys in faster boats.

John Foster
Blueberry, Nonsuch 22, sail #48, PHRF 246
SSS Race Info Officer 2010-2011
 
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