Three bridge fiasco 2018

[Gamayun]

I have no plan (again) and no arch installed (yet), but I will have my ace navigator, Beccie, on board. We're going to be doing it doublehanded for the first time, which kinda makes me nervous as hell for some reason. Have any of you singlehanders gone the DH route in the past? How'd that work out? At least now, I know there will be someone with a brain on the boat who will come up with a good plan and will actually implement it

 

[BobJ]

Yes, last year I raced the 3BF doublehanded for the first time. Dave Morris said he thought we should go counter-clockwise, even though that wasn't the conventional wisdom for the forecast. I should have listened to Dave.

So I'd listen to Beccie if I were you.

 

[ChrisK]

So far the forecast is:

Light winds...becoming nw 5 kt.

Should be fun....

 

[BobJ]

Bring a box of donuts. We'll gather at Pt. Bonita...

 

[jamottep]

I'm trying to picture this ... With a strong ebb current and very light wind most boats won't be able to overcome the ebb. Then what? They'll motor to stay "up tide", will cross the starting line towards the GG, go for 50 yards and drop anchor?

 

[sleddog]

I'm trying to picture this ... With a strong ebb current and very light wind most boats won't be able to overcome the ebb. Then what? They'll motor to stay "up tide", will cross the starting line towards the GG, go for 50 yards and drop anchor?

Although anchoring 50 yards up current before the 3BF start is an option, it is not usually recommended due to traffic. Better to keep the engine running until 5 minutes before your start time and position yourself far enough from the line to drift down current and cross the line east to west.

What happens next as the fleet approaches Blackaller Buoy can be a real cluster*%*! with boats being swept by on both sides at a rapid clip as they play bumper boats. Little chance for a seabreeze at this time of day, more likely light northerly drainage out of Richardson Bay/East Bay. After Blackaller, port tack is the only hope, but if your boat speed isn't >3 knots, you're likely going for an ocean tour and donuts at Pt. Bonita. Suggest having #1 ready to go.

 

[Philpott]

Skip, I'm sure you are toasty warm tucked up in Ruby somewhere pretty just now. Wish you would come down here and sail with us. You are always welcome on Dura Mater.

 

[BobJ]

Any weirds of wordsdom from the skippers' meeting? Traffic was brutal last night so I didn't try to drive over.

T = my start time. By T minus ten (min.) I need to have checked in. At T minus five min. the engine must be out of gear, and I may enter the sacred 50-yard boundary around the starting line, which extends both ways from the line and in a semi-circle beyond the pin.

Stay out of restricted areas, call in and (if necessary) light up sail numbers when finishing, note finish time and boats ahead/behind for sorting later.

Is that the gist of it?

 

[jamottep]

Any weirds of wordsdom from the skippers' meeting? Traffic was brutal last night so I didn't try to drive over.

T = my start time. By T minus ten (min.) I need to have checked in. At T minus five min. the engine must be out of gear, and I may enter the sacred 50-yard area around the starting line, which extends both ways from the line and in a semi-circle beyond the pin.

Stay out of restricted areas, call in and (if necessary) light up sail numbers when finishing, note finish time and boats ahead/behind for sorting later.

Is that the gist of it?

And that new starting times were posted yesterday. Lights on after NOAA sunset 5:28pm.

 

[BobJ]

Thanks PJ.

Hmm, half of my division has transferred to Doublehanded - the weenies. This means the only plaque I'll possibly get will be on my teeth.

Oh, but my sole division competitor won SH overall two years ago - there's some motivation!

 

[Philpott]

I collected my Fiasco crew from the Delta terminal at SFO. The flight from Wisconsin this morning was slightly delayed via Minneapolis where it required de-icing. Amy arrived ready to learn from Madison, where it was twenty degrees. She brought her Ray-Bans and a new pair of Salomon waterproof hiking shoes with very sticky heels. This girl is ready to sail.

I took her to lunch at the Cliff House where I had requested a window seat: Her first sight of the Pacific Ocean. She pointed offshore and asked if we would be racing out there on Saturday. We watched as a rainstorm moved south.

I pointed toward Point Bonita. "No, but just around the corner."

She nodded seriously, still looking offshore. "I'll bet it's fun out there, though." Now that's the attitude.

After lunch, as we walked to the car she stopped and raised her face to the sun. "It's so warm!" She stood there for a several minutes.

We drove across the Golden Gate Bridge, which she videotaped for posterity, then across the Richmond San Rafael Bridge, where I pointed out Red Rock, one of our marks for Saturday. She nodded seriously and asked how long I thought the course would take to finish. Ah, the trusting nature of Midwesterners. I said that it depended upon the wind.

A long discussion followed while we figured out how long it would take Dura Mater to sail the course if we enjoyed a solid wind and five knots of speed. There was a long pause in the car.

"Is there a time limit?" she asked. "Seven o'clock", I replied. She slapped her knee. A rodeo barrel racer, Amy declared, "Well, heck! We oughta be able to do that!"
I assured her that we were doing the race for fun, and would stop sailing and head home when she was no longer having fun.

We stopped off at the Berkeley Marina and walked down "O" dock toward Dura Mater where she boarded the first sailboat of her life. She asked if she could walk up to the bow. Of course she could. I cautioned her to use the handholds and grab the shrouds, not the lines. Amy stood on the foredeck, leaned back to look up at the moon, then across the spinnaker pole to where I was fiddling with the spinnaker shackle. "This is so cool! I love this boat! Now. Where's my bridal veil?"

 

[Gamayun]

I recall odd/even channels based on sail # and a ton of 20-min penalties mostly occurring around the start line. CG said "don't hit the cutter!" They were surprisingly good-natured about it, but that probably won't last long if anyone cuts the corner in there, which will have an offset mark.

Jackie, sounds like you two are going to have a fun time. Barrel racing can't be much different than sailboat racing, right?

See ya'll out there.

 

[BobJ]

Quite the buzz of activity at RYC today - lots of trailer boats getting launched, sails being inspected, bottoms being scrubbed and notes being compared. Rick motored by in his picklefork boat, sans boom and apparently sans a few other bits - he said he wouldn't be racing tomorrow.

Jackie and Amy stopped by, so Amy could see (according to Jackie) a "real racing boat." Fortunately I'd offloaded the grand piano and billiard table before they arrived. Amy seems quite determined but I know Jackie is too - she just hides it better. They weren't wearing bridal veils (what's the deal with the bridal veils?)

Rags is ready, tugging at her docklines. I hope we get some breeze!

 

[Philpott]

Thank you to Ton? Chin for this photo of the Fiasco mess at the North Tower yesterday. Taken from Land's End.

 

[AlanH]

That was sure a pretty day, I hope the wind came up in the afternoon.
It was breezy in the mid-late afternoon in Menlo Park. I had to weigh down the tarp I had over the bagged rudder to keep the heat in.

 

[jamottep]

Quick report ...

I left early from Brickyard. As I was making way out of the channel entrance I went to put the auto-pilot in charge only to find out that it was not on. I switched to the other auto-pilot but that didn't start either. I went out of way of traffic and bobbed a bit while I tried to figure out what was going on. When I opened up the fuse panel to check the wiring I plugged off the autopilot connection. I plugged it right back in and off I went.

I got close to the scene and staid out of trouble but then I realized that I couldn't figure out where the starting line was. My start time was getting close. I think I got the engine on for a little too long just so I could make it to the starting line, when I found it.

After that it was a mess. I didn't follow my plan. I figure I might as well get Blackaller since it's right there. Rounding the mark there was enough wind to climb up very slowly. The rest of the day was spent making little headway, with port tack climbing slowly and the tide pushing me and everyone else down on starboard tack. For the rest of the day the breeze would fill in a bit then die, not helping.

Lots of folks started retiring early.

When the westerly filled late in the afternoon in I was almost at the South tower and decided to try to get to Red Rock. That didn't work much better, with the breeze turning and dying.

Somehow I thought there'd be special points for persevering so I continued inching along. I checked the rules around 6pm and realize that wasn't so. I retired at that point and I only had made it up to mid Raccoon strait.

I finally got out of Raccoon Straight and a solid night breeze filled in to finish the day. Arriving in Brickyard I was down for the usual slow hoist out and long drive home. I got home at after 10pm. It was a long slow day.

No collision, no damage ... Racing resume: 100% DNF

 

[BobJ]

Thank you to Tone' Cinn for this photo of the Fiasco mess at the North Tower yesterday. Taken from Land's End.

In the photo, Rags is just above the ferry and behind the tree branch (mid span). The large sailboat just to the left of Rags (almost at the wind line) is a Columbia 57 charter boat. I tried to get over towards Belvedere for current relief but ended up by Pt. Cavallo, where I had to turn on the engine.

One amusing moment: The radio exchange between the R/C and the chap who withdrew and headed to Sam's.

Once amnesia sets in we'll start thinking about next year.
.

 

[Lanikai]

...After that it was a mess. I didn't follow my plan. I figure I might as well get Blackaller since it's right there....No collision, no damage ... Racing resume: 100% DNF

Hah! Welcome to the club, which was about 350+ large this year. I thought the same. Really hadn't constructed a plan, also had autopilot fuse troubles on the way to he start, and before start time thought: "not enough wind to make real progress east, so let's slide to Blackaller to get one in the bank and then pray there's enough wind to sneak across to Yellow Bluff and figure it out from there." Near the south tower I saw a boat ahead of me getting ripped under the bridge, so I tried to tack back figuring maybe I could work the city front. Too late. Out the gate we go. Was happy I at least got to fill the spinnaker for a minute and catch a couple boats on the way to Blackaller.
After two failed attempts -- one fraught with near-collisions -- to escape the river at the north tower, I went and idled in a nice eddy off Kirby Cove. Ate lunch while spectating as the north tower crowd grew, and figured I'd give it an hour to see if anyone makes it out. I watched lots of fast boats and fast sailors do multiple loops on the conveyor belt: tack up in the relief along the shore, then get spit back out right at the tower (with at least one collision that I witnessed). Fugu...The Can...Azure...Punk Dolphin...Bandicoot...sisterships Dura Mater and Fandango...a bunch of Moores...Express 27s...37s...If they can't escape it, how could I? When Raven and other multis showed up and got stuck in the loop, I knew my fate was sealed. I re-read the tide tables and wind forecast and did the math.
Thank you for a pleasant day, RC!

 

[Jonathan Gutoff]

They should have postponed until today. It was very nice with an ample shifty, gusty northerly. With Fridays thick fog and while setting up the boat the question was "Can you start a Fiasco if you can't see the line?" At least we missed that.

 

[captleasure]

Ahoy!
Congrats to all that ran the race and tried to finish! I opted to not get flushed out of the bay in frustration this year given the wind and tide forecast.
I took some pictures and short videos at the start. It was sure interesting watching the start line shore side!
https://cluster.co/i/KYE8NYXC
Cheers
Randy
W32 Tortuga
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