Beer Can #19 - August 13

It was another exciting evening at the Redwood City beer can races. We had very colorful crews on all 7 Merits plus a Santana. It was a beautiful warm summer evening with 15-20 kt winds out of the northeast, which made for a very active beat up the channel. Lots of tacking was done by all.

The tide was dead low shortly before the start of the race, so we had a 3 kt flood all the way out and back. It certainly felt like more.

This week, I got a lot of pictures and had a little fun with them. Check it out!

M1 - Persistent Peter

M2 - Hiding Hans

M3 - Nonchalant Norbert

M4 - Skillful Stan

M5 - Jiffy Jeff

M6 - Able Andrew

M7 - Missing Mike (where is he???)

S4 - Dizzy Dave

I was in M3 with Nonchalant Norbert and one other crew member, Felix. We got a slow start and had a slow boat, so we were essentially at the back of the pack all the way out to marker 12. So what did we do all that time, you ask? We tacked and tacked and tacked and tacked and then tacked again! We must have tacked about 50 times by the time we rounded the mark.

Oh, and speaking of the mark... We were about 100 yards back when we saw Lady Kay (one of the big boats) literally shred her jib on marker 12. I heard all sorts of stories from the boats around her, but it seems like a case of bad judgment and unpredictable wind in a tight situation. Bummer...

We saw Jiffy Jeff and crew in M5 (a known fast boat) heading back when we were only about half way between 2 and 12, so I'm guessing M5 won, but I'm not sure. I know we weren't last. M6 came in after us, and S4 (who I hear started on time this time!) came in after them.

It was a lovely evening, though, and a wonderful time was had by all!

Check out my Picasa web album for more pictures of the race, the originals of these pictures, and larger versions of these pictures. Enjoy!

Say Cheeseburger!

Well the upcoming Cheeseburger in Paradise Regatta & BBQ is already generating some buzz. Many boats are reserved and club boats are beginning to fill. The course has just been determined. All racers should be here by noon for boat assignments. The skippers will then be briefed as to the course and starting times for each class of boats as the crew readies the boats for the race. If you haven't signed up yet do so now- today so you can be assured a spot on the boat of your choice.

Beer Can #18 - August 6

Is it August already? Where has the summer gone?

Well, I was slackin' again this week. Not really... I had to work a million hours to meet a deadline on Thursday, so I missed the beer can race. I did hear some stories, though.

Norbert told me that he was in Dave G's boat, a Cal 24, with Karen and Lisa, and that they started about 5 minutes early again. He said the two Cals and the Santana that were out that day came first. He also mentioned that some of the big boats were just coming out of the channel when they were passing marker 2 to come back in! I guess it was a pretty fast race!

Some people in Merits were Skipper Jeff Smith and crew, Skipper Stan with Monica as crew(!), and Skipper Nico and crew. Apparently, Nico took the prize for first place among the Merits... again.

I'll definitely be out there in a Merit this week. Fair winds, y'all!

Beer Can #17 - July 30

I'm a slacker. I've been selfish. I raced on Smokin' J again this week and didn't take any pictures or even get any stories about the Merit race. I have no idea who did what in the Merit race. I just wanted to relax for a change and have fun this week, so I abandoned the racing blog. I didn't even write about sailing the J! Oh my.

I did find out one thing, though... Dave G came in first overall in a Santana!!! How cool is that?! When I asked him how he did it, he told me that he rigged the hanked jib all the way to the top of the forestay (instead of the 2 feet lower that is a normal hoist on that boat) and tied off the clew (now 2 feet above the deck) to the shackle on the bow. By doing that, he was able to raise the center of the sail a couple of feet and get more speed... I guess.

He later told me that he started the race 4 minutes early! What?!?! Intentionally??? Yes. Hmm... Well, I guess he shouldn't get the prize for winning the race, but what the heck. He took the beer cozy at the apres sail festivities and gave it to Lisa, one of his loyal crew members. So I guess it all comes out in the wash.

No pics... sorry... Want to see pictures of the new doors and windows installed in my house this week? I didn't think so.