Redwood City Yacht Racing

Lee Bow Current

2012-01-21T17:27:00.000-08:00

(Lee bow current is when the current is pushing the boat from the down wind (lee) side of the boat )Understanding what the currents are doing on the Bay and using them to your advantage can make a big difference in your performance around the racecourse. On a flood tide the current is coming in and on an ebb tide the current is going out as we have all learned in Basic Sailing. Knowing the strength of the current at any given time will help you understand the currents effect on the movement of the boat across the bottom and ultimately to our destination.When racing, we want to use the currents to our advantage when possible. This includes staying in the stronger current if it moves us faster to our destination and staying out of it if it slows us down or takes us away from our destination. As a rule the currents are generally stronger where the water is deeper.Knowing the current and its effect will influence your decision on when to tack or jibe onto a lay-line to the mark.When sailing toward a weather mark - lee bow current will generally push the boat to windward towards the mark. Taking advantage of this may allow you to tack early and use the current to lift you towards the mark thereby sailing a shorter distance. When approaching and rounding a windward mark, lee bow current will help to keep the boat from hitting the mark as the current will be pushing you away from it. Knowing this may help you keep an inside position as you round the mark.When sailing off the wind and toward a leeward mark, lee bow current will be pushing you either toward or away from the mark. This may influence the heading you choose to the mark compensating for the pushing effect of the current. When approaching and rounding the mark make sure you have plenty of room between you and the mark so as not to get pushed into it. Knowing the tides and currents are an important aspect of sailing on the Bay. Understanding them and using them to your advantage will help you in a big way.Please feel free to post any questions in the comments.

Smooth Sailing.

Rich

Spinnaker Sailing

The 2011-2012 Winter Series Has Begun

2011-11-29T10:33:00.001-08:00

Sailors: The Merit Winter Series Race No. 1 was sailed on November 13 with a record Five Mighty Yachts crowding the start line! Here are the season standing after one race, with a four-way tie for sixth place:1. Hans & the fearsome Dutch/French/Dutch/French boat (Dave Preageant counts as French) .75 points2. Brett 2 pts3. Peter McCormick 3 pts4. Dave Goeke 4 pts 5. Gary Polson 5 pts6. John Dick 7 pts.6. Your name here 7 pts6. Jeremy W. 7 pts6. You get the idea 7 ptsIf you did not race the first race because you were playing for the 49ers on Nov. 13th, then:-Thanks, good victory!-Sorry the Niners cut you.-You have 7 points in the series, and one throw-out, so come on down with your crew and race THIS SUNDAY DEC 4: START TIME 1PM.Peter McCormick has two season championships! Hans has never won a season, but has Peter pinioned in third place and is coming off a three-bullet sweep of the Los Gatos Challenge!! What will happen this year?!?!?!?!?!? Inquiring minds want to know...See you at the start line,-Brett Herr

2010 Winter Racing Series

2009-10-21T12:35:00.000-07:00

Its time once again for the Winter Racing Series to begin. Starting in November we will be racing Merit 25s on the third sunday of the month. The start time is 1:00pm and the mandatory finish time is 4:00pm. If you want to skipper a boat please reserve one with Mike or Bob at least a week in advance to guarantee yourself a Merit. There will be no skippered boats during this series as this race is a series of races and accrued points go to the skipper. Try SailMates if you want to be crew or if you are looking for crew. Check out our webpage for more details.

Now in the Extended Season

2009-09-14T11:01:00.000-07:00

Well we are now in our official extended season with races starting a half hour earlier than the normal season due to the nights coming sooner. The boats are still being reserved to capacity and it seems our racers don't want the season to end at all. Perhaps we will even have a winter race series. Stay tuned for more.

2009 Cheeseburger in Paradise Regatta and BBQ

2009-09-01T12:22:00.000-07:00

Sally Mitchell, Pascal Bruyere, (skipper) Jeremy Westerman, Steve Castelotti

Winners of the 2009 Cheeseburger in Paradise Regatta

So how does it feel to come in first in the biggest race of the Spinnaker Sailing Club year? Well by all observations, it's nonstop smiling. The water was flat, the wind picked up late and so the course was hot and fast. Most entrants finished in under 3 hours which was an amazing feat. The course was from the end of the Redwood Landing Marina to marker 12 at the San Mateo Bridge and back again, This was the fastest race in the history of the Cheeseburger and the competition was very close. Just about everyone had the boats put away and were at the conference center well before the 5:00pm BBQ start time so there were a few beers to be had before the food began coming off the grill and there was plenty for everyone. Check our link to the website for more pictures and please feel free to comment on this blog if you wish to add your own perspectives. There was still some room on the deck of the conference center so if you didn't make it to this event, you could have. Next year we expect an even larger crowd, so be sure to RSVP for this well ahead of time.

2009 Beercan Racing is ON!!!

2009-05-06T10:01:00.000-07:00

Well the beginning of the 2009 Beercan racing season is on with a vengeance. All but one Merit have gone out in the first two races, and that includes the newest boat M8 which coincidentally makes 8 boats in the Merit fleet. Since M8 is so new and does not have matching sails as the other boats we are reserving this boat for our "Club" boat so anyone who signs up to race as crew could potentially get aboard this rocket and have a better chance at winning. This should even out the odds when comparing the efficiency of a crew that works together regularly together. Don't wait until the last minute to sign up as the best boats go fast. (pun intended : ) So then, as they say, " The race is on!"

Winter Racing Final

2009-04-21T10:32:00.001-07:00

Well our last race for the Winter Series concluded Sunday with Brett Herr taking the finish and John Dick who was subbing for Dave Goecke came in second with Peter McCormick coming in last when he tried to take a shortcut across the mud : ) The final tally for the season gave us a tie for second with Brett Herr and Peter McCormick having identical scores after dropping the worst race from the season. Dave Goecke gave a mighty showing after joining the series after the first race had already been run and having to use ALL of his races in the series without the forgiveness of throwing out your worst race like the other racers had. All in all this was a great time for our die hard racers who refuse to shut down for the winter. Congrats to all and hopefully we will run this again next year!

Last Race Called for Wind

2009-03-23T12:46:00.000-07:00

Well, the San Francisco Bay is famous for it's wind, but yesterday that would have seemed an understatement. Gusting to 32 knots in the channel and over 40 knots on the bay we decided to call the race off rather than flirt with disaster and have to clean that mess up after it happened. There is a saying, " It is better to be on land and wish you were at sea than to be at Sea and wish you were on land"

Till next time,

Mike

Winter Racing Season update

2009-02-23T15:39:00.000-08:00

Well the February winter race date Feb 15 got postponed due to inclement weather (really windy) so it was actually held 2/22 where we had less wind and plenty of rain. The few souls who showed up were hearty indeed and all returned safely and had a great time anyway. After all the weather we get down here is just an excuse to use the foul weather gear we bought anyway. The results are as follows:
1st place- Dave Goeke
2nd place- Brett Herr and Peter McCormick

Totals for the season so far, excluding one race per entrant:

1st place Peter McCormick - 3.50
2nd place Brett Herr - 4.75
3rd place Dave Goecke - 5.75

December Winter Race

2008-12-29T13:08:00.001-08:00

There was a bit more of a turnout this month as Dave Goecke, Brett Herr and Peter McCormick went head to head in light air to try to establish a leading position in the series standings. All finished the race and they posted the following results:

1st place Brett Herr .75
2nd place Peter McCormick 2.00
3rd place Dave Goecke 3.00

The series totals to date are as follows:

1st place Peter McCormick 2.75
1st place Brett Herr 2.75
2nd place Dave Goecke 3.00

Miraculously because there were only 3 entrants and there is a tie for first, nobody came in last. Go figure.

New 2008 Winter Series kicks off

2008-12-06T15:26:00.000-08:00

Our new Winter racing series has begun. Due to the amount of requests we have received we are continuing our racing program though the winter season. For more details click on the above link and it will take you to the page with all of the information regarding this new once a month series. So far the scoring is as follows:

Peter McCormick - .75 pts
Brett Herr - 2 pts

If you missed last months race don't worry. Everyone is allowed to throw out their worst race in the series, so you can still join in and be competitive next month. The next race day will be Sunday, December 21, 2008. Show up early as the race starts at 1:00pm.

Fair Winds,

Mike

Final Beer Can Race of 2008

2008-10-08T16:26:00.000-07:00

Well, this week was the final beer can race of the season. Unfortunately, I had a family emergency and missed it. I had prepared a photo slideshow for the post-race festivities at Sequoia Yacht Club, but the people in charge of the program weren't able to get it to play from the CD I gave them. So I've decide to post it here for all to see. It's not as great as it would have been on the big screen, but at least some of you will get to see it now. Be sure to turn on your computer's sound and enjoy!

Please plan on getting out there every Wednesday next year. The racing season starts around mid-April. Check back on Spinnaker's web site for the exact date.

Fair winds,
cj

Beer Can #25 - Sept 24

2008-09-25T09:27:00.000-07:00

It was a balmy night. There will little wind in the channel but a very nice breeze as we got out to the bay. We were racing course 2—out to marker 12 and back.

I was racing on Odyssey, my friend Alex's 44' Islander, which is berthed at Bair Island Marina. So I couldn't be on the Merit dock to take pictures before the race.

I sent out email the day before, asking for someone to take pictures of the Merit crews for me, and Dave G kindly volunteered. So these pictures are all his. Where's the picture of your crew, Dave?!

Dave also gave me the run-down of who did what to whom after the race, so I've got the stats for you.

Place	Boat	Skipper
1	M6	Nico
2	M7	Hans
3	M4	Dave G
4	M3	Brett
5	M5	Mike
6	M1	Peter

Congrats to all, and a big thank you to Dave for helping me out!

Beer Can #24 - Sept 17

2008-09-17T20:10:00.000-07:00

I know... I've been very, very bad and missed a few weeks of races on this blog. Well, last night I shot a lot of pictures and talked to all of the racers and now I'm back on track and intend to write up the last 4 races of the season. Only 3 left! Better get out there if you haven't been in a while!

It was a gorgeous evening. We're into the extended season now, so the race started half an hour early and finished early, too, which was really nice. It was a strong ebb during the whole race with about 15-18 kt winds out of the northwest... just delightful conditions. We raced course 1, which is out to Y and back... the new race marker that was replaced a few weeks ago after it went missing in June.

I crewed on Slipstream, a 42' Catalina, for the first time. I was working the jib for a while and then the main for a while, but because there were so many crew members, I got several chances to shoot some pictures of the Merits out on the water... something I don't get to do much when I'm in one!

From all accounts, the Merits had a good start. Nico took the lead right away in M2, and Dave in M4 with Susan and my buds, Norbert and Kerry, battled M1 and M5 for second place and got it.

Smokin' J also had a bunch of my buds on board, and I was able to get several pictures of them... another thing I don't usually get to do because I'm often on it! Of course, Smokin' J has never gone aground when I've been on it!

So I don't have a lot to report, because I can't tell tales out of school (and there were some very interesting tales told to me last night!), but suffice it to say it was a glorious evening for sailing, and a lovely time was had by all.

Hey, I just realized that I don't know the order the other Merits came in. Please post a comment with whatever info you know!

Place	Boat	Skipper
1	M2	Nico
2	M4	Dave G
?	M1	Hans
?	M3	Mike
?	M5	Vadim
?	M6	Peter
?	M7	Brett

Please check out my Picasa web album for lots more pictures!

2008 Cheeseburger in Paradise

2008-09-10T12:04:00.000-07:00

Well the latest Cheeseburger in Paradise was a huge success having over 30 participants and yielding 2 class winners for the first time in the events history. The Merit 25's were historically the annual race one design boat, but there were so many people signing up for the event that we had to add Cal 24's and the J29. Since there were 7 merit 25's we decided to give that design it's own award and also give an award for the best place overall. It was a long race to the San Mateo Bridge and back as the winds were light and the current was a fairly strong flood. The winners are as follows:

Overall Champions -

Boat - J29
Skipper - Philippe Piernot
Crew - Nico Popp
Laurence Popp

Merit 25 Champions -

Boat - M6
Skipper - Peter McCormick
Crew - Bruce Rosenthal
Tara Travers
Brendon Vining

Kimi Kosugi, who won the last two years races in a row came in a close third and was the second Merit 25 to cross the finish. Congrats to all racers and a special thanks to all the friends and family that showed up to support this event. Lots of Cheeseburgers and beverages were consumed in the celebration of this extremely popular annual regatta. We hope to see you here next year.

Beer Can #19 - August 13

2008-08-13T21:54:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-08-12T12:29:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-06T09:59:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-02T20:36:00.000-07:00

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.

Beer Can #16 - July 23

2008-07-25T09:16:00.000-07:00

Once again, I was crewing on Smokin' J for the beer can race this week, but I had a bird's eye view of the start of the Merit race from about 100 yards up the channel. What a pretty start! Seven boats all in a row, all starting at roughly the same time. Very quickly, M7 and M1 forged ahead. Half a minute later, M1 screamed past us, and it looked like my good buddies, Skipper Norbert and Dave G were going to prevail. They were neck and neck with Skipper Nico on M7!

The Merits sailed up the channel, and we continued to tack and gybe, preparing for our start. It was a beautiful warm, sunny day with strong winds in the basin (about 18 kts) and most of the channel and lighter winds out on the bay (about 15 kts). As unusual as that is, it's been happening quite a bit this year. The ebb was just starting, so the currents were with us on the way out. The race was to day marker 12 and back.

We got a good start with Kerry at the helm and Skipper Stan doing timing and tactics. Steve was on the main, Jerry and I were on the jib, and Chris and Sean were rail meat on the upwind leg and were assigned foredeck and mast, respectively, for the downwind. We played cat and mouse with Iowa on the way up the channel and almost caught them a few times. Kerry navigated us brilliantly through some pretty big waves between the end of the channel and the mark and made a very good rounding. By the time we reached the mark, we had passed 3 or 4 boats and were doing great.

The downwind sail was less perfect. Chris wasn't ready to raise the spinnaker when we rounded the mark, and then when he did raise it, it was twisted. When he got the twist out, he realized that one of the sheets was rigged wrong. Ugh... We doused. Sean went below and got the chute ready to raise through the forward hatch. Meanwhile, Chris rerigged the sheets and halyard. They started to raise it again, but the rigging was wrong again. We doused again. This time, I was on deck, ready to release the boom vang if we started to broach, so I ended up playing turtle and holding the spinnaker by the mast while Sean rerigged the sheets.

We were back in the channel by this time and Stan was at the helm. We'd been passed by several boats while we headed down to try to fly the kite, and now the wind was too far forward to fly it. Stan said to wait until we reached the power towers, and the wind would shift to more of a beam reach. When we got there, we raised the chute, and it flew. But we were so close to the end of the race that Stan said not to bother lowering the jib. So we sailed along with both the spinnaker and the jib raised.

After all was said and done, we came in about in the middle of the pack... not bad for such a messed up spinnaker run!

The Merit race was pretty close and a fun race for those I talked to out on the deck of SYC after the race. Here are the results:

Place	Boat	Skipper
1	M7	Nico
2	M1	Norbert
3	M5	Peter
4	M2	Mike
5	M3	Hans

I hope to see you all out there next week! Please check my Picasa web album for pictures of the Santana (Skipper Kimi) and Cal (Skipper Cliff).

Ron Brown in Pacific Cup Race!

2008-07-18T08:36:00.000-07:00

You may have heard that Ron Brown is racing in the Pacific Cup right now. He's one of the instructors at Spinnaker Sailing, co-owner and avid racer of Black Sheep (a 25' Beneteau), member of Sequoia Yacht Club, and all round great guy.

Ron is sailing for J World on a J-120 called J World. They left San Francisco yesterday (July 16) with a good lead all the way out the gate. Sandi Crane was there and shot some very cool videos of the start. Check them out!

If you'd like to follow the race, check out the Satellite Race Tracker. J World is in Div D.

Beer Can #15 - July 16

2008-07-16T17:57:00.000-07:00

If it's Wednesday, I must be sailing!

This week, I was on M4 with Skipper Steve Skinner. It was just the two of us with Steve at the helm and on the main and myself on the jib sheets. The weather was warm, sunny, and breezy (maybe 12 kts in the channel), and I thought we'd have a nice, calm race on a warm summer evening.

We got off to a great start... until Kerry suddenly appeared on our starboard side and yelled out "Starboard"! We had to duck down to avoid a collision, and Steve ended up doing a 360, which made us very late over the starting line. Arrrrrggggg, Kerry!!!

So we brought up the rear all the way up the channel. As we got closer to the bay, the wind got stronger and stronger, and by the time we were on our way toward race marker S, our target, we realized that we probably should have reefed back in the channel. As we neared the middle of the bay, the waves got bigger and closer together, and the wind got stronger. Steve had all he could do to keep us moving through the waves. We were way too light for those conditions, especially without a reef.

So at some point, probably half way between 3 and S, we decided to head back. We were in last place by a long way, overpowered, and not able to get up enough speed to make good progress through the big waves. It was the right thing to do. The up side was that I could take pictures of the fleet as they returned, and Steve could go home early and make points with his wife! So back to the dock we went, which was a pretty nice downwind sail after we got out of the big waves.

So I have lots more pictures this week, which you can see on my Picasa web album. And I have the race results for you:

Place	Boat	Skipper
1	M6	Ron Wilson
2	M1	Nico
3	M7	Hans
4	M5	Kerry
5	M3	Viola
6	M2	Jeff
X	M4	Steve Skinner (abandoned)

Even though we didn't finish, it was a fun race and post-race festivities, as usual. I'm glad to see so many people out on the Merits this year! Great turnout!

Beer Can #14 - July 9

2008-07-09T20:23:00.000-07:00

I missed it again! Arrrrgggg.... got caught up with a technical problem at work and had to solve it before I left for the day (which turned out to be 7:30pm), so I could deliver my work that was due that day. I have a new client and just started a new gig last week, so I have to make a good impression, you know!

Anyway, I hear tell that all 7 Merits and all 3 Santanas were out this week. I have no idea who was where, who won, placed, or showed, or what the heck happened. If you have the 411 about this week's race, please write a comment and associate it with this post.

Any subscriber can write a comment! Just click subscribe to this blog, and select your account type. (If you don't have a Yahoo or Google account, select Atom.) Then you can comment all you like. Just click the comments link at the end of the post you want to comment on.

Thanks to Dave G for sending me this picture of his crew (CK, Curt, and Tara). Apparently, Curt's PFD inflated as they were taking down the sails. That's the second one this season! Kerry's was the first.

And thanks to Shirley Burek (often part of Jeff Smith's crew) for this really cool aerial photo of the race shot from her friend's Cessna.

See you next week for sure!

Beer Can #13 - July 2

2008-07-02T13:30:00.000-07:00

This week's beer can race was fairly relaxed and fun for me. I was on the Smokin' J, so I didn't get a lot of stories about the Merit race. I do have the results, though, and a few pictures from where I was sitting.

Place	Boat	Skipper
1	M3	Jeff
2	M4	Viola
3	M1	Dave G
4	M7	Leslie
5	M2	Kimi

It was a balmy early summer evening. The wind was perfect—12-15 kts with gusts maybe hitting 18-20 kts. We had a flood tide with some rollers out in the deeper parts of the bay, but that was good for surfing back.

Stan took the helm for the start of the race and then handed it over to Kerry and shifted into his tactician role. I was on the main for the upwind leg, and Steve Skinner took the jib sheets. Monica was foredeck, so she was basically rail meat on the way out to S, the race marker we were headed for. Monica brought her cousin, Emily, and her student, Brian, who hadn't sailed much and not for a long time. Brian helped Steve on the jib sheets, and Emily pitched in whenever we needed her. Other than that, they rode the rail with Monica.

Kerry steered us through the rollers extremely well on the upwind leg and then rounded the mark perfectly, capturing the inside track and overtaking a Beneteau that was rounding at the same time.

That's when Monica came alive! Up went the spinnaker and down went the jib. Monica noticed that the spin halyard was inside the jib and corrected that quickly just before the hoist. She also loved the special ties I brought her to tie down the jib when it was not in use. Glad that was a hit!

On the downwind leg, Monica trimmed, I handled the guy, and Kerry handled the foreguy and topping lift. It was really nice to have enough crew to handle everything in the pit. So often this spring we've been shorthanded while flying the chute.

No gybes were necessary as we headed for the channel on a broad reach. Stan decided to douse early, around marker 8, I think. The douse went well except for my foot on the guy, but we corrected that quickly. Part way down the channel, a couple of other boats hoisted their chutes again, but Stan decided not to when Monica said she'd be swimming back if he did. All in all, it was a very pleasant evening and a good race. I believe we came in 5th out of about 20 boats.

When we returned to the dock, the Merits were all in. Here's what they look like after a race:Lame, I know... I promise to get all of the crews' pictures next week! Thanks to all who came out for this race!

Beer Can #12 - June 25

2008-06-25T17:21:00.000-07:00

I was in this week's beer can race and did sail on a Merit, but my purpose was two-fold. Besides enjoying the race and trying to win, I was practicing for the LGYC Challenge race I'll be in this Saturday. You can get more info about our first practice and the race results on my other sailing blog.

My crew was Kerry (who actually chartered the boat, but I was acting skipper), Norbert (who faithfully came to the race straight from work and had to go back to work right after the race), Phill (who is the most experienced racer among us and has been a tremendous inspiration to us all). If you read my other blog about our first practice, you know that we were lacking some weight in general, but we had too much weight on the low side with Kerry grinding on the tacks. We still didn't have a fifth crew member.

I ran into Florin on the docks just before the start of the race and thought he'd be perfect... young, athletic, agile, strong, and light weight... not too much weight on the low side when he was grinding for me but enough to help on the high side when we were all on the rail. I asked him if he could do it, and he was thrilled. He said he'd have to check with his wife, and I offered him my cell phone. He made the call and 5 minutes later we had our fifth crew member! Yippee!

These guys are the best crew I could ask for, and I look forward to racing with them in the LGYC Challenge on Saturday.

Since I'm skippering the race on Saturday, I had to pay attention to my crew and strategy, so I asked my good friend and sailing buddy, Sandi, to take pictures of the Merit racing crews for me. She got all of the crews except for M1, because they took off before she even got to the dock! Thanks, Sandi!

I spent the time after the race debriefing and strategizing with my crew, so I didn't get any of the good stories I usually get. And I don't want to discuss my racing strategy before the big race on Saturday. But I can tell you that one of my opponents in Saturday's race, John Draeger, raced a Merit that night and won. My other opponent in Saturday's race, Jeff Smith, raced his own boat, Ilonsa, that night, so I couldn't observe his tactics in a Merit. Well, we were watching John anyway, because I'd observed Jeff on a couple of other races and thought I could predict some things he might do. (I'm not tellin'...)

We were in M3, and John was in M5. Nico, who wins a lot of races, particularly in M2, was in M2. Those three boats started pretty much together, along with M7, skippered by Kimi with my friends Sandi and Bruce as crew.

We practiced in the positions we'd concluded were best at the end of Sunday's practice. Phill took the helm and the main. I managed the jib sheets (released and tailed). Florin stayed down low to grind for me and then hopped up on the rail between tacks. Norbert was the forward-most rail meat and Kerry was rail meat in the middle. Can you believe two accomplished sailors like that were willing to come out and just be rail meat for me? What fantastic friends they are! So Norbert spent the entire race crossing in front of the mast on tacks, while Kerry rolled under the boom. I'm telling you... I couldn't ask for better sailing buddies. I owe those guys big time!

The practice went really well in terms of our positions. The crew was in synch and doing everything we were supposed to be doing. On the downwind leg, Phill taught us how to rock the boat down on puffs and waves, keeping it as flat as possible. But M5 and M2 were gaining speed and increasing their leads throughout the race. In fact, John went flying out in front of everyone on the downwind leg like a speed demon!

Phill isn't used to being passed by other Merits after a good start. He's used to gaining speed and then catching the other boats and winning races. So he started questioning himself, thinking maybe we're actually better than the people he usually sails with! We also thought John might be a real threat, and we knew Jeff had won this race a couple of other times. So we had our work cut out for us.

Here are the results:

Place	Boat	Skipper
1	M5	John Draeger
2	M2	Nico
3	M3	Cheryl
4	M1	Steve Skinner
5	M4	Peter
6	M7	Kimi

After the race, we cornered Stan and asked him if we could tune the rigs and how certain things would work on Saturday. We decided that I should pick up some tell-tales and some rigging tape and bring that on Saturday, along with some pliers and other tools to work on the boats before the skipper's meeting.

Wish me luck on Saturday in the LGYC Challenge! See you out there next Wednesday!

Beer Can #11 - June 18

2008-06-19T17:43:00.000-07:00

It never fails to amaze me that after all these beer can races, there's still something fresh and new about each one. This one had its own set of interesting events.

First, this was the biggest turnout for a beer can race in my history with the club. We had all 7 Merits out there plus two Cal 24s! Nine boats competing in the small boat race. Nice! Of course, I attribute it to all the people reading this blog who enjoy seeing their pictures on the web! Just look at how they're hammin' it up! Ok, I'm just kidding... Of course, you're all coming out because it's so damn much fun!

Ok, so down to business...

The night was warm... in the 80s, I'd say. The tide was going out but the ebb wasn't very strong (much to Norbert's chagrin—more about that later). The wind was nice... around 10 kts as we sailed out the channel, increasing to about 15-16 kts as we entered the bay, and then easing a bit while we were out there. It died down to about 6 kts by the time we returned to the channel.

The race course was #2—out to day marker 12 and back. I was in M6 with Sandi and Skipper Norbert. I can't believe Norbert has come out for this race three weeks in a row! He went back to work after the race, but at least he got out there for a wonderful break in the middle of the week. But I digress...

The Cal 24s started about 7 minutes before the Merits and were quite far down the channel by the time the Merits started. The Merit start was uneventful (although I do think that two boats crossed the starting line about 20 seconds early, but I'm not challenging, because I'm not sure which boats they were).

As we sailed up the channel, we were pretty close to a few other boats. When we rounded channel marker 3, we headed slightly east to ride the ebb and get some speed. Most of the other boats stayed on the west side of the bay, and Skipper Jeff, winner of the race, tells me that he took M5 right down the middle. He said he tacked quite a few times but basically headed straight for marker 12. We only tacked once to get to the mark, but I know we went a much longer distance, because we were in 4th place by the time we rounded the mark.

We set the sails to wing-and-wing for a straight downwind leg back to 3, and then took down the pole just before rounding 3 and heading back down the channel. We pretty much stayed in formation all the way to the finish line and came in fourth. Here are the results:

Place	Boat	Skipper
1	M5	Jeff
2	M2	Kerry
3	C1	Dave G
4	M6	Norbert
5	M1	Vadim
6	M7	Cliff
7	C2	Kimi
8	M3	Philippe
9	M4	John D

After the race, on the Sequoia Yacht Club deck, Jeff told me "When Nico didn't show up, we were so disappointed!" I guess he's itching for that rematch Nico promised him.

I also heard that M4 got their topping lift caught on day marker 12 as they rounded and had to cut the line. Yikes! That's the first mishap I've heard of for a while. No wonder they came in last!

Great race, friends! See you next time! Oh, and please check out my Picasa web album for more pictures

By the way, if you're not in the picture of the crew for the boat you were on, it's because you got there too late! You've got to get there by about 5:20pm to get in the pictures!

Beer Can #10 - June 11

2008-06-11T13:59:00.000-07:00

Beer Can #9 was one of the most fun races I've been in yet! I wasn't on a Merit, but I was on a Spinnaker boat... Smokin' J, my favorite boat in the fleet. And I sailed with almost all of my favorite sailing buddies, so it was a real treat for me.

The weather was fantastic! It was pretty hot on land, but as soon as we got on the water, the breeze cooled us off. It was still warm enough for shirt-sleeves, though, which was great. The tide was a flood during the whole race, which worked in our favor in the second half. The wind (about 10-15 knots) out of the north kept us moving along nicely the whole time, but it was favorable for flying the kite on the downwind leg. All in all, it couldn't have been better conditions!

I was pleased that I got there early and had a chance to rig the spinnaker myself, and I'd been the last person to pack it as well, so the success or failure of the set was all up to me. The last time I'd raced on the J, I'd messed up the rigging and was anxious to redeem myself.

We raced course 4, out to marker S and back. There were 7 crew members on board, so we had plenty of hands for everything. Norbert was assigned foredeck, and I was at the mast. Sandi and Victor managed the jib. Kerry and Skipper Stan switched off between the helm and the main. Alex was tactician and all-round helper wherever help was needed.

It was a beat out to the mark, so Norbert and I were rail meat, since we didn't have much to do at that point, except stay out of the way and shift our weight as directed. As we rounded the mark, Norbert and I were ready, and we raised the chute, which filled immediately and was testiment to proper rigging and packing. Phew!

We flew the spinnaker all the way past the finish line, which was kind of hairy coming down the channel. We kept getting gusts that threatened a broach. But Stan's superb talent at the helm and Alex's superb talent trimming the spinnaker both kept us steady and even. Nice work!

Not so with Black Sheep, though! Black Sheep had a bit of trouble with their spinnaker on the way down the channel... kept getting the wind knocked out and collapsing.

Eventually, they got it under control and started bearing down on us. They would turn up, and we'd turn up to block them. They'd turn down, and we'd turn down to block them. At one point, they were right on our tail, and their spinnaker actually grazed our backstay. (Shhh... we're not calling foul!)

We crossed the finish line with Black Sheep about two feet behind us. What a close race! That was so much fun!!!

Even though I wasn't sailing on a Merit, I've got the stats (and dirt) for you on the 6 Merits that sailed in this race. Here's the scoop:

Place	Boat	Skipper
1	M5	Jeff
2	M1	Viola
3	M6	Roy
4	M4	Vadim
5	M7	Dave G
X	M2	Nico (disqualified)

Even though M2 crossed the finish line first, Skipper Jeff took the prize for first place for M5 at the apres sailing festivities. M2 with Skipper Nico was disqualified by all accounts. My sources tell me that M2 started the race 20-30 seconds early and had a crew member's torso outside the lifelines longer than momentarily—two reasons for disqualification. Oops...

I heard Nico telling Jeff over beers "The stakes will be really high next week" and challenged Jeff to a rematch. Jeff replied "I'll be marking you!"

Dave Pregeant told me that, starting with the first beer can race in July, he will bring his handy-dandy electronic starting horn and will sound 3 short blasts at 3 minutes from start time, 2 short blasts at 2 minutes, 1 short blast at 1 minute, and 1 long blast at the start time. That way, there will be no question about when to start.

Please check out my Picasa web album for lots more pictures of this race. See you out on the water!

Beer Can #9 - June 4

2008-06-04T09:07:00.000-07:00

This was one of the most fun and fastest beer can races I've been in! All seven Merits were in the race (a first in the two years I've been racing), we had great wind, and the first four boats were all in close proximity, jockeying for positions during the whole race.

I was in M6 with Scott and my good buddies, Kerry (Skipper) and Norbert. The wind was blowing strong at the docks and all the way up the channel, so we were able to raise the sails as soon as we got to the basin. In fact, we reefed the main right away, figuring we could shake it out if we needed to when we got out of the channel.

We tacked back and forth over the starting line for about 20 minutes, testing our speed at various points of sail and how high we could point. Then we started timing our start and crossed the starting line right on time. M7 (Skipper Viola) and M4 (Skipper Nico) were slightly ahead of us, and M5 (Skipper Hans) was way ahead, over the starting line about 30 seconds too early. M5 turned around and, as they passed us going the other way, asked if we'd started yet! I guess they didn't know the start time! M5 went back to the starting line and started again, which put them at the end of the pack throughout the race.

Heading up the channel, the wind started to lighten, although it was still around 15 knots, I'd say. We noticed that M7, who was in the lead, had not reefed at all. M1, who was in second place, still had their reef in. We were in third place with M2 (also reefed) slightly behind us to starboard. I was assigned lookout duty for white caps in the bay. I didn't see any, so we shook out the reef and hoped the wind wouldn't pick up any more. We were surprised when the other boats around us didn't shake out their reefs, too, and questioned our decision. But we had faith that Skipper Viola in M7 knew what she was doing, and that we could catch up with enough sail power.

As we passed marker 8, the wind picked up again, and we wished we hadn't shaken out that reef. It was ok. We had experts (Kerry and Norbert) at the helm, so we managed to maintain third place... up to a point. M2 was beside us, then ahead of us, then behind us - swapping positions all the way to the mark. We were on Course 1, heading out to Y and back. The wind was behind us, and the ebb was pushing us north. We headed straight for the mark, rounded it shortly after M7 and M1, with M2 beside us neck and neck.

After we rounded the mark, M2 pushed ahead and stayed ahead, although only by about 4 boat lengths. The ride back was swift and efficient. I was rail meat for the first time ever, and crossing the deck on a tack was new to me. It looks so easy when others do it, but it was not so easy when I had to do it myself! I wasn't fast enough and got caught in the middle and got dumped back down to the low side at the end of the tack, holding onto the boom vang for dear life. Kerry told me afterwards he thought he was going to lose me, but I was able to catch my balance and scramble back up to the high side without much ado. Only my feet were in the water on the rail, but my spiffy waterproof socks kept my feet warm and dry (more or less). Thanks to Steve Stanley for recommending those socks!

As we made our way down the channel, the wind lightened a bit, and we finished in 4th place. We furled the jib and were able to sail all the way in to the dock on the main. We were on the docks with the boats buttoned up by 7:30pm... the earliest finish I can remember in a beer can race. Here are the results:

Place	Boat	Skipper
1	M7	Viola
2	M2	Steve Skinner
3	M1	Dave G
4	M6	Kerry
5	M4	Nico
6	M3	Steve Stanley
7	M5	Hans

Nice race, friends! Thanks to all who came out that night. A special welcome to Vikas, who read this blog, contacted me, sailed on M1 last night, and intends to take some classes and possibly join Spinnaker! Please check out my Picasa web album for more pictures. (Note that not all of the crew members are in these pictures. You need to get to the docks early, if you want to be included in the crew pictures!)

Beer Can #8 - May 28

2008-05-28T09:32:00.000-07:00

This week's beer can was very close for all of the Merits. Six boats went out, and we were all within a few hundred feet of each other at all times... with the exception of M3, who got way behind out near the mark.

The race was course 5—out to marker X and back. The winds were strong at the dock but pretty nice overall, around 10-15 knots most of the time with an occasional light spot. The water was flat until we were well out of the channel, and then we got some light chop in the deepest water.

At the start of the race, three or four boats went over the start line right on time, and the others followed. For some reason, M2 started pretty late but seemed to catch up with the rest of the Merits in the channel. It was a beam reach most of the way up the channel, with winds from the west.

I was in M7 with Skipper Viola and Dave P and Sandi as other crew members. We were neck and neck with M6 most of the way with M1 and M4 just ahead of us. When we got out of the channel, the pack disbursed a bit. We were solidly in third place with M1 and M4 still ahead of us and M6 dropping back. M2 and M3 were pretty far back.

We had a couple of GPSs on board and headed directly to the mark. M6 followed suit. We noticed that M1 and M4 were heading more toward the center span of the bridge and couldn't figure out why. Somehow M2 had caught up with the pack and was following M1 and M4. I found out later that the M2 crew didn't know where the mark was!

On our way to the mark, we got a header that forced us to change our course by about 30 degrees to the east. Along with fighting a strong flood the whole evening, that put us way further east than the boats in the lead.

When we got far enough out so the mark was about 130 degrees to our left, we tacked, and it was a good move. With the flood pushing us down, we headed straight for the mark and were able to round it without tacking again. After rounding the mark, we headed down and back to the channel.

On the downwind leg, at first, we were on a deep broad reach, so we used the spinnaker pole to hold the jib out... not wing-and-wing... just a starboard tack. We headed directly for marker 3, but the wind kept shifting, so we had to keep falling off (away from the marker) to maintain speed.

At some point in that downwind leg, M2 came from behind, passed everyone, and took the lead! We were all stumped at how they were doing it. (I later found out that one of the crew members, Peter, had gotten there early and cleaned the bottom of the boat! Ah-ha!)

We turned into the channel and had to tack several times until we got to marker 8, at which point, we were on a close haul for the rest of the race.

Here's the order in which the boats finished:

Place	Boat	Skipper
1	M2	Dave G
2	M1	Nico
3	M4	Hans
4	M7	Viola
5	M6	Vadim
6	M3	Roy

Here's a picture of the winning crew, along with the bird's nest they found in their sail!

Great race, Spinnaker folks! Please check out my Picasa web album for more pictures!

Beer Can #7 - May 21

2008-05-21T16:59:00.000-07:00

Cancelled!!! We're expecting gale force winds tonight, so the beer can race for this week has been cancelled. Here are some graphics that show what's going on...

From windfinder.com, showing close to 40mph winds at 3pm!

From real-time SF wind patterns with red arrows, which I've never seen before on this site!

I've never known Spinnaker to cancel, so these winds must be really strong! Hope to see y'all next week...

This just in... I just got a call from Kerry, saying that some people who showed up to race Merits this week actually went out on the big boats, since Spinnaker cancelled the Merit race. He said that the wind peaked at over 40 knots, steady at 30-35 knots. Apparently, Bad Puddy Cat had a mast failure. They had a rip-roaring time out there!

Beer Can #6 - May 14

2008-05-14T21:16:00.000-07:00

More and more people are starting to turn out for the beer can races this year. This week, six out of the seven Merits went out, and the only reason it wasn't seven is because M1 has a broken boom. Mike told me that "The merit boom broke at a weak point in the boom created by the connector to the vang. With time, the rivets get corroded and it becomes weak there."

Ok, so I have to admit that I raced on Smokin' J this week, my all-time favorite race boat. Sorry... no pictures! But I did check out the Merits on their way out and got the scoop from all the skippers after the race. Here are the results in the order in which they finished by boat number and skipper:

Place	Boat	Skipper
1	M2	Nico
2	M5	Steve Stanley
3	M6	Roel
4	M4	Kerry
5	M7	Viola (the all-girl crew!)
6	M3	Mike Dvorak

Congrats to Nico for a great race! The first three boats actually finished properly. Viola's boat turned on their engine after the wind died, and then Kerry did the same, and they both motored in. Mike told me that "something broke on the motor on M3, allowing us to only make about 1.5 knots of headway down the channel." Ugh... His crew got back to the docks too late to join the apre sail festivities.

Next week, we're all looking forward to fair winds, even tides, and another great beer can race!

Beer Can #5 - May 7

2008-05-07T21:14:00.000-07:00

I missed this beer can race due to a family emergency. Sorry!

Beer Can #4 - April 30

2008-04-30T17:06:00.000-07:00

This week's beer can was one of the most exciting beer can races I've been in yet! The NW winds were strong (20-25 knots, gusting in the 30s), and the temperature was cool (50s). We had a flood tide, so everything was pushing us south. The course was out of the channel, round marker 12 to port, and back to the ranch.

Five Merits participated in the race, and about 30 big boats were out there, too. (I'm guessing at the number of big boats. I was way too busy to count!)

I was in M6 with Skipper Steve Stanley, and Sandi and Florin rounded out our crew. I'd never sailed with Steve before. What an experience! He's a wild man but a great sailor, very positive teacher, and very competitive racer. He was throwing barbs at all the boats within hearing distance throughout the race, psyching them out, distracting them... whatever he felt like doing. At one point, he told the boats behind us that we were beating them, even though we had a blind chick at the helm! He had us laughing the whole time.

Steve put Sandi at the helm (where she has the least experience with but did great), me on both sides of the jib, and Florin on the rail, and had us practice tacks and gybes over the starting line in both directions.

Most of the Merits got a good start with M4 (Skipper Stan Phillips) crossing the starting line at the right time in the wrong direction! But up the channel we all sailed in very close proximity. We started out in second place with M6 (Skipper Steve Skinner with Kerry, Dave G, and Ron K) in first and M2 (Skipper Jeff Smith) close behind us. M5 (Skipper Vadim) was next, and M4 (Skipper Stan) pulled up the rear.

As soon as we were out of the lee of the land beside the channel, the wind picked up, and we turned with the channel, continuing to head up higher and higher. As soon as we passed channel marker 2, we headed up high, hardened the sails, and went flying up toward marker 12. We pointed up as high as we could with M2 in close pursuit. M3 and M5 headed a bit more east. We couldn't figure out why. M4 pointed high and followed us.

When we were east of marker 12, M2 tacked, which we thought was a bit early. We kept going. When we thought we could make the mark in one tack, we tacked, but it turned out the flood tide and the wind pushed us down too far, and we ended up having to do another pair of tacks to make the mark. That's when everything went haywire!

Usually, the big boats don't catch up with us until the downwind return leg. At that point, everyone is pretty spread out, so it's no big deal. This time, because the winds were so strong, and we were fighting the flood, which I guess doesn't affect the big boats as much, they caught up to us right at the mark. Also, because we'd burned some time doing that extra pair of tacks, M3 was close to catching us, too.

So there we were with 2-3 other Merits within a couple of boat lengths and about 6-8 big boats right there as well, all of us trying to round the mark. There was a lot a dodging and ducking going on. That accounted for a couple more tacks we were forced to make. So by the time we rounded the mark and started the return leg, still in a pack of boats (a gaggle? a herd?), we'd lost our first place position.

Then we saw a sail bag floating on the water about two boat lengths away. Steve made an executive decision to blow off the race and said "Let's go get it!" Suddenly, we were doing figure 8s and gybe returns and quick returns and just about going in circles. The wind was so strong that even though we were lined up correctly to pick it up on the leeward side of the boat, the wind blew it away from us. At one point, we actually ran it over, and I think that's when it went down. On our next return, it was nowhere to be seen.

Meanwhile, Skipper Rich Butts on Melalani thought we were doing a real MOB for a crew member and blew off the race to come help us. Thanks for the effort, Rich!

So we joined the race again and were pretty sure we were in last place. Little did we know that M4 had some logistical problems, some newbees in the boat, and was quite far behind us. Even on the downwind leg, the wind was strong, and we were surfing the waves. According to Florin's GPS, we were doing over 7 knots SOG! Nice!

By the time we returned to the docks, we were all cold, wet, and tired and glad to go inside for a cold drink and some dinner. (Ok, the cold drink doesn't make sense, but it was the kind of cold drink that warms you up!)

Oh, and did I mention that Kerry's PFD inflated?! Did he fall in the bay, you ask? No. He was down on the low side grinding, and a roller swept over him and got him so wet that his automatic inflator went off! Ever wondered what an inflated PFD looks like? Now you know!

Congrats to all of the Merits and crews who raced them:

Place	Boat	Skipper
1	M2	Jeff Smith
2	M3	Steve Skinner
3	M5	Vadim
4	M6	Steve Stanley
5	M4	Stan Phillips

Great race! And thanks to Ron Kucera for contributing many of the action shots in the middle of the race. You can see more of his pictures and mine in my Picasa web album.

Beer Cans #2 and #3 - April 16 and 23

2008-04-23T15:57:00.000-07:00

Well, I missed the second beer can race, because I was sick with a horrible stomach flu. It takes a lot to keep me away from sailing, but that did the trick.

The next week, on April 23, I crewed again for Dave P, learned a lot, as usual, and had a great time. The other crew members included Viola, who I'd met before but hadn't sailed with, and Dave R. Dave R and I were bareboat students on the same boat in the BVIs last December, so we knew each other well.

I'd like to make the point that the main purpose of the beer can races, especially for Spinnaker club members and students, besides having fun and getting to know people who love to do what you love to do, is to get more experience sailing and learn racing techniques from people who have been doing it for a very long time. The rest of this post is written with learning in mind first and foremost.

The race was uneventful but great fun, even though we came in third out of three. Kerry's boat finished first again, and Steve Stanley's boat finished second just ahead of us. Again, we noticed that one of Kerry's crew members, Dave Goeke (an instructor!) was standing up at the shrouds while the boat was heeling over, which resulted in his torso being outside the lifelines for a long time.

We decided not to report them for breaking a rule, but I talked to Kerry about it after the race. He said that he'd gone back and read the rule about this and found the rule to be unclear. So as a faithful racer and avid researcher of all things unclear (or at least the stuff I'm interested in), I looked it up. Here is rule number 49.2 of The Racing Rules of Sailing for 2005-2008 (PDF):

When lifelines are required by the class rules or the sailing instructions they shall be taut, and competitors shall not position any part of their torsos outside them, except briefly to perform a necessary task. On boats equipped with upper and lower lifelines of wire, a competitor sitting on the deck facing outboard with his waist inside the lower lifeline may have the upper part of his body outside the upper lifeline.

That sounds pretty clear to me. In keeping with the learning aspects of the beer can races, I'd love to get a discussion going on this point, so please send in your comments and let me know how you interpret this rule, if you've ever been disqualified for breaking this rule, or if you know anything about it that you can contribute to the discussion.

First beer can of the season!

2008-04-09T15:49:00.000-07:00

After Mike saw my sailing blog, he asked me if I want to blog the racing season for Spinnaker this year. So here I am with a Spinnaker-sponsored blog that's dedicated to racing, and this is my first post of the year.

April 9, 2008 was the first beer can race out of Redwood City this season. I've really missed this event and had a great time.

Sandi and I crewed for Dave P for the first time, along with a guy named Carl that none of us knew before. The wind was strong, so we reefed as we raised the main. We got a great start with Dave's timing technique, and watched as Kerry's boat crossed the starting line just ahead of us. We followed Kerry around the course and were right behind him the whole way.

Soon after we got out to the bay, we shook out the reef and did the rest of the race full tilt. The wind was still pretty strong but not enough to reef again. After we rounded marker S, we were basically on a beam reach and were glad to have all the sail we could get.

On the way back down the channel, Dave noticed that one of Kerry's crew members was hanging out over the lifeline, which is against the rules. I never knew that and could see how this guy probably didn't even realize he was doing it. He was standing straight up by the shrouds. The only problem was that the boat was heeling at about a 30-degree angle, so most of his body ended up outside the lifelines... not just for a brief moment... for about the last half hour of the race!

I am not good at drawing, and no one should ever let me draw anything serious. But for lack of a better option, here's my lame attempt at illustrating the point.

So Kerry's boat was disqualified, and even though we came in second, we took first prize for the Merits. It's always fun to get out there, no matter who wins!

Please check out my other sailing blog, too!