Lee Bow Current

(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

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 points 2. Brett 2 pts 3. Peter McCormick 3 pts 4. Dave Goeke 4 pts 5. Gary Polson 5 pts 6. John Dick 7 pts. 6. Your name here 7 pts 6. Jeremy W. 7 pts 6. You get the idea 7 pts If 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

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

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

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!!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Beer Can #16 - July 23

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).