For those of you who raced on Saturday, you no doubt experienced ups and downs, good moments and bad. On a day with pretty regular 70-degree wind shifts, consistency was not easy to come by. But those that were able to stay in phase and not overcommit too much were able to find some success. Temperatures said they were in the mid 40's, but with strong breeze and the sun being unable to break through, it certainly felt colder. The big concern of the day was the LNG tanker that was due outbound at 1:30pm, right smack dab in the middle of our day. Whenever the LNG is in transit, the harbor is effectively closed and the water must be clear of boats. During the skippers meeting we discussed a plan to avoid it, which included possibly pulling into Piers Park and waiting for it to pass. The goal was to minimize the downtime spent waiting and maximize our time racing.
The wind on the pier was gusting 30 knots, and it looked like we'd be reefing again. But it turned out that the strongest breeze on the entire harbor was on Pier 4. Wind funneling down the Charles river was responsible for the strong breeze. The decision was made to go out full sails, and we were pleased to find that the conditions out further where we'd be racing were much more manageable. Overall it was about 10 knots under what we were seeing at Pier 5.
The course was set in the usual location with a start line between the Nantucket and Piers Park, and windward marks up by Boston Yacht Haven and Lewis Wharf, which seemed to be the average of the wind shifts. Wind was coming from anywhere between the Moakley Courthouse in Southie, and Flagship Wharf. In the lulls the wind would drop to around 10 knots, but the gusts saw speeds up to 25 and 27 knots. The right side of the course seemed to be the more popular side for most of the day. However boats were continually hampered by big lefties as they approached the windward marks. There was still current in play, but much less so than last week. High tide was at 1:15pm, which means that we never really hit max ebb or max flow, and they weren't emptying the Charles River as much.
Race 1 went to Angus Macauley and Kyle Jachney who had another strong day. Their worst finish on the day was an 11, which is very impressive considering just about everyone had at least one race that significantly hurt their scores. It was great to see Cindy Olsen and (former fleet captain) Sandy Hayes back on the water. They too had a very strong day including taking the bullet for race 2. Also, special shout out to Neal Goldman and Dorothy Martin who managed to port tack the entire fleet in race 2. Races 3 and 4 went to Mark Lindsay and Jim Watson who found repeated success much of the day. Race 5 was won by Ken Deyett and Josh Pfosi, who were able to keep their boat flat and fast the entire time.
The goal for the day was to get as many races in before the LNG arrived because we were unsure of how long the delay would be. The next race was started as soon as the last boat crossed the finish line, and in doing so we were able to get 5 races in by 2:25pm which is when we stopped to wait for the LNG. The plan of heading in and docking at Piers Park was audibled due to not being allowed to dock there, so we all stayed in the area between the Piers Park Gazebo and the fuel dock in East Boston. Luckily the delay was only about 15 minutes, and by 2:45 the LNG had passed and our last race was starting. Thanks again everyone for your patience with this.
The last race of the day was won by Claas Visser and Sandra Diebel. All day long they could be found towards the front of the pack, and capped off a great all-around day with a bullet. In the end it was Mark Lindsay and Jim Watson who took the day. Finishing no worse than 7th and with two bullets, they managed to edge out Ken and Josh, who also finished no worse than 7th. A big congrats to everyone who sailed and a special congrats to our top 5 finishers....
- Mark Lindsay and Jim Watson - 19 points
- Ken Deyett and Josh Pfosi - 25 points
- Claas Visser and Sandra Diebel - 32 points
- Sandy Hays and Cindy Olsen - 43 points
- Angus Macauley and Kyle Jachney - 46 points
Shameless plug time: I will be hosting a Trivia Night on Monday, February 5th at 7:30pm. It's open to anyone but is designed for friends (and friends of friends) of Courageous Sailing. I previously used to write and host a weekly Pub Quiz and I am dusting off my quizmaster hat (it's metaphorical, don't worry) for a night of trivia, drinks and food. There will be some sailing/nautical questions, but mostly will be a general knowledge quiz. Anyone over 21 is welcome. You'll want to put together a team of 1-6 people, and the cost is $20 per team. Prizes are given out for the top 3 teams, as well as a free round of shots for whoever comes in DFL. We did one of these last year and people have been demanding another one every since. Hopefully you're able to join us...
- Who: You
- What: Trivia Night
- Where: PJ Ryans Irish Pub 239 Holland St, Teele Square Somerville, MA 02144
- When: Monday, February 5th, 7:30pm-9:30pm
- Why: Because it's obviously going to be really fun
The forecast for next week looks actually pretty similar to what we saw on Saturday. It's calling for cloudy skies with a high of 47 and wind around 15-20 knots. Of course there's about a 99.9% chance of this changing before Saturday. Thanks again to everyone for coming down last week. We'd love to hear feedback from the fleet, so if there's anything that you all particularly like or don't like, let us know. Also, please don't forget that your fleet captains, Matt Marston, Mark Lindsay and Marcelo Pereira are always there to listen and help in anyway they can. In the meantime, have a great week and we'll check back on Friday with our week 9 Preview.
Thanks, and Go Pats,
Nate
