Rites of Spring

Competed in the 2013 ROS race, hosted by the Oakland Yacht Club, with James as crew. James is a fellow Wharramite having built a Hitia 17, and is also a regular sail race competitor on his Santana 22. The race started just off the Berkeley Pier, and we were the first boat in our allocated class over the line at the pin end (double-handed non-spin phrf > 141). Conditions on the first leg to the windward mark (the Southhampton Shoal Structure) were anti-Wharram with light winds on the nose and against a 2-3 knot ebb current. We messed up a bit by tacking too short on the approach to the weather mark - if we had taken longer tacks we would not have been caught under the mark. We lost lots of ground and most of the fleet went past us! However, after rounding the mark the run with the tide turned into a reach and we started to pick a few boats off. After rounding the bottom mark we continued to give chase to the third mark between Angel Island and the Berkeley Pier, this was another reach and we closed with more boats averaging 6-7 knots. Round the third mark, we headed towards the last mark as the wind freshened on a beam reach. With James on the tiller and me trimming the genoa, we hit 10 knots as we overtook a bunch of boats, and we averaged 9.5 knots* over the last half-mile to the mark against the outgoing tide! Round the last mark and had to put in two more tacks to cross the finish line, still tailing the Telstar 28 we had been chasing the whole race.

The wind had now really freshened and we put in reefs on the main and jib to cross the breezy shipping channel - got very wet putting in the jib reefs in the short chop in the tidal race of Pt Blunt. No pictures - too much fun racing. Great day - 32 NM in total.

Update. The results came out and, despite our troubles, we were first on corrected time in our original class of nine boats (double-handed non-spin phrf >141). We were then moved to a new class of multis phrf >100 which we also led, but there was only one other boat (the Telstar 28). This is all great but shows that our provisional 216 phrf is way to high.
*GPSAR gps software

Further update. The nice people organizing the race sent pictures of the regata - see below.

First over the start at the pin - Telstar bearing down

Crossing the finish line

Bonita Cove Express

A sail with a strong outgoing tide to Pt Bonita lead to yet another lesson on working with the tide on the return trip in the Golden Gate Channel. As I had previously found on the Sth side of the channel, returning to The Bay against the tide is made easier if you hug the coast - in this case the north side starting from Bonita Cove. Whereas the tide was ripping out in the main channel, there was a gentle return eddy in the cove. Note that this is only true at the peak of the tide - at the start of the turn, the tide is moving "on the edges" first.

Bonita Cove towards Pt Diablo and the bridge.

The only catch is getting around the Points! At both Pt Diablo and Lime Pt (under the GG Bridge) I ran smack into the outgoing tide - one needs to then find a way back into the eddy past the point - see below the big reach away from Pt Diablo trying to figure it out (sometimes cheating with the outboard will do it).

Once back under the bridge, we had some great reaches back and forth across the water front in the strong afternoon breeze.

Bonita Channel

The goal was lunch anchored at Muir Beach or Rodeo Cove and a further exploration of Bonita Channel (the narrow channel between the Potatopatch bar and the Marin coast - the channel is the route north from Pt Bonita).

Morning fog on Pt Diablo

Potatopatch Buoy, Bonita Channel beyond

Tennessee Cove and Point

A very mild weather forecast changed to 20 knot gusts by the time Little Cat had reached Tennessee Cove. It was midday, and as the wind usually picks up in the afternoon, it seemed prudent to head back in before waves could build around the Potatopatch and Pt Bonita. We took a swing into Rodeo Cove as far as the swells would allow and then back out towards Pt Bonita. And then - lo, the tide had changed and the 20 knot wind died to only a few knots!

Rodeo Cove

Exiting Rodeo Cove

But too late in the day for much else except heading back home via a coffee break on the South side of Angel Island. Once inside the Golden Gate channel the wind freshened again from the NW. This trip, 27 nautical miles.

Coffee spot

Favorites

The dock.....

... is kind of pricey (!) but is worth more than, say, the cost of a more expensive boat (like many here) in that it makes for ease of "launching" and a high frequency of sailing trips.

Harbor seals on the Peninsula Pt Bouy

"South Bay" on Angel Island

Looking West

Looking East to Pt Blunt

Brewing up...

"South bay" with cityscape backdrop

Red Rock on an afternoon

Red Rock