(overdue) Double-Handed Lightship, Mar 14 2009

Double Handed Lightship 2009

(crewed event from this past weekend to follow)

There were 7 E27's out for this event, a very good showing. The start was on an ebb strengthened by the recent heavy rainfall, with a switch midrace to a flood- ideal conditions for a gatecrasher.

Our division (one design) had the benefit of watching a few earlier starts to see how conditions were shaping up and what side of the course was beneficial. The breeze was borderline for jib selection, but given the offshore forecast the fleet consensus was #3's. There was one dissenter flying an oversized handkerchief- I admit to a bit of curiosity on how they were sheeting it.

1st Part of the Race - Clear the Gate

Very often, being a bit to the north will help out under these conditions, from both current and wind perspectives. The start was relatively balanced- wind not from center span of the bridge but not too far off. The fleet split a bit between onshore (cityfront side) and heading towards center channel or even farther north. There were a few boats that wavered back and forth, btu a few stuck hard north (notably Desperado, the ultimate winner). Results for dodging back to the cityfront were mixed. We were roughly in the middle, with a few dodges back toward the cityfront as the fleet shuffled around. When close to other boats, we showed good speed and occasional good pointing.

2nd Part of the Race - Gate to Lands End/Seal Rocks

Several boats dodged hard north along the shore. We recognized the north side as desirable, but couldn't bring ourselves to tack over when we were basically on layline for the mark. Our speed continued to be good against boats near us (Taz being closest and behind, Dianne reaonably close until she took the plunge north somewhere around Mile Rock).

About halfway from the Golden Gate to Land's End, our southerly course (not against the shore, but relative to the northerly boats in the fleet) seemed beneficial. By the time the group reached Bonita, a positional advantage to the north was apparent- probably mostly current related because Elise was quite powered up and we didn't see significantly greater wind towards the northern shore. We were still roughly even in distance to the mark, but often being a little to the north is a positional advantage.

3rd part of the Race - out to the Lightship

After clearing land, the current starts to spread out and you exit the wind-funnel effect near the bay entrance. We had reasonable speed but the north turned out to be where you needed to be. We were largely satisfied with our boatspeed and handling. Because of the setup of wind/waves, the two tacks were quite uneven in speed and optimal trim. There was plenty of wind, but not so much that we could "waste" it (the swells and wind waves were setting up to slow us down). We needed to stay a little more powered up in order to maintain momentum and not get sucked towards the wind. We weren't really close enough to the fleet to really compare notes on trim.

The Return

After rounding the ligthship, we were a little slow getting the kite up (result of a late morning getting to the boat) but were happy with the result. The return was just a fun trip- enough wind and waves to have fun. We came back in relatively straight and Nat kept her rolling very smoothly. If we'd checked in before the race, we apparently would have had a 3rd, but instead we got the famous consolation prize, "a nice day on the water".