(Results revised Monday, May 14.  Norma Mae has been given a provisional rating of 150 and Sea Puppy’s time has been included)

Eleven PT boats, and one Sequim boat (Sea Puppy), were ready to challenge Port Ludlow sailors Sunday [...]]]>

SCIROCCO and THATUNA racing back to PT. Photo by Wendy Feltham from SILENT WAY

(Results revised Monday, May 14.  Norma Mae has been given a provisional rating of 150 and Sea Puppy’s time has been included)

Eleven PT boats, and one Sequim boat (Sea Puppy), were ready to challenge Port Ludlow sailors Sunday morning for a race to Port Townsend.  Apparently the sight was so intimidating that no Ludlow boats dared to join in, or maybe they are all NBA fans (who knows?).

Silent Way was the first to call the RC as they finished.  By the time I got to City Dock the fifth finisher, Sirocco, was about to cross the line.  A big thanks to The Wizard for taking times in my absence.  My GPS time for Sirocco was 14:48:12 and the Wizard’s time on course for Sirocco was 2 hours 53 minutes 12 seconds.  To accommodate for this 5 minute difference, I subtracted five minutes from the time on course given for finishers 2, 3 & 4 (Silent Way, The Wizard, & Dorado) so they would be in sync with the 8 finishes I subsequently took via GPS and Sea Puppy’s time which was taken with GPS.  Confused yet?

In addition to the rated boats, Pleades finished 12th at 15:11:58.

Port to Port 2012 – Race Port to Port 2012

Port to Port 2012

Race Port to Port 2012

Information is provisional and subject to modification
Regatta results saved: Monday, May 14, 2012 6:46:25 AM PDT

Division: PHRF A (11 boats) (top)

Notes

Information is provisional and subject to modification

Principal Race Officer: Myron

Version 5.7: Regatta scoring by JavaScore, an Open Source project available at http://www.gromurph.org/javascore

Battles on the ocean are hard. Especially in super light air like what we have had out here the last few days. The chess match is long and painful and very often has stops and starts that stretch out the agony.

We are amongst it with [...]]]>

Click for bigger image

Battles on the ocean are hard. Especially in super light air like what we have had out here the last few days. The chess match is long and painful and very often has stops and starts that stretch out the agony.

We are amongst it with CAMPER at this stage and there is a lot of runway left and tons of potholes along the way.

First of all, this could not be more unlike every other leg we have had in this race. Dry, cool nights and warm days. T-shirts and shorts always. No hint of a need for foul weather gear. A huge full moon making it closer to needing sunglasses at night rather than headlamps.

This game of chess probably has been a bit more like a tug-of-war if you are watching at home. We stretch out to what seems like a “comfortable” lead only to hit the next light air patch and watch the troops coming reeling us in. CAMPER is within sight almost always, making things a bit more tense with constant bearing checks with the handheld compass.

To be honest, these are conditions that suit CAMPER a bit better than us. They have always excelled in the light air and this is no exception. So for this we are pretty pleased we have held them off to date. And as we approach a left turn at Harbour Island in the Bahamas, we are stressing out a bit because overnight we lost sight of them and in these fickle conditions that could mean disaster. When we see them, we have a better chance of defending effectively. When we don’t see them, we rely on the 3 hour position reports to tell us what the next move should be in the chess match.

The danger always is being too defensive, or too offensive. There has to be a balance and we have to remain fortunate that we simply don’t sail into another wind hole that they don’t sail into.  A little further back are Groupama and Telefónica, neither out of this by any means.

So that is a bit of a play-by-play to date, typically not my style for a blog but necessary nonetheless. On board we have the typical banter, to which Shannon Falcone has certainly added a few interesting stories with his non-stop chatter. Probably a nice change of pace, as was Thomas Johansson who sailed with us on the last leg, for a group that has been together a lot over the last two years! For sure we have all heard the same stories a few times, and a new mix is certainly welcome.

So as we come down to the final miles, we will attempt to apply the basketball adage of keeping ourselves between our opponent and the hoop. Sure it sounds easy, but when you can’t see your opponent anymore it is like playing basketball in the pitch black and trying to stay with your man. Keep playing the odds, and if they are going to pass us make them sail around us. Not easy to do, but you never know.  – Kenny

The Port Townsend Rigging sponsored 2012 Port-to-Port race is a challenge race between two yacht clubs: The Port Townsend Sailing Association and the Port Ludlow Yacht Club.  In the distance past there was likely a moment in some local sailor’s dive where one slightly tipsy resident of one town pointed a finger at [...]]]>

The Port Townsend Rigging sponsored 2012 Port-to-Port race is a challenge race between two yacht clubs: The Port Townsend Sailing Association and the Port Ludlow Yacht Club.  In the distance past there was likely a moment in some local sailor’s dive where one slightly tipsy resident of one town pointed a finger at the resident of the other town and announced that “you lads can’t sail and your bottom needs cleaning.” No doubt many of the historic races started this way – a drink, a taunt, a trophy. Australia got the Sydney-Hobart, we got the Port-to-Port. It’s our own local version of the America’s Cup.

It’s also a lot of fun. There’s a great party on Saturday night, a long afternoon in the shipping lanes on Sunday where you can settle the boat down and play the current, and a chance to sail against some boats you ordinarily don’t see. This race is for a reciprocal trophy, awarded to the club with the most winners in the top three positions, after corrected time using standard PHRF ratings. The winning club gets to defend the trophy the following year and the trophy currently resides at the Port Ludlow Yacht Club. The race alternates direction annually.

The schedule for this years Port-to-Port race is:

Saturday, May 12th, 5pm. Pre-race Party Beer, wine, and refreshments at the white tent near the marina store in Port Ludlow. Greek dinner of kabobs, salad, baklava to follow. Your RSVP to Kathy Grace is appreciated but not mandatory.

Sunday, May 13th, 1030am. Skippers Meeting at the picnic tables near the Marina store

Sunday, May 13th, 12noon. Race begins in Port Ludlow and finishes in between City Dock and the PTSA racing buoy in Port Townsend

Race documents in downloadable format:

2012 Port-to-Port race instructions PDF

2012 Port-to-Port Poster JPG

U.S. Coast Guard Keep Clear Handout

After the glorious, easy evening on our Bay that was Race 2 of the Spring Whitecap Series, it’s hard to remember that things on the water can go wrong quickly and profoundly. The conditions in San Francisco for the Farallones race were much more challenging with winds in the 20′s and a confused, [...]]]>

After the glorious, easy evening on our Bay that was Race 2 of the Spring Whitecap Series, it’s hard to remember that things on the water can go wrong quickly and profoundly. The conditions in San Francisco for the Farallones race were much more challenging with winds in the 20′s and a confused, 10 foot swell when the ocean ready Sydney 38, LOW SPEED CHASE, with eight experienced crew suffered a terrible tragedy.  Associated Press story from the Silicon Valley Mercury News.

By LISA LEFF and JOHN S. MARSHALL Associated Press

Posted:   04/15/2012 12:17:26 AM PDT

Updated:   04/15/2012 07:31:39 PM PDT

SAN FRANCISCO—A century-old tradition, the Full Crew Farallones Race has never been for the faint of heart: Winds averaging 10 to 20 knots and churning 14-foot Pacific Ocean swells are among the rough conditions typically braved by yachts and their crews during the daylong regatta, a spring favorite of skilled sailors.But on Saturday, powerful waves and a disastrous series of events brought rare tragedy to the august race and the San Francisco Bay area’s large sailing community.

One crew member died and four others remained missing at sea Sunday after two strong waves swept them from their boat near the rocky Farallon Islands, the halfway point of the 54-mile race that began at daybreak in San Francisco and had 49 entrants.

It was the first known fatality in the 143-year history of the San Francisco Yacht Club, which managed the race for the Offshore Yacht Racing Association and where the yacht involved in the accident, the 38-foot Low Speed Chase, was based, club director Ed Lynch said.

more here

   Deer Harbor, Orcas Island, Saturday May 19, 2012

Any kind of wooden sailboats may enter.  Non-wood boats are also welcome but will receive no prizes. The course will have a starting line with a committee boat south of the Deer Harbor Marina. [...]]]>    First Annual Yellow Island Wooden Boat Regatta

   Deer Harbor, Orcas Island, Saturday May 19, 2012

Any kind of wooden sailboats may enter.  Non-wood boats are also welcome but will receive no prizes. The course will have a starting line with a committee boat south of the Deer Harbor Marina. The marks of the course will consist of various small islands and rocks in the area, as well as a race buoy located near the marina. The race entry fee of $15 is payable before the 9 am skipper’s meeting at the Deer Harbor Boatworks the morning of the race. Included in the entry fee is one skippers’ breakfast.  Additional breakfasts are $8. Breakfast supplied by the San Juan Islands Wooden Boat Society. Skippers must also sign a liability waiver. The race will start around noon, and will have a four-hour time limit. Those without a current PHRF rating will have a temporary rating assigned to them by race organizers. Non-racers are welcome to relax and socialize at the marina. We will try to stage one end of the finish line at the outside float of the marina.

Colorful burgees representing first, second, and third place finishers, will be awarded at a potluck/awards ceremony at the marina the evening after the race. Participant burgees will also be available for sale, with donations encouraged to offset costs. Any proceeds from burgee sales will benefit the San Juan Islands Wooden Boat Society, which seeks to help coordinate wooden boat activities in the islands. www.woodenboatsocietyofthesanjuans.org

Regatta participant discount moorage for Friday and Saturday nights is $1/foot.   From the following Sunday to Friday noon the rate is $2/foot for the five nights. First come, first served. Call the Deer Harbor Marina, 360-376-3037  to reserve a slip well in advance, as other boat groups are planning to be there. Plenty of good anchorage is also available in the Harbor.

Please contact Ward Fay (wardfay@rockisland.com ) or 360-298-2057 for more information about the race.

From Ballard Sailor’s report on the 2012 Duamish Head Race on Pressure Drop.

By 2pm the mid raters were crossing the finish line en masse, but amongst them was a little 26 foot boat sailed by one of those old Des Moines Sea Scouts – [...]]]>

NIMBUS formerly known as IMPULSE of the PTSA

From Ballard Sailor’s report on the 2012 Duamish Head Race on Pressure Drop.

By 2pm the mid raters were crossing the finish line en masse, but amongst them was a little 26 foot boat sailed by one of those old Des Moines Sea Scouts – Mark Harang on his new Evelyn 26 NIMBUS (formerly IMPULSE). Now Harang is no stranger to this race, having won the South Sound Series overall in the Thunderbird 26 Rev back in 2000. But in his first race on his new boat Mark, with Kathryn Burnette and Brad Baker as crew, pushed this little boat hard. Crossing the finish line just in front of a much faster rated J105 and almost 25 minutes in front of the next boat in the large class I, NIMBUS not only won its’ class but corrected over all 79 boats that made it out racing on the Duamish Head to take Overall corrected honors by over 6 minutes over the next boat! “Those Sea Scouts of the South Sound learned a thing or two back in the day,” smiles Stephanie Schwenk, “and old age and treachery have only made them more wily. So, the South Sound heroes are back again and on their very first race ever on the boat they took the overall. They squeaked out a start, from out of nowhere. If it was anyone else, I wouldn’t have believed it. Littlest and leeward boat of the fleet, blanketed by a crowd with an ebb that should push them over the line and into the pin, they jam it through and spin to port, hoist and take off… leaving the rest of us in the dust. Be on the lookout for the Evelyn 26 NIMBUS. Unassuming name, but looks like trouble!”

You can read the entire story here.

more summer T-Bird sailing photos here ….