PTSA Socially Distanced Dog Series Completed – Final Standings

Just like last month, the final series standing would be decided on the last Wednesday night of racing. There were 4 boats in contention with only 3 points separation. CORVO held a slight advantage in points but OWL had the momentum coming off a two bullet performance last week. DORADO and RAVEN were in striking distance. The forecast was solid calling for 8-12 knots out of the WNW with the likelihood of it shifting more westerly as the evening progressed. The only negative was that the COMMITTEE (CB) was not available so our excellent Race Committee had to remain ashore. RAVEN assumed the course setting duties (S-Yp-Lg-Yp-F) while Dale on OWL managed the start sequence(s). And the racing was on!

Race 1: First off, the series leader could not make the start due to a work conflict so the series win was left for DORADO, OWL, and RAVEN to decide. After a clean start, the fleet quickly dispersed across the course. DORADO and RAVEN paced out to the left while OWL was forced to tack away for clean air. KUMA SAN took advantage of the leaders marking each other and sailed off to the right in clear air. When the fleet converged at the windward mark, it was KUMA SAN that rounded first followed closely by DORADO and RAVEN with FALCON, POSSUM, MAGIC BUS, and OWL in hot pursuit. Karen, driving KUMA SAN, provided Jim a great birthday gift by rounding the windward mark first….great job Karen and Jim! (Side bar: Big thanks to Jim Heumann for all he has done and continues to do as President of PTSA to keep us all on track during these chaotic times. The racing has been great this year and most of that is directly attributable to Jim and his hard work…thanks Jim and Happy Birthday!). DORADO managed to pass KUMA SAN on the downwind leg to the Gate and went on to finish first with a comfortable lead. RAVEN and FALCON maintained a tight battle through the remaining legs with RAVEN holding the advantage at the finish to take second with FALCON in third. The next four boats also remained in close contact and it came down to a very close finish with several of the bunch overlapped at the line. RAVEN “parked” on the line to call the finish order of MAGIC BUS, KUMA SAN, POSSUM and OWL. The rest of the fleet followed closely with KOLUS, SNOW BIRD, ANDIAMO AGAIN (PHRF), and BLEW BIRD rounding out the finishing order.

Race 2: the same course was called for race 2 with a building breeze in the 10-12 knot range with higher gusts. The series contenders did their “mental gymnastics” to calculate the updated standings and the necessary finishes to affect the final standings and the starting sequence began. RAVEN, sitting in second overall, needed to beat DORADO (by 3 places) and hold off OWL to secure the series win. However, that became quite unlikely as the clevis pin holding the headstay turnbuckle to the deck decided to go “on walk-about” at the start of the 5 minute sequence and the crew had to scramble to come up with a quick fix. Needless to say, we didn’t witness the start and played catch-up for the rest of the race. DORADO and OWL match raced around the course in pursuit of the last race win of the series with DORADO displaying great boat speed and flawless crew work. In the end, DORADO held off OWL for the race and series win….congratulations to Simon, Emily and Joe! RAVEN managed to work up through the fleet after the late start to salvage forth place and a second place series standing with OWL only one point behind. The final standings are posted. Congratulations to all the racers for another fun and competitive race series.

TIP or TACTIC of the day: Cross and consolidate:  When you’ve made a gain on other boats on the course due to a windshift, consolidate that gain by tacking and crossing ahead of them. A gain or loss is not actually realized until the boat that gains crosses ahead of the boat that loses. It’s a bit like playing the stock market. If the value of your stocks goes up, you’re in a good position, but you don’t make a profit until you sell. So the fundamental tactical principle is: When you make a gain on other boats, consolidate by crossing ahead of them. Disclaimer: of course, there may be other considerations that over-rule this tactic…use at your own risk! Sail fast!