Poulsbo Invitational Race 4-26-2014 Pre Race Analysis

Saturday is the Poulsbo Invitational Race. This is the 4th race in the seven race West Sound Sailing Association(WSSA) series. This race starts just north of Battle Point and with a south wind it heads to a temporary buoy near University Point, then north to the #6 navigational mark near Pt Bolin and then follows the shoreline to a finish off of Poulsbo Yacht Club in Liberty Bay. This course is 9.6 miles. In case of a north wind, the race is run first to #6 mark, University Pt and then PYC for a distance of 11 miles. Furthermore, this race can be shortened at the University Pt buoy or Mark #6.

The wind predictions for this race are fairly consistent at 5-9 SSW in the morning rising to 7-12 S in the early afternoon. The current will be flooding during most if not all of the race. 

With the start line set north of Battle Pt, it is possible that there may be a port tack lift close to shore north of Battle Pt. If the line is set to allow it, a starboard tack start would be my preference. I would continue toward Bainbridge Island and look for the header to tack to port on. I probably would have checked for it before the start. Once on port, I would carry a long port tack course toward Brownsville where I would expect a header. After I sail into the header, I would tack to starboard and look for the small  lifts as the  wind puffs off the land. The University Pt mark is usually set to the west of the point and the wind is very fluky around the mark. I would approach the mark from the east. 

After rounding the mark, I would probably do a bear away spinnaker set and sail NE to clear the point and get into clear and hopefully stronger air. As long as the wind is consistent, the run to Mark #6 should be a straight rhumb line course. The course will be into a flooding current, so I would be observant of the wind conditions and consider sailing higher toward the east for current relief if the wind lightens. 

At Mark #6, I would be careful not to get swept into the mark by the current, get the spinnaker down smartly and sail as high as possible toward Pt Bolin. In the past we have often been able to clear Pt Bolin without tacking. I would be aware of the shoals south of Pt Bolin. Fortunately, they are somewhat flat. Reaching toward Keyport, I would be ready to reset the spinnaker as soon as the wind comes aft enough. I would toward Keyport and stay near the left shore. After the Navy Base, I would work hard at sailing high to clear Lemolo Pt. The wind will be puffy and light here and will come forward. Work up in the puffs and don't let yourself get pushed down toward or behind Lemolo Pt. The final push toward the finish is pretty straight forward, stay in the center or slightly left of the channel until past Virginia Pt. And if the winds cooperate, sail straight toward the  finish at the Poulsbo Yacht Club docks. 

Be prepared for anything!

 The current at Agate Pass during race day.

Here is our track from this race in 2013. We did win our class that day, but placed down in the overall standings. Given the predictions for Saturday, I would expect this track to be a good template for the race. Conditions in 2013 were a lot like the predictions for this year. The 2013 report can be found here: Poulsbo Invitational 2013

Rich Passage Ramble Race-April 12-Pre Race Analysis

Saturday is the annual Rich Passage Ramble Race sponsored by West Sound Corinthian Yacht Club and is Race #3 of the seven race West Sound Sailing Association Series. This race is a race from the Port Orchard Marinas through Rich Passage, around Blake Island and Bainbridge Reef Buoy #4, leaving both to port. From buoy #4, the race continues again through Rich Passage to the finish at Port Orchard Marina. Along the race, competitors experience strong currents, protruding land masses and speeding ferries.

I like this race for it's technical challenges. This year it looks like it could be a great race. As I write this on Friday morning, the various weather models are predicting North to Northeast winds of from 5 to 12 knots. The currents are actually favorable both outgoing and incoming through Rich Passage. Or they are favorable if the winds cooperate. If the winds do not wake up early enough Saturday morning and the competitors cannot get to Rich Passage soon enough, the racers may find themselves sailing against a flood current.

The first warning is at 1000 with the Cruising Boats starting first followed by PHRF 2 and PHRF 1. If the winds are up as predicted, the best track is down the middle of Port Orchard staying in the stronger ebb current. Expect a easterly push off Bremerton from the current flowing out of Port Washington Narrows. If the winds are still trying to fill in, it may be necessary to work one shore over another, probably the east shore. If all goes well, the racers should approach before Rich Passage during the last of the ebb.

In Rich Passage, work the middle of the pass and stay in the rougher water. Don't get greedy and cut the corner at Pt Glover too close, there can be a substantial adverse back eddy there. After Pt Glover,  if the wind stays favorable, steer toward the R6 buoy again staying in the ebb. If things slow down and the flood starts, a course to work over to the right toward Manchester Park might work and keep you out of the current. 

If the wind stays from the north, it should be a reach towards Blake Island. Again, don't get too greedy and go close to the shore. The wind can get very light. Fortunately, by now the current should have changed and be slack or nearly slack. If the winds are very light, I have had some success at a very gutsy move of sailing towards Southworth and riding a north flowing current out of Colvos Pass. If you do go close to Blake Island, be aware of the rock filled shallows at the SE corner of Blake Island. Many boats have located these rocks the hard way.

Once clear of Blake Island, it should be a beat along the east shore. If the wind are light, a beat along the east shore could be prudent. Watch for rivers of favorable current. Rounding the NE point of Blake Island, be aware of the shallows. The course to R4 should be a reach. If the winds are light, be careful to not get swept on the wrong side of the mark. From R4, I would ride the current between Orchard Rocks and Bainbridge Island, around Pt Glover and out the pass staying in the middle in the stronger current.

From Rich Passage to the finish, the fastest course should be down the middle of Port Orchard to the finish. Be careful to stay clear of Pt Herron and the flooding current.

There you go! No secrets or magic, just my analysis. Take it or leave it! Have a great race.

                                      

 The currents in Rich Passage and SW of Blake Island.

This is our track from the 2012 Rich Passage Ramble. The wind was a good northerly all day at 10-12 knots. Other than the jibe we did SW of Blake Island, this is a good template for the race. Also, the current was still ebbing in Rich Passage that caused us to work the edges harder than would be necessary for this years race.

The Grind of Healing

In a previous blog post (It Should Have Been Easy Again) I talked about falling, breaking my hip, surgery and my discharge from the hospital. This post catches up with my progress to date.

When I last posted, I was still at my parents house. After a total of five nights, I moved back to my home. The visiting nurse had met with me twice and did not have any major objections to the move. It was not easy. On crutches I soon found it hard and tiring to do just about anything. I found myself sitting for most of the day. Physical Therapists visited twice a week and schooled me in trying to make it easier to accomplish tasks. One cool idea was to use an old walker my folks had as a "truck" to haul things around as needed. This made food prep easier: I could load the walker at the refrigerator and haul it to the counter. The walker has a seat on it and I could sit while cooking. They tried to show me ways to be comfortable sleeping, but to this day, I cannot sleep in my bed and find myself sleeping in a recliner in the living room. I dread the night. I often only get 3-4 hours of sleep at night. The PT people visit me twice a week and monitor my exercise progress and change my program as I progress. I was also getting visits from a nurse who tested my blood since I was on blood thinners(warfarin: rat poison). After four weeks, I have now been taken off of warfarin, so that nurse will not visit anymore.

A week after I got to my house(two weeks post surgery), I had an appointment to get the staples removed on my incision. A friend drove me to the appointment and has hauled me around to many places since as well as mowed my yard once. Others have stepped up and given me rides when I need them.

This week I have shown some improvement. The pulled muscles in my upper thigh are not as painful as they were. I suspect that when the surgeon reset my break, there was probably times when my foot could have been near my head! And since I am off warfarin, I now have permission to take ibuprofen which is my preferred pain killer. I have been able to do my exercises at the goal of three sets a day now.

I will have to admit that this whole healing process is extremely boring. I have read a lot(and run out of reading material) and sleep some during the day, since I have trouble sleeping at night. Yet it also has made me grateful about how large my social circle is. Many friends have come by to visit. My neighbor picks up my paper each morning and checks on me. My neighbor and others have made me meals. That helps with the fatigue factor.

So, the slow pace continues. I have an appointment with the surgeon in Bellevue on May 2. He will xray the leg and hopefully give me approval to start putting weight on the leg. I am sure that it will take some time for the muscles to start working together again.

This is a pre surgery xray of my broken femur/hip joint. The break is my right leg(left side in the xray) and you can see how twisted and displaced it is. I normally would not wish this on anyone.

BUT!

It has been reported to me that someone on another social network talked about my injury and posted an xray of a repaired joint from a DOG! If this is true, I find it to be in bad taste.

Around Bainbridge Race- March 29th- A Pre-Race Analysis

After breaking my hip a couple of weeks ago, I cannot race sailboats for at least a couple of months. When I do race, I usually write a blog entry with my view point of how I sailed the race. To me it is a journal that I can refer to later and I hope others may find some information that is helpful to them. Since I am not racing and therefore cannot write a post race report, I thought I would start writing pre race analysis's of how I would attack the course.

The Around Bainbridge Race is a 25 mile race that starts and finishes at Brownsville Marina. The direction of the course is optional, you can sail either direction. New for this year is the single handed/double handed format and also the inclusion of a halfway point that allows for the race to be shortened if necessary.

A race around Bainbridge Island has been in existence for a long time. In the mid 70's. Brownsville Yacht Club started the event and usually scheduled it for May or June. When West Sound Corinthian Yacht Club came into existence in the early 80's they also had a Round Bainbridge Race with a start/finish at Port Orchard. This version was run in the month of January and often resulted in late, cold nights on the water trying to finish the race. Later it was moved to May and warmer temps and now to March. Port Madison also runs a Round Bainbridge race in the fall, but it is a two day event.

This year, the race starts at Brownsville Marina. The warning is at 0900. From the various models, The winds are predicted to be around 12-16 knots from the south with some lightening and a slight shift toward the west in the evening. Currents at Agate Pass, Rich Pass and Restoration Pt are as follows:

Initially, it looks like a clockwise rounding of Bainbridge Island would take the best advantage of the all day flood current. The time from the start of the race until the beginning of flood at Agate Pass is not very long. If the wind does not cooperate at the start, the boats may find it difficult or impossible to sail through Agate Pass against the flood. The best approach to Agate Pass against a flood is along the east shore and after the bridge, a course along the west side offers the best trade off for current and wind. The east side tends to be more blanketed and the winds lighter. Either way, have an anchor ready in case boat speed is not greater than current speed. Approaching the north end of Agate Pass, it is a wise choice to sail about a quarter of a mile north before heading east to avoid the potential dead wind zone.

It should be an easy reach to Pt Monroe, but again, don't get greedy and sail too close as there is often a hole there too. Once in the open sound, the current will be favorable. Stay in the current, but favor the Bainbridge Island shore and look for lifts under the points and the possible shift toward the right. Be careful around Wing Pt where the spit shoals rapidly.

Around Restoration Pt and then to Beans Pt. This will probably be a beat with long port legs and short starboard legs. Be careful that you do not sail into a hole along here. The wind can pile up along the bluff and stagnate. Give Beans Pt a little clearance to avoid any adverse current. From Beans Pt through Rich Passage to Pt White, the current should be favorable and nearly at max flow. Reach through the pass between Orchard Rocks and Bainbridge Island to Pt Glover. Again give Pt Glover some clearance to avoid a wind hole, but the current should be favorable. Tack into the middle of Rich Pass, stay in the rough water and line up your approach to Pt White. At Pt White, don't get too greedy and sail too close. Avoid possible adverse current here. Since the flood current flows north here, head toward Illahee for a couple hundred yards before bearing off and setting the spinnaker for the run to the finish.

Give University Pt a wide berth and initially sail low of the finish. The wind will come ahead and chances are that you will need to change to the jib to finish anyway.

A counter clockwise course around the island could also be possible if the winds stayed strong, but it is a gamble if the winds drop. The current at Rich Passage does change to flood about a half hour later than Agate Pass, so it would be possible to sail through Rich Passage against the current, but you would give up a lot of time doing so. The temptation of a long run north is really strong, but again, it is against the current. I do not recommend this course. I feel that it is more important to get out of Port Orchard as soon as possible.

It will be interesting to see the results and the decisions made by the competing boats.

It Should Have Been Easy -Again

A couple of weeks ago I posted about my trials of buying a new smartphone.
I love this new phone, but it is hard for me to type on. But even though I am still learning how to use it, I have found it recently to be invaluable.

A week ago, a new member of the Bronco II was offering to give away his 1990 Bronco II. He lives relatively close at Woodinville north of Seattle. He had two Bronco II's and this one reportedly had a fuel pump electrical connector issue that prevented it from running. The pictures made it look good. And it was FREE!

So I offered to take it. I was in second place behind the Utah boys that wanted to part out the Bronco. The Utah boys dropped out because it was too expensive to transport to Utah. So it was mine.

So, Tuesday, I rented a car dolly and drove to Woodinville to pick up this next project.
I arrived at the owners home at 1030 and looked at the Bronco II. It was immediately apparent that this is a nice vehicle : straight body, nice paint and excellent interior.  It had been garaged.

We concluded the business and loaded it on the dolly. I was performing one last check of the tie downs when  I either tripped or fell over the trailer tongue landing on my right hip on the asphalt.  I was in tremendous pain. The land owner took me to Group Health urgent care at Overlake  Hospital in Bellevue. After xrays, I was told that I broke the ball off the top of the femur. And immediate surgery was needed to establish blood flow to the head of the femur. I sure did not need this! I sent the owner home with my truck keys.

Surgery was Tuesday night and they set the break and put in three screws. I was pretty pain free on Wednesday after a sleeplessness night. The physical therapist got me out of bed in the morning and I set in a recliner most of the day.

On Wednesday night Jim and Matthew took a night run to Woodinville to retrieve my truck and Bronco. By late evening, my truck and new Bronco were at my house and the dolly was back to Uhaul.

I was to be discharged Thursday or Friday depending on how well my skills of using a walker and crutches are. Or I could be sent to a rehab facility. I aced the crutches test and was discharged Thursday night. My sister took me to my parents place for a while.

So, how will I heal? For 6-8 weeks, I cannot put ANY weight on my right leg. So no sailing, cycling, hiking, or even driving. But so far the prognosis looks good if the blood supply to the joint is fully restored. Such fun! I will probably stay at my mom's for a few days and than hopefully move back home soon.

It should have neen easy to pick up a free car!

My in hospital selfie picture. My smartphone is the only computer I have right now.

It Should Have Been Easy!

Yesterday I decided to finally throw off some of my old ways and move into the modern era with a smart phone. I have not bought a new phone since I had to replace my phone with a new flip phone four years ago after the old flip phone fell into the cats water dish on the boat. And since I did not use my phone much, I went with a basic voice plan. Since then, I have found myself doing some texting(extra cost) and longing to have a way of accessing the Internet and email without carrying the net book and finding a WI FI hotspot.


Last week at Costco, while I was waiting for the new tires to be mounted on the Mustang, I went into the Mobile Phone Kiosk and talked to the staff there. They briefed me on the various plans and what phones were the best deals at the time. The upgraded data plans were a lot cheaper than I thought they would be and a massive at checkout rebate was being offered on the phones.


Yesterday I went in and started the process. The salesman brought up my information on the computer. After reviewing the data, he says "Oh, it says here that you got a new phone last year and you are not eligible for an up grade until next year".  I immediately knew what happened. Last August, my phone bill came in VERY high. A little research and it looked like someone had bought some equipment on my account. Furthermore, my address got changed to Cleveland Ohio. I called the cell phone provider and reported the fraudulent charges and after a couple of hours on the phone got them reversed. So. I left Costco, drove home and got on the phone to the cell phone people. Conversation went like this:


Tech: Yes, we agree with what you are saying and we did reverse the charges, but for some reason it still says that you bought and Iphone5 in August and that became the upgrade date.


Me: Can you fix that so I can upgrade to a new phone?


Tech: Yes, give me a couple minutes.


Tech: OK, I fixed the upgrade date to today.


Me: Good, so now I can go buy my new phone as an upgrade?


Tech: Yes!


So I went back to Costco and started getting set up for a new phone. This time the salesman stops and says "I have never seen this before". He tells me that in my records that a flag has popped up requesting that additional proof of identity and address has to be faxed in before they can approve a phone upgrade: drivers license and utility bill, vehicle registration(from Washington State) or some other documentation that I cannot remember. So now, I walk out to the car get the registration and he faxes the info to the provider. After a few minutes, the flag is removed and we completed the sale of the phone.


I think I will like my new smart phone(it is smarter than I am) and it will surely take me a while to start realizing it's potential. But it literally took most of the day to get this completed. It should have been easy!

Port Madison Jim DePue Memorial Race-WSSA #1-Persistence Pays



The Jim DePue Memorial is the first race of the seven race West Sound Sailing Association (WSSA) series. It is a 16.5NM race run in the waters of Puget Sound, starting at Point Monroe and sponsored by Port Madison yacht club. All week before the race, the predicted wind were reported to be light. Furthermore, as the weekend drew near, the weather forecast started predicting a chance of snow. The prediction was pretty close as we saw winds up to 5-6 knots for a while after the start with overcast skies and a light soaking rain that lasted throughout the day.

The winds at the start was blowing out of the north. We got a good start in the middle of the line on starboard. It was not long before we tacked to port and our heading was straight toward the weather mark. Three quarters of the way to the first mark, the wind shifted suddenly to the NE. We tacked and by now had overstood the mark a little bit and two boats rounded just ahead of us.

After rounding the mark, we sailed for a while close reaching with the jib. The wind lifted and we were finally able to set the spinnaker. We talked about heading high to get across the sound before the ebb current started flowing stronger, but the wind stayed steady and we were headed to the second mark at West Pt. We passed the two boats ahead(actually three, one was a cruising division boat) before the wind died and started coming ahead. Down with the spinnaker and up with the jib and we were close reaching on starboard with a light SW wind. We drew away from the boats behind and slowly made up ground on another boat that had passed us.

As we started closing on West Pt, the wind died entirely and the current swept us back to the north. A few boats from behind worked to the east and avoided the current and found a little breeze along the shore. We finally got some light south wind and sailed close hauled toward the east shore. By now we had slipped to at least fourth. We worked the beach north of West Pt and sailed close to the land where we obtained great current relief. The committee boat moved to just off the tip of West Pt to shorten the course. Our last tack took us very close to the beach at West Pt and when we tacked to port, we were inside of the boat just ahead of us. And two of the leaders were now on starboard trying to sail up to the finish against the current. We sailed close to the stern of the committee boat and tacked across the finish line in first place easily in front of the starboard tack boat. The boat just ahead of and below us went behind the starboard boat and lost more than the time that we owed them. The cruising class boat finished ahead of us, but as time after finishing got longer before other boats finished, it looks like we corrected to first in the PHRF Division 1. And if my times are correct, I think we probably corrected ahead of the PHRF Division 2 that finished behind us. Results when they are posted can be found here: Jim Depue Memorial Race Results

It was a fun day for a race: cold, rainy, no wind. But the crew worked well and we had a "never give up" attitude that carried us through to a good finish. Thanks to the crew of Jim and Tim for all their hard work.

Following the race, there was a social event at Port Madison Yacht Club. I did not attend(my Social circle is limited), but I did sit down with some of the sailors for some nachos at the Deli at Brownsville Marina and dissected the race

Jim trimming the spinnaker on the second leg of the race.

Our track for the day. If you look at the track in Shilshole Bay, you will see a big "S" where we were swept north by the ebbing current.