I was concentrating on getting Manatee in position for the start and didn't
notice where your Aillte and Todd's Breezy were at the start. I crossed the
line at the whistle so close to the dock that I could hear the starter
counting down 5, 4, 3, 2..., but soon after, as I crossed tacks with Dave
Kautz, he pointed out your boats far ahead down the Estuary. After rounding
the windward mark, Manatee flew down the middle of the channel on the
downwind leg and finally caught up with Aillte at the leeward mark, and we
rounded the mark right behind you. I don't remember actually passing you on
the last leg, but I got close enough to ask you about the finish line, then
I remembered the finish line was the same as the start line. (Duh!).
Let's have some more reports!
Harry Gordon
Lateen-rigged P14 #234, Manatee
Mountain View, CA
>Kathryn and I have certainly enjoyed the reports on the SCA challenge by
>
>Judy, Harry, Larry, Dave and all.. here's our version ( and we're
>sticking to
>it!)... We had a smooth three and a half hour drive to Alameda on
>Friday, helped
>by the restoration of the Oakland Freeway section destroyed in the
>earthquake, and
>by surprisingly light traffic. Found Judy B., Bill Boyer, and a number
>of the
>other Potters rigging and launching at Grand Street ramp, and soon we
>were
>in the water sailing up the estuary to overnight at the yacht basin.
>Saturday morning it was fun to socialize and watch the various
>Montgomerys,
>Potters, Compacs arriving at the dock. Dory Taylor and Jerry Barrileaux
>
>did a great job, as did Judy Blumhorst helping everyone get organized.
>Skippers met at 1:00pm and
>shortly thereafter everyone was sailing down to Grand street for the
>shape and
>start. Kathryn gave me the option of leaving her behind to lighten
>"Aillte",but
>I am really glad that she has become quite interested in learning how to
>sail well,
>and I assured her that she could help a great deal by helping trim and
>by poling
>out the jib. I also suspected that the wind might come up a good deal
>more by
>the 2 O'clock gun and we would be glad to have weight in the boat. (
>this was to
>turn out to be a bad guess!) We left the
>motor on the transom mount, and had our sleeping bags, cooler,
>anchors,etc
>so we really were in cruising mode. I think this ultimately worked to
>our advantage
>on the run to the windward mark, keeping Aillte on her leeward chines,
>and biting nicely on either tack. At the shape, the P-19's were
>milling about
>agressively, as they needed to in the light and fluky air we were
>continuing to
>experience. I watched Tod, as I have watched he and his Dad in
>previous races
>over the years, and knew he would time things well, lurking below the
>Port line
>marker, and shave as close to the pin end as he could, for, given the
>wind out of the Northwest which is typical most of the time there, the
>Port tack is very
>much the favored tack on the Estuary, and if you cross the line on the
>left end
>you may get hundreds of yards further up the right side of the estuary
>before
>you bear off on starboard tack as briefly as possible before going for
>another
>long leg upwind on Port. The horn sounded and the 19's made their
>start, we bore
>off to the right timing two minutes, slightly below and parallel to
>the line, then turned
>back left two minutes, aiming to arrive at the Pin just at a half
>minute or so left, suddenly got hit
>by a gust that brought us on much faster than we wanted... we're now
>thirty seconds
>early although right where we had wanted to bear off and tack for the
>line.. what to do..
>Kill off some time.. Jibe off to the left, thinking about doing a full
>circle.. we lose
>enough speed.. back right on to Port headed for the line, Tod and
>"Breezy" whiz by
>as "Aillte's" sails fill, the horn sounds, and Tod is on up the estuary
>about
>fifty yards ahead of us, but I can see that each of us has gotten the
>angle for a good
>first Leg. I am astonished at how fast "Breezy" is , as "Aillte" is
>going quite well and
> we are passing some 19's, but Tod is pulling away.
> I start to concentrate hard on making our boat go the best
>I can, pleased to note we are pointing as well as "Breezy", and managing
>to keep him
>firmly in our sights, although Tod still is slowly pulling away. A
>thousand yards
>from where we would have been forced to tack away from the estuary's
>east bank,
>suddenly , some really great gusts and an enormous five degree lift.
>What a thrill!
>We are going like the hammers! Tod doesn't miss it either, and we are
>both gaining
>a lot of ground on some of the P-19's who started five minutes before
>us.. The wind
>shift holds and we continue to move fast up the estuary on a long leg
>with the wind
>oscillating back to the left permitting us to stay on the same tack.
>Finally we get
>in close to the pilings on the bank of the east side, and turn onto the
>first starboard
>tack right on a line with Tod in Breezy but still losing ground to him,
>and we are
>both now above several 19's . Starboard is definitely not good, now
>driving us
>a bit away from the upwind mark, so we must stay on it only long enough
>to
>buy room to try and hit the layline for the mark... we spin back onto
>Port tack,
>Kathryn carefully perching her weight on the centerboard trunk while
>spotting
>the mark for me with her small binoculars.. we just make it, and turn
>downwind,
>in front of the 19 that is there with us and yell hi to Larry Costa,
>and get busy,
>Kathryn poles out the jib, and I pull up the centerboard almost all the
>way.
>Behind us the wind is rapidly becoming very light and fluky, at times
>almost
>disappearing entirely. Behind us by only twenty or thirty yards, Dave
>and Tilly
>Lucy, Larry on the 19, and Harry Gordon and Manatee are closing on us,
>and
>we are getting blanketed by them. Ever so slowly the two small boats
>come
>up even with us, Dave on our left and Harry on our right.. it is so calm
>we are
>having friendly conversations with one another from boat to boat, as we
>proceed downwind, conjecturing on what might get an ounce more of speed
>in the light air.
>The 19 moves out toward the center of the estuary finds some wind and
>slowly
>leaves us behind as they make for the windward mark. In the clearer
>air, Dave
>now pulls away and leaves us ever so slowly, as Harry bears off a bit to
>the right
>and does the same. We finally make the downwind mark, and as we take in
>the
>pole, and lower the centerboard, starting to beat for the finish line,
>we close on
>two 19's and drive in above them on starboard tack, go almost to the
>seawall on
>the west bank, spin back to the right and onto port and a minute later
>sail across
>the line... Kathryn looked back at me and said, " Now I see why you
>like this
>so much!" We had had an absolutely wonderful day, delighted that we
>had sailed our boat well, and had enjoyed the pleasure of watching
>others sail well too...
>and later that evening more fun, potter talk, food and drink with all
>the other
>friends and Potter sailors at the Meridian. Lots of fond memories
>dancing
>in our brains as we made the long drive home on Sunday through grey
>rain,
>and heavy cloud formations rolling up from the South.