Wednesday Night - August 27th - Thursday

Seth Magner Mudheads WNR 2003

Date: 08/27/2003 Log Entry: Race
Distance: .0 Weather: Clear, Wind:  West 10 kts Current: flood 1724 at Ram Island
Course: s/f-V-s/f-DM-s/f (p), Distance: 4.3 nm Crew: BB, BF, SR, RW

Wednesday Night - August 27th - Thursday

Crew: Brian-foredeck, Bob-mid, Seth -aft, RW -helm.

 

On the start we were reaching a third of the way down the line right on the line, when Sanibel (Pearson Wanderer 30) came up on our leeward quarter about 30 feet off our beam, requesting us to come up.  I told them I was on the line and could go no higher, yet felt there was plenty of room for them to come up. As they were faster, they slowly overtook us to leeward and worked their way up to the line to where they were about ten feet abeam of us and higher by the gun. A few of their crew call foul towards us, though I felt not since they had plenty of room.  I guess in retrospect, we should have luffed our sails and been less of an obstacle to them.  At the gun they were on our lee bow and pulling away. With Sassy Lassie rolling us to starboard, we took a short tack on port for clear air then continued out for the current.

 

Start – in the future I’m giving up on the starting mid-line or near the pin when my strategy is to continue on starboard. As often happens, we get rolled and are then forced to tack to port when our intention was to continue on starboard.  I believe if it is our intention to extend on starboard of a while, it is best to start at the starboard end and windward of the fleet, even at the expense of being over late.

 

After about three minutes on starboard we took the long tack towards Vixen, laid the line and rounded with a smooth bearaway set.  We had discussed jibing to port for current relief nearer the shore, but the wind was too forward to make the port jibe advantageous and felt a jibe to port to get out of the current would have been too drastic a course increase to gain from it. So we continued on a fresh broad reach the whole leg in the current, as did the vast majority of the fleet.  

 

Approaching the leeward mark, we took down the spinnaker slightly early.  In retrospect, we should have hoisted the genoa to port with a leeward douse rather than the port windward takedown. At this point I believe we were still in the hunt. After the rounding great crew work, we took another hitch out on starboard for current. This I extended too far by a couple minutes resulting in an overstand of the DropMark. Approaching the layline, Legacy ahead to our leeward had to duck someone allowing us to round inside. Should we not have taken the hitch on starboard from the leeward mark? I imagine the current benefit was marginal at best.

 

On the last leg, we jibed almost immediately after the set, and held a course shoreward of Horseshoe to get out of the current, giving us a fresh angle once back on starboard at Horseshoe for the finish.  This may have been a good move as the wind slacked to 7 & 8 the last third of the run, and a few boats further offshore appeared to be struggling in the dying breeze against the current.

 

We crossed less than a minute behind Cosmic, though too far behind the others to correct higher than fifth.

 

Thanks to the crew ------    Our boat handling has improved immensly this year, now only if the skipper would go the right way.   As the old saying goes - there is always next year!

MRMSA Wed Night Summer Series - Race 5

Seth Magner Mudheads WNR 2003

Date: 08/20/2003 Log Entry: Race
Distance: .0 Weather: Clear Wind: WSW 8, G11 kts Current: ebb 1745 at Ram Island
Course: s/f-V-DM-V-s/f,port  4.3 nm Crew: BB, SR, BF & RW

MRMSA Wed Night Summer Series - Race 5

 

The course was setup nearly parallel to the shore westward to Vixen back downwind three quarters of a mile to the DropMark (offset to the north towards shore), once more to Vixen and a final run back to the start/finish.

 

Starting in an about 8 knots wind in the middle of the pack on starboard, we made a short tack out on port for clear air.  Though port was the favored tack, our strategy was to extend out on starboard thinking there maybe less current developed in the deeper water this early in the ebb. I’m still not certain which course was correct, the deep one or the shallow water near the Connecticut shore.  Though in retrospect, had we continued on our first port tack for another five minutes, we may have benefited from the current shelter of Horseshoe Reef, prior to sailing offshore for the deeper water.  The 1.4 mile rhumbline to Vixen heavily favored port, and we took a total of 5 short hitches on starboard to lay the mark, with two ducks for traffic on the final port board.  Slightly overstanding due to the ebb, we had a good set and run downwind in the current with a jibe to port four minutes from the mark. 

 

A good douse and smooth rounding got us set for the beat back to Vixen.  Now on port along Bluff Pt. in less than twenty feet of water we had one knot of adverse current with the wind dropping to 6 and 7.   So off the beach we went for what appeared to be more wind.  Approaching the layline, we made a final duck for traffic (Hellfire & Blue Light, short of the layline themselves), which set us up for a good set and a fun 22 minute run to the finish with Blue Light over taking us two minutes short of the line for a sixth place finish.

 

Stats-

 

s/f  to Vixen, 1.4 nm rhumbline – 37 minutes, average wind 8.5 knots   

Vixen to DM, .75 nm rhumbline – 10 minutes, average wind 8.5 knots

DM to Vixen, .75 nm rhumbline – 28 minutes, average wind 7 knots

Vixen to s/f, 1.4 nm rhumbline – 22 minutes, average wind 9 knots

08/13/2003

Seth Magner Mudheads WNR 2003
Date: 08/13/2003 Log Entry: Race
Distance: .0 Weather: Wind None <3 knts, Very hazy\foggy Current: Slack
Course: None Crew: RW & BB & BF & SR

Motored out to Flat Hammock after meeting Brian who had motored down the river from Mystic in Dockside Electronics Whaler. Arriving at starting area, we sat around for ~30 mins till the race was canceled for lack of wind.

MRMSA Wed Night Summer Series - Race 4

Seth Magner Mudheads WNR 2003

Date: 08/06/2003 Log Entry: Race
Distance: .0 Weather: Clearing skies, Wind: S 12-14, < 7 kts Current: ebb 1825 at Ram Island,
Course: s/f-W-I-W- s/f with port roundings. Crew: BB, BF & RW

MRMSA Wed Night Summer Series - Race 4

 

With Bob and family at the Cape, it was Brian, Seth and I for the fourth race of the summer series. With the starting area just outside of Flat Hammock, the course was 1 mile south to W (West Harbor R6), 1.6 miles north to I Intrepid Rock), upwind 1.6 miles to W and 1 mile back to the start/finish line for a total of 5.2 nm. During the warm-up & starting maneuvers, we had winds of 12 to 14, and discussion of possibly resorting to the flattening reef shortly after the start.

 

Starting mid-fleet on starboard and buried mid-pack & headed, we tacked and split from the fleet to starboard soon as an alley opened. We had a good beat up to West Harbor's R6 in very gusty conditions, never having to utilize the flattening reef, though flattening the foot of the main numerous times with the outhaul, and easing in the lulls. After five more tacks we rounded seventh behind Mini Maxi, Jolly Mon, Hotspur, Cosmic Debris, Sassy Lassie & Sanibel but ahead of Blue Light and Tumult.

 

We had a momentary twist of the spinnaker on the set, yet Brian & Seth quickly sorted it out which got us past Sanibel with a big spinnaker mess on their foredeck. They then passed about a third of the way down the course towards Intrepid, prior to our port. Nearing Intrepid, now ahead of Sanibel, we hoisted the genoa, doused the spinnaker and got the pole stowed in plenty of time for a smooth rounding, inside of the J24, Sparky, and settled down on port for a bit prior to tacking to favored starboard. Playing the shifts, it took eight tacks up the beat back to W, though two were unnecessary… a little fiasco on my part. On our second tack across on port, Brer Rabbit (C&C 33, Class 3) passed on port safely to leeward then tacked to starboard and crossed. I should have ducked, but for some unknown reason, tacked to port on their lee bow. After a few tense moments of avoiding one another and clear, we tacked back to starboard.

 

We rounded with another bearaway, and jibed to port at the first opportunity for the majority of the run to the finish. The wind now dying to 7 with occasional puffs to 8 and 9, we maintained our lead over Blue Light, Sanibel and Tumult, heating it up in the lulls and bearing off in the puffs. On the final four-minute starboard jibe, a hot angle to the finish, the cell phone began to ring a couple minutes short of the line. Doing our best to ignore it, we crossed 6th boat for boat and corrected to 3rd. Sure enough, shortly after starting the motor, Bob called back inquiring as to how our night was going.

MRMSA Wed Night Summer Series - Abandoned

Seth Magner Mudheads WNR 2003

Date: 07/30/2003 Log Entry: Race
Distance: .0 Weather: Clear, high thin overcast, little wind Current: flood 1828 Ram Island
Course: Fishers Island West Harbor Crew: Brian, Bob, & RW

MRMSA Wed Night Summer Series - Abandoned

 

Motored over to the Flat Hammock starting area. Race postponed at 1755 & abandoned at 1830 hours.