Reports: Winter Vashon : Duwamish Head, Toliva Shoal.
The 2006-2007 Southern Sound Series is completed. The results, the Series and the Islands Race, may be found at www.ssseries.org.
This year was a year of great races! Most boats finished each race before dark and there was wind for every race. Well, the start of Toliva Shoal didn’t have much wind, but it was shortened at the Shoal mark with wind. Most racers were thankful it was shortened and they didn’t have to fight the ebbing current on the return to Olympia.
The last race sponsored by the Gig Harbor Yacht Club was another race with wind. Not much wind, but enough to allow most boats to finish before dark. Spinnaker up to Blake Island, beat back to the finish at Gig Harbor. Rain didn’t start falling until 1130, and it was a warm rain!
Of particular note was the Catalina 22, Brandy Lee, skippered by Troy and Brandy DeLeon of SSSS. Their two young daughters were along for the race and appeared to be having an enjoyable time. Kelly Coon found them at the dock in Gig Harbor flying their SSSS burgee. He gave them a cruising rating for the race, told Troy to hop up to the West Marine store close by and purchase a LifeSling and radar reflector and he could race! Several years ago the Catalina 22s and other similar size boats would be racing all the races around the Sound. Things have gotten bigger over the years.
Photos from the boat and of the crew.
The Cruising Class grew in numbers with the introduction of a flying sails division. South Sound sailors made up the bulk of the non flying and flying sails classes throughout the Series. The Cruising Classes have proven to be an inexpensive introduction to racing, no PHRF dues or spinnaker expenses, with the big boats from up north.
There were two protests and one situation during the series. One concerning placement of a boat in a class and the other concerning a modification to an Express 37 rudder, made of carbon fiber.
The class assignment for the boat was upheld by the protest committee. A PHRF rating is not all that is considered when placing a boat in a class. Displacement and size of boats are a couple of other factors considered by the Series Council when placing a boat in a class. The goal is to have boats competitive with each other in each class. The boat protesting class placement lost her protest.
The Express 37 rudder modification was not reported to the PHRF handicapper, thus the boat was disqualified. There was no intention of the skipper to cheat the system. He simply had his rudder replaced with a better one and did not realize to report that to his handicapper. You can read the conclusions of the protest committee on our web site, as this protest came from the Toliva Shoal Race. The protest may be appealed.
PHRF has rehandicapped the Express 37, making her 3 seconds faster. This is controversial and may end up being decide by the Handicappers Council. It will effect more boats than the one protested.
The situation concerned a 22-foot boat that had a trapeze for the crew to hike out.. No lifelines. After much consternation, it was discovered that the boat did have a valid PHRF certificate and had taken a minus 6 seconds from her handicap. However the only way “nonstandard hiking” is legal is if the Racing Rules of Sailing are modified. PHRF does not override the rules. The sailing instructions do not so modify the rules. After the skipper was informed of this, he has not raced.
I do know that they earned their place in the races! When they passed us all three of the crew were wearing wetsuits and you could see that they were cold, wet and tired! What a workout! Thirty miles on the trapeze!
Congratulations to Scott Awalt and his crew on Sugar Magnolia. They edged out Time Warp for First OA in Series on the tie breaker! Nine other SSSS boats placed in the Series. See the results.
Congratulations too to SSSS Team 2, Something Special, Bodacious, and Gadzooks. They won the Team Race.
The 2007-2008 Series, time does fly, starts on December 1 with the Winter Vashon Race. Start planning your racing winter! Hope to see you on the water!
Oh, Koosah’s new engine works fine!
Dave Knowlton, Koosah
The third race of the four-race series was conducted on Saturday, February 17th. It really was three or four races in one!
The start went well for all fleets. There was wind, some sun, and no rain! Approximately a mile after the start, the wind disappeared. Several of the crews could be seen with their shirts off enjoying the record-breaking temperature for Olympia of 62 degrees. At approximately 1100 the first of the faster boats, Tachyon, Artemis, Jackrabbit and Synge started passing the cruising fleet boats which had started thirty minutes earlier. Then the wind filled in from the west, just enough to give everyone hope. Some of the fleet that went over to the Boston Harbor side of Budd Inlet fell into some holes and watched the remainder of the fleet to the west pass. Start #2.
At 1130, spectators who lined the beach at Doffelmyer Point could see the wind change direction again as it came from the north. As this change occurred several boats were caught in another dark, windless hole at Boston Harbor and watched the other boats pass. Start #3
The north wind continued until 1400. The current was flooding and the fleet did their best to work their way through Dana Passage. Balder was even anchored for short while near Little Fish Trap. One can surmise that this was going to be a weird race when boats like Time Warp and Navitae Juvenis are just passing the cruising fleet after four hours of racing! Some boats managed to escape however and made it to Johnston Point, only to fall into another hole as the wind changed from the north and started filling in from the west. Start #4
The wind stayed and filled in with steady 15 knots with gusts into the low 20’s. It was a reach to Lyle Point, some boats with spinnakers and others electing to use the #1 headsail. Spinnakers proved to be an interesting choice for several boats! Jody V was seen pointing back to Olympia with their spinnaker doing funny gyrations from the masthead. She eventually gained control and finished the race. Rushwind, in an attempted gybe, was seen heading off to the Nisqually Delta until they decided to dump it and go under headsail. Time Warp, during their attempted jibe, managed to blow out their beautiful blue spinnaker. As the wind continued, tactics became less critical as boat control and speed became more important. There were no more jibes, just a reach to the mark!
An interesting situation evolved with Singularity, a Morgan 27 skippered by our handicapper John Martens. A couple of years ago the Toliva Shoal race was shortened at Lyle Point. The currents were ebbing and there was no wind. Boats drifted to the finish line. Several boats drifted past the finish on the wrong side of the mark boat and could not get back to complete the race. A dense fog set in. Singularity managed to go aground in the vicinity of Lyle Point and throughout the night every hour you could hear the Coast Guard conducting a radio check to ensure their safety. THIS year, Singularity, in the same location, managed to wrap the spinnaker at the top of the mast AND in the middle of the forestay. She dropped out of the race, who knows how they got that thing down, but that night she was tied up to the dock looking all under control! Lyle Point; bet next year Singularity will figure out a way to avoid that place!
The fleet was scattered. The fast boats were closing in on the Toliva Shoal marker while the slower boats were just rounding Johnson Point. It was around 1500 and Joel Rett, the Principal Race Officer, had to make a decision. Although the wind was filling in, at 1700 the current would change and a strong ebb would continue until 0100 Sunday. The goal was to finish as many boats as possible. He shortened the race at Toliva! As the slower boats rounded Lyle Point they could see the majority of the fleet sailing north past the mark heading home to Tacoma, Gig Harbor, Des Moines and Seattle.
Motoring back to Olympia aboard Osa, our crew was delighted that the race was shortened! The rain and wind filled in, but so did the ebbing current! At times we were making only a knot of velocity made good against the current and wind. String Games, just out of the yard for fiberglass repair to her bow from hitting a deadhead, could be seen sailing past Devil’s Head. Charlemagne sailed back to Ziittel’s Marina; they couldn’t get the engine started.
South Sound boats did well. Seventeen boats took home silver! Results are on the web site. Special kudos goes to Silverheels, Kaitlin, Jole de Vivre, and Boru who took first in their respective class.
On a personal note, this was to be Koosah’s 15th Toliva Shoal. She is getting a new engine as was not ready to race. So, I hope to see you in a month, with a new engine, at the last of the Southern Sound Series races! The Islands Race, sponsored by the Gig Harbor Yacht Club is March 17th.
Dave Knowlton, Koosah
The second race of the four race series was held on January 6th, 2007. Sponsored by the Three Tree Point Yacht Club, the Duwamish Head Race always seems to have the most diverse weather. This year the race weather was great!
However, for the South Sound boats the most difficult part of this race was the delivery, both up and back! Several boats departed Olympia around 1000 Friday morning. There was some rain, but more importantly wind and waves. Big waves! Most were able to take advantage of the wind by hoisting a sail and sometimes surfing on the waves. For one boat, Havin’ Sun Fun, the waves proved too huge and they turned around at McNeil Island and headed back to Olympia. Friday night, the wind howled as the front moved through South Sound. Skippers and crew were trying to sleep and not worry about the possibility of racing in 30+ knots of wind. Most found that difficult to do. Around 0500 Saturday morning the wind decreased and the clouds departed, just in time for the start at 1000.
The race this year was rather straight forward. Spinnaker down around Alki Point and gybe to the Duwamish Head mark. The boats that stayed east of the passage seemed to fair better than those who went over to the Vashon Island side. After rounding the mark, it was a tight reach over to Blakely Rock, then a beat back to the finish. Most boats could fetch the finish line with four to six tacks as the wind increased. Almost all finished before dark!
An interesting item was that 35 boats that competed in the Winter Vashon Race did not compete in the Duwamish Head race. There was only one non-flying sails cruising class competitor. There were 55 boats in the race.
South Sound boats did well! Time Warp placed first in class and first overall. Bodacious finished 2nd in the same class, F class, and was second overall. Kudos go to Sparrowhawk, Sugar Magnolia, and Power Surge who placed first in their class. Other South Sound boats taking home silver include Gadzooks, 2nd in G class, Inati, 2nd in I class, and Koosah, 3rd in G class.
The delivery home was also interesting. Aboard Koosah, we could not get the engine started! Good thing the wind was up, because we had to go back nine miles to the Tacoma Yacht Club to drop off the crew! We began sailing with our #3 and a reef in the main. We were able to contact Gadzooks and notify them of our situation. They said they would keep an eye on us; a tow was out of the question with the wind and the waves and a heavy furniture fleet boat like Koosah. We beat to about one mile from the yacht club when Bodacious came along side in the dark. We related our situation to them and they volunteered to tow us in the last quarter of a mile where the crew of Gadzooks helped us land at the dock.
The plan was to have Balder tow Koosah home the next morning. Around 0500 Sunday morning after listening to the weather report we decided not to execute that plan! Winds were predicted to be in the mid 20’s gusting up to the 40’s! The decision was vindicated as we rounded Point Defiance. The wind was in the low 30’s, the flood tide was about 3 knots and the waves were huge! A tow would have been impossible. It was a rough ride back to Olympia even in a 38-foot boat. We were glad that Balder had a dodger! Rain and wind! What else is new this winter! We arrived back at the Olympia Yacht Club around noon, looking forward to a hot shower and a quiet evening, and to the repair of Koosah and delivery back to Swawntown!
Dave Knowlton, Koosah
What a wonderful way to start the Series! The Tacoma Yacht Club went all the way to provide a huge party Friday evening. A pasta dinner with salad and rolls plus free beer contributed to a boisterous gathering of sailors. Awards from the 2005 Winter Vashon were presented and South Sound Sailors took their fair share home. The awards were canvas tote bags that could zipper up and had Winter Vashon 2005 sewn on the front of the bag.
The class breaks were posted around 2100 and teams were organized. South Sound has four teams, Olympia Yacht Club has a team, Tacoma Yacht Club formed two teams and Gig Harbor Yacht Club and Three Tree Point Yacht Club each have a team.
The Cruising Class started around 0830, half an hour before other classes. At 0900 the first warning gun sounded and the multi-hulls took off five minutes later with spinnakers up in a 5 knot northeast wind. The remaining classes followed.
Around 1030 the wind filled in from the north and oscillated between NW and NE. All the boats were beating up Colvos Passage to the mark at the north end of Vashon Island. There didn’t appear to be much strategy involved, just make the boat go fast and point as high as you can.
The mark rounding was straight forward. Keep it to starboard and perform a bear-away set for the spinnaker. There was some strategy involved for this leg of the race. Boats that stayed close to Vashon did much better than those who went down the middle or the east side of the passage. The current was ebbing, and even if the current charts state week and variable there still could be some current.
At Point Robinson the wind died a little and several of the slower boats gained ground on the fast ones. The sprint to the finish was under spinnaker except for the slower boats that had to shift to a headsail the last mile or so as the wind veered more to the northwest. Most boats finished before 1800!
Special kudos to the South Sound Cruising Class! Power Surge, Releaf, and Havin’ Sun Fun swept the class! Other SSSS boats placing in the money included Time Warp, Sugar Magnolia, Gadzooks, and Inati.
Oh, by the way, the weather was great! Cold, but no rain or snow!
Dave Knowlton, Koosah
With your indulgence I will relate Koosah’s experience at Winter Vashon. Upon returning to Olympia we put the boat away and hurried home to see the results on the Southern Sound Series web site. Both Koosah and Pandora were scored as OCS! OCS is the dreaded abbreviation for On Course Side which translates to mean that the boat is over the starting line prior to her start. Wow, seeing that on the score sheet felt like taking a cold shower!
Koosah was not OCS! An email to the crew to gain their perspective produced the consensus that we were late for the start. Bob and Beth Connolly on Pandora also agreed that Koosah, along with Pandora, was late for the start ...
The facts we gathered were that we saw Balder and Bodacious cross the line ahead of us and they were in our start. We were also having a conversation with Sugar Magnolia behind the starting line as our starting gun went off. We encouraged each other since we are on the same SSSS team for the Series. Steve Worcester collaborated this by e-mail on Sunday evening. We couldn’t remember any other boats around us and Charlie Hanlin, our time keeper sated that we were at least three minutes late for our start.
So, what to do? Both Pandora and Koosah filed a Request for Redress. The sailing instructions stated that a protest or request must be filed with 48 hours of the race completion. I didn’t read Bob’s request, but I’m sure it resembled ours. The suggestion was made that since we were both slow, furniture fleet boats and so late for our own start that perhaps the race committee confused us with the start behind us. The request was e-mailed to Gerry Gilbert, Race Chair for Winter Vashon. Gerry promptly replied that he would forward it to the Principle Race Officer, Skip Anderson. Gerry also mentioned that it should be an easy decision since the Tacoma Yacht Club video taped the start!
The next day we were notified via e-mail that indeed we were not OCS! Whew! We had just spent 48 hours aboard Koosah. A delivery to Tacoma, a long race, and a delivery back to Olympia. An OCS would mean that we didn’t even participate in the race! What a relief to hear that decision.
In retrospect, we should have had our VHF radio scanning channels 16 and 72. The sailing instructions state that the race committee will announce the boats that are over early. We had our radio tuned only to channel 16. At Swiftsure each year it is almost mandatory to have your radio tuned to the race committee as they announce the starts. It surely cuts down on confusion and protests! Also we should have taken better notice of the boats around us and jotted them down on a note pad to remember, if necessary, after the race.
The race itself was enjoyable! I wrote a more detailed description earlier, which follows. Koosah was second in her class half-way through the race. As we rounded the mark at the north end of Vashon Island only the swift, well sailed J-30, Gadzooks was ahead of us. Then we made a strategic error! We were at least a mile ahead of the remainder of our competition when we decided to head to the middle of East Passage. We realized our poor judgment too late! We could see Cherokee, Teaser, Shattered, and Pandora, all boats in our class, work their way past us hugging the Vashon side of the shore! Sure enough, we placed 5th!
This is what makes racing so challenging and fun. The situations and conditions are seldom the same. That is in keeping with the Koosah motto: Be Safe, Have Fun, and Win!
Dave Knowlton, Koosah