January 23, 2014

In case you missed Wednesday night's Three Bridge Fiasco skippers meeting at Oakland Yacht Club, here's a recap.

OYC race chair Jim Hild kicked off the meeting with an invitation to the assembled shorthanded sailors to enter another race, the one that he claimed started it all. It seems that 30 years ago, Diana Jessie was the race chair at OYC, and she started the Rites of Spring race for singlehanded, doublehanded and women's crews. This year's ROS will be on March 15, "with a party after, if I get the course right," said Jim. See www.oaklandyachtclub.net.

Then the agenda switched to this Saturday's race, the always weird and sometimes wonderful Three Bridge Fiasco, a 21-mile tour of the Bay which asks the competitors to round Blackaller Buoy (near the South Tower of the Golden Gate Bridge), Red Rock (just south of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge), and Yerba Buena (the center post of the Bay Bridge) – in any order and in any direction. The same number boats, 356, are entered in this year's race as last year's.

Sailmaker Kame Richards of Pineapple Sails gave a talk about wind, currents, and strategy. Regarding wind, he recommended www.sailorsenergy.com, a free (for now at least) local service with appealing, color-coded graphics and wind birdies every 200 meters, with forecasts every half hour. But Kame warned that the way you go at the start should depend on the actual wind at the startline off Golden Gate YC, not the forecast. "I change my mind five times in the last five minutes," said Kame.

In an ideal scenario, with solid wind everywhere, the fastest course would be Blackaller, Yerba Buena, Red Rock. "But the chance of a solid wind of 10 knots is non-existent."

The Tidebook calls for max ebb (at the Golden Gate Entrance) at 11:03, slack at 1513, and max flood at 1804. Kame said that the new flood is in existance on the Cityfront at max ebb. "It may only be 30-ft wide, but it's there. Look at the current wake on StFYC's buoy." The early flood will be found on the edges. One hour before max ebb, there's no flood on the beach.

The Tidebook anticipates more run-off in the January currents than we'll be having in this drought year.

With ebb for the first half of the race, the tide will turn to flood just about the time most boats get to Red Rock and have to fight the current to get back to the finish. "This is what it takes to get 350 people to go sailing!" quipped Kame.

One more bit of advice: "Every time, without fail, that you sail past something anchored to the bottom of the Bay, look at the wake, and make your decisions in real time."

SSS commodore Jim Quanci took the mic. "Last year, we had a few collisions. We have boats of waaaay different speeds, sizes and experience levels. Be nice out there. Do the right thing." He reminded the sailors that the entry fee for just two SSS races is equal to the entire year's membership of $135. A change for this year's Round the Rocks Race: the finish will be at Richmond YC, and a free keg will be waiting on the dock.

Bob Johnston got down to the nitty-gritty of the TBF. "The race is governed by the Notice of Race/Standing Sailing Instructions, the Additional Sailing Instructions, Amendment #1, and the list of start times." The TBF is a pursuit race, so you need to know your exact start time according to your PHRF number. You can find all these on the SSS site at www.sfbaysss.org. We suggest that you read them all carefully and remember to bring them with you on the race!

Amendment #1 concerns the Coast Guard-required safety zone around the old Bay Bridge demolition site. It extends from shore to the I Pier and for 100 yards to each side. ©2014 norcalsailing.com

Bob called attention to SSI #3, which allows the race committee to disqualify a competitor without a hearing. "It's tricky. Look way ahead for ships. If you have to start your engine to avoid one, you have to drop out."

More tips from Bob:

The start won't follow the normal five minute sequence we've become accustomed to in "normal" races.

There will be no signals for over-early. If you're OCS within five minutes before your start, you'll be penalized 20 minutes.

The starting line is restricted until five minutes before your start, but you can motor up to five minutes before your start. The start/finish line is also restricted after you start and before you finish.

The last boat finished last year's windy race at 1600 hours. "This year that won't be the case." The 1900 deadline is after dark, so be sure to turn on your running lights if you're still sailing at sunset, which will be at 1725.

There's no VHF radio check-in this year, but let the race committee know by noon if you didn't start.

A big swell has been running, with high surf predicted for Fort Point, so avoid the South Tower.

"I don't recall a protest in the Three Bridge, but if you do plan to file a protest, notify the RC within an hour of your finish." Then you have 48 hours to file it.

You can't unwind from a restricted area violation, so drop out. Self-police that.

Regarding the Richmond Long Wharf restricted area, the "fence" drawn between Castro Rocks, R2 and G3 has changed. Now Castro Rocks is restricted and R2 is a mark on the course. Keep it to the east.

Steel casements on the Bay Bridge can do odd things to autopilots, and it's best to hand-steer under bridges anyway.

If you're approaching the finish line in daylight, you don't need to call in to announce your approach, but do call in on VHF 69 after 1700 hours. If you finish after sunset, shine a light on your sail numbers. Note your finish time and the boats that finish before and after you, in case the RC needs help sorting things out.

The race committee has to account for every soul out there, so if you drop out, call in on the VHF or phone the SSS voice mail at (866) 724-5777 (SAIL SSS).

SSS meetings are always on Wednesdays – except for when they're not! It just so happens that the TBF trophy meeting will be on Thursday, February 6, 1900 hours at Oakland YC. See you there, and on the water!