race report
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 David and Jennifer sail around Treasure Island on a Vanguard 15. ©2014 Sally and Adam Madsen Rothschild |
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Dinghies Around Treasure Island
June 23, 2014 What does the Treasure Island Sailing Center have in common with Britain's Cowes Race Week Round the Island Race? They now both have a Round the Island Race. Adam Rothchild sends in this report from their version of the race, held on Summer Sailstice, June 21.
The first ever Round TI was a huge success! The fastest boat (a Vanguard 15) did it in 1 hour and 18 minutes. The fastest Laser was 1 hour and 19 minutes. There were four V15s and six Lasers in a southwest breeze of 10- 12 knots.
The downwind start was just off the TISC dock, and the Lasers and V15s stuck together through the first reach leg to the north end of TI. Laser racer Nick Cave in Everything's Gone Green (a freshwater boat; this was the first time in its many years that it had tasted saltwater) held the lead to the north end of TI. Jono and Claire were hot on his tail in #1703, and they finally made a pass during the short (and only) beat. Stephen Aguilar in My Little Wife (Laser Radial #147400) headed out away from TI, and though he sailed more distance was in a stronger ebb and held his place in the pack.
As the fleet rounded TI's north end, Nick Roche in Skywalker (Laser #173687) lost his outhaul. Rommel (our excellent PRO and sweep chase boat) was right there, and assisted as Nick made a repair and got back underway. The long leg headed south along the west side of TI was a mostly starboard tack affair, with most boats opting to stay in to shore and out of the ebb. As the Bay Bridge approached things got interesting. Closing in on max ebb, the wind softened and the fleet compacted. David and Jennifer in V15 #907 found a puff that no one else had and pulled into the lead. Mike and Allison in V15 #1177 stuck close to Yerba Buena in an attempt to stay out of the current, as did Steve Orosz in Dean Wormer Was Wrong (Laser #179426). Lee and Doug in #1051 also used the stay-close-to-shore strategy. Staying out near the eastern-most piling of the Bay Bridge's western span proved successful, and by staying out there David and Jennifer enjoyed a healthy lead around TI's southern end.
On the eastern span of the bridge we restricted the course so that boats had to sail outside the first pilings of both the old and new eastern bridge span. As the fleet approached those pilings, some boats went inside and stuck close to the piling, while others sailed more distance outside but with slightly better breeze. The strategies looked roughly equal until after rounding the piling and heading up, and a big left shift hit favoring the insiders. The left shift was enough for the first two boats to finish on port tack without tacking. Jono and Claire eeked out a win over David and Jennifer. The margin was less than a second – after 5+ miles of sailing. The Laser fleet ended up almost as close, with Steve Orosz getting the inside track and benefitting from the lefty to the same effect. His margin was a few boat lengths over Nick Cave.
Overall, the winning strategy seemed to be playing the shifts and avoiding the holes. It was puffy, shifty and the current played a huge role. Intrigue remains for future years. We will plan further ahead in future years, but the Solstice (or the Saturday closest to it) seems like a good time for this race. Ideas for improvements include making it a double-header, one race around one way, followed by another around the other way. Another thought was to make it a choice about which way to round (like the Three Bridge Fiasco). If we can round up enough chase boats (4) it would be awesome to try that next year. Thanks to all who who participated! – Adam Rothschild, Regatta Chair, Vanguard #15741 Results: Lasers Laser Radials Vanguard 15s
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