July 21, 2014

Pat Broderick of the Wyliecat 30 Nancy continues his series of ocean race reports:

Contrary to both NOAA and SailFlow's forecasts, Saturday's OYRA Full Crew Farallones Race began on a very optimistic note, with a brisk low-teens westerly wind at the start. The max ebb 2.4-knot current joined in to help get things rolling. This annual Farallones race always attracts a large number of one-time entries, especially among larger, faster boats, and this year was no exception with 11 one-timers joining the 7 regulars in Divison A for a very crowded first start. The next three starts were much less crowded. Although billed as a "Full Crew" race, there are two shorthanded divisions, and Nancy races with the smaller boats in Division D, where 5 boats started the race. Pat Wertz joined Pat Broderick so Nancy had two Pats onboard. Things were looking pretty good, and, ever the optimists, we looked forward to rounding the Stinky Rocks for the first time this sailing season.

From the St. Francis Yacht Club to the Golden Gate Bridge was a swift 15 minutes in one long tack, aided by the ebbing current and a brisk wind. Lands End at Pt. Bonita was 25 minutes later after a dozen short tacks to stay near the middle of the Golden Gate where the ebb was strongest. Boat speed was consistently in the 7-8 knot range, and we exited into the Gulf of the Farallones with a good lead over the other four boats, most of whom owed us time on handicap. Not a bad beginning for a 60-mile round trip to Southeast Farallon Island, which lies about 27 miles west of San Francisco. More optimism.

And then things began to become less optimistic. The westerly wind, which had been concentrated by being squeezed through the Golden Gate, dropped into the high single digits as we sailed further and further from the mainland. The wind was coming directly from the islands' direction, so long tacks out to the Deep Water Navigation Channel, aided by the ebb, whose effects continue miles out into the Gulf of the Farallones, were the order of the day. We began to catch up with some of the slower boats in divisions that started 5 and 10 minutes ahead of us; at first a good sign, but as it turned out not so good after all. There was a reason they were sailing so slowly, when we were optimistically thinking we were sailing fast.

It appeared that a majority of the large sails were staying south of the rhumb line, although a few were heading north. We decided to join the southern pack along with three of our competitors, while Dylan Benjamin on the Dogpatch 26 Moonshine – our major competitor in the division – appeared to be headed off toward Point Reyes. Those large sails looking so large should have been a clue. Again we thought we were sailing fast.

Since there seemed to be more pressure further south, we commenced a series of long tacks, trying to stay where the wind speed was higher, while paying attention to shifts and tacking on the headers. And so it went until we passed east of the Lightbucket about two hours later. Now the wind was in the 5-6 knot range with occasional optimistic puffs a few knots higher; the boat speed was down to 3 knots with a period of 4 knots when one of those puffs came along. Five knots was worthy of an optimistic cheer.

But the tacking angles were wide! Thirty minutes on a northerly tack bought us half a mile closer and then thirty minutes on the southerly tack bought us another half a mile. For a while it appeared the wind had backed into a southwesterly direction, since one northerly port tack brought us an entire mile closer before we were headed and tacked back south. Max Crittenden on the Martin 32 Iniscaw appeared from out of the south, and Rune Storesund on the C&C 35 MkIII Mesmerize traded tacks with us, then they went their own ways. The water was nearly flat and the boat barely heeled as the two Pats traded steering from tack to tack; no need to move from one side of the cockpit to the other, just trade off the tiller. One Pat, who shall remain unnamed, even took a half an hour snooze while the other Pat steered his tack. Optimism is tiring.

The island did grow gradually larger. But very slowly. We saw a few random crab pots, a white shark, several pods of dolphin, various pelagic birds, some ships, tugs with their tows, party fishing boats, and sea lion pups barking loudly on buoys. There wasn't much else to do but spectate as we slowly tacked our way to nowhere with lagging optimism. At 4:00 we said we'd decide at 5:00, but when 4:30 rolled around (who was watching their watches?) we agreed we'd had our Gulf of the Farallones day and were optimistic we could catch the flood if we headed back early.

We tacked for the final time, punched in the Golden Gate Bridge on the GPS, started the engine, pulled out the autohelm, and sat back while Nancy motor-sailed herself home. There wasn't even enough wind to sail the final leg from Lime Point to Clipper Yacht Harbor in Sausalito, so the engine continued to run until we docked. We got things put away on the trip in, so after tying up at 8:30 we were out of the parking lot by 9:00. We heard Bright Hour's finish about 8:30 and wondered if the wind had actually piped up as it did after we bagged the BAMA race earlier this season, but we were optimistic it hadn't, and this time our optimism turned out to be correct. James Bradford's Farr 40 Bright Hour was the only finisher among all the boats.

– Pat Broderick, Nancy, Wyliecat 30

Click here for 'results' and more about the OYRA ocean racing series.