January 12, 2015

Patience or just stubbornness? Whatever it’s called as practiced by the Berkeley Yacht Club Race Committee, it allowed BYC to complete a race each day of the third weekend of the 2014-15 Midwinter Series on January 10 and 11. 

The scene on the Berkeley Circle Saturday. ©2015 norcalsailing.com

On this weekend, we were presented with very light winds and sometimes quite visibly yellowish air. (Great sunsets, but hard to breathe!) Saturday at noon, the planned start time, there was a light (about 6-knot) wind from the northwest. A double windward/leeward course was chosen. This situation lasted until 12:08, enough time to start the first two divisions of 18 boats. The wind then died and the remaining 35 boats were postponed.

A mini-raft-up of SF 30s formed during the postponement. ©2015 norcalsailing.com

After a ‘mere’ 1 hour and 15 minutes, a new light breeze appeared – enough to send the remaining divisions on a once-around W/L. And then, surprise! The wind died again. All was beginning to look lost. One by one, 14 of the boats radioed in with to drop out. But not most. The Sailing Instructions say 17:00 is the time limit and by golly most were staying. Progress was being made, albeit slowly. 

The Express 27 start on Saturday. Mirage just tacked from starboard at the pin, while the rest are starting on port. ©2015 norcalsailing.com

Ta-da! Around 15:15 a new westerly appeared and by 16:23 the last Cal 20 had ‘zoomed’ across the line – well before the deadline. Patience or stubbornness? Who can say.

"Be Somebody. Sail a Bear," read an ad in the eighties. Margie Siegal is doing just that. ©2015 norcalsailing.com

On Sunday we were greeted with fog. Even had there been any wind we wouldn’t have been able to start due to the poor visibility. Again, patience was needed. Gradually the fog lifted, and a wisp of breeze appeared. However, this wisp was mostly from the east and was considered ‘improper’ and potentially useless. Then it picked up a tad in strength. The fleet began sailing around. Then they began circling the RC boat in a determined and so far, still friendly manner. We accepted the challenge and at 13:30 started the sequence, sending all on a shortened windward/leeward course to the east.
By 13:50 this little breeze began shutting down. The decrease in wind along with the increase in flood caused a few boats to go over the start line early, and it became quite difficult for these boats to get back behind the line to make a proper start. Patiently, stubbornly, they succeeded.

Fortunately and happily, after about an hour, a new and ‘proper’ 8-10 knot breeze filled in from the northwest. We, on committee, were treated to the spectacle of spinnakers suddenly disappearing to be replaced with jibs as the all coped with this 180-degree wind shift.

The Ultimate 24 For Pete's Sake and Olson 30s Chaos and Hoot, return from the new windward mark in the new breeze. ©2015 norcalsailing.com

The one-hour wind stoppage had caused the fleet to bunch up. The new breeze direction meant that the entire fleet of 38 boats, all now with spinnakers up, finished in less than 32 minutes. Very exciting!

Larry Levit's Express 27 Levitation II in Sunday's headstay reach to the finish. ©2015 norcalsailing.com

Results are up at www.berkeleyyc.org/racing.

— Bobbi Tosse, the human