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The Richmond-San Rafael Bridge Hell Hole. These SSS boats are not sailing forward, but rather drifting backward under the bridge on the flood tide. ©2014 norcalsailing.com |
Rocky Relationship
May 5, 2014 If one were to vote for the most bipolar race of the year award the Singlehanded Sailing Society's Round the Rocks Race on Saturday would be the front runner so far. Starting out on the Berkeley Circle and winding its way around the North Bay via Alcatraz, Harding Rock, Red Rock and the Brother Islands and finishing at Richmond Yacht Club, this race proved to be more challenging than anticipated, with lots of room for errors, glory, expectation and frustration at each rock.
At the start at 1030, the boats saw 15+ knots of wind on chopped up water, with 25 knots predicted for the afternoon.
The upwind slog to Alcatraz and then Harding was an uncomfortable bash in a dying ebb, and the boats that played the right side towards Angel Island on the first beat saw flatter water and better current and got out in front. Once up at the Harding Rock Buoy the trick to getting around in a building flood was to stay high and give the mark plenty of room.
Once the boats were on the run past the Tiburon Peninsula towards Red Rock and the Brothers, all they needed was to find the best wind and current and stay in it. As the boats started spreading out in a long line parading up the North Bay, the wind got lighter and the current stronger.
Once around the Brothers in the dying breeze, the majority of the divisions inched their way towards the next mark by heading straight for a large black hole of no wind and big adverse current to the west of Red Rock. Once the parade had stopped and all the boats were mingling around or getting swept downstream back under the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, a fickle southwesterly wind reached the lead boats, allowing them to escape the Hell Hole and they scooted off to the finish. Just as soon as it looked like that breeze might reach the rest of the boats, it died to nothing. Those left to watch the escape of their competitors while drifting backwards was the height of the frustration for the day. Quite a while later a cold northwesterly breeze pushed down from San Rafael and finally filled in for the last of the boats, sending them off to the finish in 15 knots of wind on a nice fast beam reach. Back at the dock other racers recalled that while all of this bashing, running, beating and drifting was going on that it was blowing like snot in the Slot all day long. And they said, "Can't we just have had a little more of the rational instead of the unsteady with our sailing relationships?"
For results and more info on SSS racing, see www.sfbaysss.org. The awards party will be on Wednesday, May 14, at Oakland YC in Alameda, starting at 1930.
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