Maris Stella Yacht Club and Crabbing Society
Avast! Trick grrrrrr Treat
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Asleep at the helm
Many thanks to Dave for pointing out that our nun had gone missing. She has returned and all is well once again.
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Blue Yankee, or A Nice Little Sail Out of Long Island Sound
Report On The 2006 Vineyard Race
by Steve Benjamin
The weather for the 2006 Vineyard Race presented a unique set of challenges. Hurricane Ernesto was progressing Northerly up the East Coast. Meanwhile a potent Canadian High was steadfastly holding ground in the Northeast. The combined counter-rotating pressure systems produced a funnel effect focusing the strongest winds over Western Long Island Sound on Saturday afternoon.
There were 53 entries in the fleet, 27 boats that actually started, and only 3 that finished: Blue Yankee (RP 66), Snow Lion (Ker 50, and Lora Ann (Express 37).
Aboard Blue Yankee we had maxed out the crew to our IRC limit of 20 and left the dock in Stamford about 3:00 pm for our 4:20 pm start of IRC Class Super Zero (Class 8). Our plan to start with the full main and best genoa quickly got modified when we saw solid white caps on the Sound and steady winds over 20 knots, directly out of the East, putting the first mark Buzzards Tower precisely upwind and 120 miles away. The decision to start with the first reef, and # 4 genoa was reached, and executed inside Stamford harbor.
We held starboard tack off the line, to get some current relief off Smith Reef and Long Neck Point in Darien, in the last of the flood. Quickly we realized our biggest adversary would be the waves. Blue Yankee’s targets call for 10.5 knots upwind in winds over 20 knots. But we found that pounding into the waves at that speed would almost certainly break either the boat, or the crew, or maybe both! So we began to formulate a plan to minimize exposure to the seaway.
In an Easterly on LIS there are not many places to hide. We decided to tack to port off Long Neck Point, and laid a course SE for Long Island. After about five minutes on port we slammed into some huge seas and broke the #4 carbon/kevlar genoa. The sail came down, and we replaced it with our next smallest genoa – the Storm Jib. The Storm Jib with the single reef main was a good sail combination, and took us all the way to the Tower.
On port we fetched Eaton’s Neck, and carried on into Smithtown Bay. Normally you would never sail inside Smithtown Bay fearing light winds, however in this Easterly gale the Bay (South of the Line of Death) provided welcome relief from the waves on Long Island Sound, and five to ten knots less wind. Meanwhile, Chris Williams of North Sails was below repairing the damage to the #4 so we could use that sail again if conditions moderated (they didn’t, but we got the sail up on the run home).
At each point especially off Port Jefferson we had to step out into the Sound, and throttle back, to avoid damage. Past Port Jefferson we found relief from the seaway all the way East to Horton Neck, where a discussion among the afterguard about the best solution to exit the Sound ensued. Basically there were two choices since we were determined to avoid The Race. One option was to tack starboard and go North of Fishers Island, where I was certain there would be calm seas. The Northerly solution was appealing, but the navigation through Fishers Island Sound, especially at night in winds gusting over 30, was daunting.
We decided to exit the Sound through the Gut which was a good solution. Nice and flat seas and the wind angle kept us beating on port tack. We ignored the conventional strategy of short tacking Plum Island in the early flood, and held port for a landfall just West of Gardiners Island looking for relief from the seaway. After a short starboard tack out and around 1GI on the North side of Gardiners Island, we held a long port for Montauk. Again, we found relief from the seas the closer we got to the South Fork.
I was really worried about setting out across Rhode Island Sound on the long starboard from Montauk, but it was not as bad as I expected, and there was no choice except turning back, and that was not going to happen. We were able to make a landfall West of Point Judith, and tacked in toward Newport around daybreak on Saturday morning. We might have overdone our strategy of staying close to land, we saw the orange barrels and wire fish nets off Sakonnet and tacked out right away!
As we approached Buzzards Tower around 10:15 am on Saturday, the wind temporarily dropped below 30 knots. Thinking about the run home, and reviewing our forecasts which said the winds would peak between 9 and 12 on Saturday, we decided to shake the first reef before reaching the Tower, since it would be very hard to do downwind. Bad idea!
At the Tower the spinnaker decision was mine. Tim Powell asked for the masthead 3A and I should have listened. Thinking we had true running conditions in under 30, and checking the polar sailchart, I called for the 4A (maximum size masthead runner). The combination worked great for about fifteen minutes and we were off, hell bent for Block Island, in winds around 30 plus knots, with boatspeeds steadily over 20.
Then the first of several strong gusts hit and Blue Yankee rounded up rather suddenly. We are still getting to know the boat and how quickly she loads up, and this wipe out was a bit of a surprise, to say the least. Just plain too much sail up in too much wind, with a header. Well, the carbon reaching strut shattered and then the guy snapped. So we were laid over, spinnaker flogging, main boom in the water and yours truly on helm trying to bear away. With the storm jib still up, it was possible. Around this time we saw Snow Lion beating upwind toward the Tower, did some rough calculations, and figured the corrected times might be close for the Race.
Finally, she answered the helm (always return the rudder to centerline after broaching, blow the vang, hike like crazy, and pray quickly) and bore away. We regained control with the tack of the asym on the tack line and were absolutely flying. The feeling on the helm was this combination was quite unsustainable. After about ten minutes, and another hard broach, I called for the 4A drop. The crew did an awesome job, got the 4A down quickly with a letterbox drop, and immediately set up the 5A reduced area heavy air fractional asym.
Under full main and 5A we were off again, laying Block Island on port and with much greater control than we had with the 4A masthead asym up. The discussion in the afterguard turned to how to navigate around Block Island and where to enter the Sound. The discussion could not last long, we were closing Block Island at over 20 knots! We were expecting a wind shift from the East to the Southeast, and wanted to position to the North as we entered the Sound, so that called for The Race. Accordingly a gybe around Block Island was in order. There was considerable apprehension onboard about getting the main across in 40 knots and the damage that might result from gybing. As the discussion peaked we got a lull and I called for the gybe. Of course as soon as the crew was ready to gybe (not long!), it started gusting 42 or 43 again. “Drop Spinnaker Now.” And we tacked bare headed (granny).
Always try to have some headsail up for tacking in heavy air. We almost did not make it. But the boat kept just a little speed and we were off again on starboard with full main aiming for the North side of The Race. Next debate – what headsail or spinnaker? Ian Walker and Tim Powell argued for the Jib Top which was a great call, and we made short work of Rhode Island Sound on starboard, aiming for Race Rock, winds gusting 40 plus, and steady boatspeed still around 20 plus. I think this is where Tim hit the peak speed for the Race of 29.6.
We approached The Race at the end of the ebb, and I used binoculars to confirm my fears, overfalls on every wave. We had already discovered that Blue Yankee will bury her bow in the big short seas, and I was sure that the overfalls in The Race would present one of the biggest challenges to finishing this Race.
Tim did a superb job helming through these waves. Heading up at just the right time, and skillfully guiding the boat through this minefield. His Volvo experience shined through, and he said later that it rarely got this bad even on the Volvo race. In truth this is one of the longest periods of sustained gales I have experienced to date, certainly on Long Island Sound, and rivaled only by the Hemingway Cup and Sardinia Cup.
We were breathing a little easier after making it through The Race, and planning a strategy of three tacks into the finish back in Stamford. Eddie Warden Owen came up on deck and started to quiz us. What is the highest gust you have seen? What are we going to do if it really picks up? His questions were well presented. Shortly thereafter we started seeing gusts into the 50’s. The full main and jib top was clearly too much sail. We brought the masthead starboard halyard aft and secured it to the spinnaker turning block padeye to add support to the mast. Next decision – how do shorten sail on this dead run?
Mother nature left us very little time for discussion. Several more gusts into the 50’s and skipper Bob Towse instructed us to shorten sail. We sent the bow team, lead by Mitch White, forward and dropped the Jib Top. It washed part way overboard, and broke a couple of stanchions in the process, but the crew wrestled it back aboard. Now bare headed, we luffed head to wind in 50 knots, and dropped the main.
The sail came down well to the second reef, but the lock mechanism there was problematic and it took awhile to drop it all the way. Again, the crew did a superb job and got the sail secured to the boom with lashing. Tried to bare away, not possible. Hoisted the Storm Jib, and the boat answered the helm immediately.
Once running with the Storm Jib, we quickly got the Storm Trysail set and were making steady speeds around 15 knots in the winds still gusting over 50. After several minutes we regained the nerve to replace the Storm Jib with the #4. Good call, and we made great progress Westerly down the Sound, straight toward the center of Ernesto!
This storm was one of the rare occasions where I have actually sailed downwind into the strongest winds. Usually the gusts overtake you from astern. On this run home to Stamford, I actually felt like I was being sucked into the center of the low. The further West we sailed downwind, the windier it got! Around this time we recorded the peak gust for the Race at 62 knots!
Running on starboard with the Storm Trysail and #4, and the whole crew of 20 in the stern, Ian Walker suggested we needed a jib trimmer to tend the genoa sheet. Just as he said it, I hit a wave, the sheet bounced out of the self-tailer, and the #4 immediately started flogging in front of the boat with both sheets flailing in front of it. Not good. I said to Mitch White our bowman “I guess you better take it down.” He said something like thanks a lot and took his team to the bow again to try and get it down. They got it down but we hit several waves and it nearly washed overboard. To their credit they saved the sail, and themselves, but it was dicey to say the least.
Next, the Storm Jib went back up as we approached the Cowes Buoy. The sail combination was ideal for the reach into the finish behind the breakwater, and we crossed the finish line reaching faster than 20 knots, in 50 knots of wind!
Blue Yankee completed the course of 238 nm in 25 hours 20 minutes and 2 seconds elapsed time, to win the race in the IRC Fleet with a corrected time of 37:44:51. Snow Lion placed second with Lora Ann third. Blue Yankee was awarded several trophies:
The Nina Trophy – First boat to round Buzzard’s Tower and finish
The Jig Time Performance Trophy – Best corrected time IRC from Buzzard’s Tower to the finish
The Bill Luders Trophy – Fastest elapsed time IRC
Nirvana Trophy – Best Vineyard Performance by a 3 boat team (for Storm Trysail’s Red Team with Lora Ann and Googolplex)
Vineyard Lightship – Best corrected time IRC
Northern Ocean Racing Trophy – For the NORT Series
Back ashore as night fell there were no lights on in Norwalk. Ernesto had knocked out the power and there were trees down all over the place. The next day the local news reported 150,000 homes without electricity in the area.
The crew of Blue Yankee -
Towse, Robert – skipper, navigator, and owner
Backus, Justin
Benjamin, Steve - helmsman
Clark, Chris
Jurkowski, Dave
Kane, Rob - mate
Kelly, Matt
Murphy, Jordy
Newkirk, Bill - captain
Ogden, Spencer
Malloy, Chris
McCarthy, Tom
Means, Artie
Spinney, Lat
Powell, Tim – watch captain
Reynolds, Matt
Walker, Ian - helmsman
Warden Owen, Eddie
White, Mitch - bowman
Williams, Chris
by Steve Benjamin
The weather for the 2006 Vineyard Race presented a unique set of challenges. Hurricane Ernesto was progressing Northerly up the East Coast. Meanwhile a potent Canadian High was steadfastly holding ground in the Northeast. The combined counter-rotating pressure systems produced a funnel effect focusing the strongest winds over Western Long Island Sound on Saturday afternoon.
There were 53 entries in the fleet, 27 boats that actually started, and only 3 that finished: Blue Yankee (RP 66), Snow Lion (Ker 50, and Lora Ann (Express 37).
Aboard Blue Yankee we had maxed out the crew to our IRC limit of 20 and left the dock in Stamford about 3:00 pm for our 4:20 pm start of IRC Class Super Zero (Class 8). Our plan to start with the full main and best genoa quickly got modified when we saw solid white caps on the Sound and steady winds over 20 knots, directly out of the East, putting the first mark Buzzards Tower precisely upwind and 120 miles away. The decision to start with the first reef, and # 4 genoa was reached, and executed inside Stamford harbor.
We held starboard tack off the line, to get some current relief off Smith Reef and Long Neck Point in Darien, in the last of the flood. Quickly we realized our biggest adversary would be the waves. Blue Yankee’s targets call for 10.5 knots upwind in winds over 20 knots. But we found that pounding into the waves at that speed would almost certainly break either the boat, or the crew, or maybe both! So we began to formulate a plan to minimize exposure to the seaway.
In an Easterly on LIS there are not many places to hide. We decided to tack to port off Long Neck Point, and laid a course SE for Long Island. After about five minutes on port we slammed into some huge seas and broke the #4 carbon/kevlar genoa. The sail came down, and we replaced it with our next smallest genoa – the Storm Jib. The Storm Jib with the single reef main was a good sail combination, and took us all the way to the Tower.
On port we fetched Eaton’s Neck, and carried on into Smithtown Bay. Normally you would never sail inside Smithtown Bay fearing light winds, however in this Easterly gale the Bay (South of the Line of Death) provided welcome relief from the waves on Long Island Sound, and five to ten knots less wind. Meanwhile, Chris Williams of North Sails was below repairing the damage to the #4 so we could use that sail again if conditions moderated (they didn’t, but we got the sail up on the run home).
At each point especially off Port Jefferson we had to step out into the Sound, and throttle back, to avoid damage. Past Port Jefferson we found relief from the seaway all the way East to Horton Neck, where a discussion among the afterguard about the best solution to exit the Sound ensued. Basically there were two choices since we were determined to avoid The Race. One option was to tack starboard and go North of Fishers Island, where I was certain there would be calm seas. The Northerly solution was appealing, but the navigation through Fishers Island Sound, especially at night in winds gusting over 30, was daunting.
We decided to exit the Sound through the Gut which was a good solution. Nice and flat seas and the wind angle kept us beating on port tack. We ignored the conventional strategy of short tacking Plum Island in the early flood, and held port for a landfall just West of Gardiners Island looking for relief from the seaway. After a short starboard tack out and around 1GI on the North side of Gardiners Island, we held a long port for Montauk. Again, we found relief from the seas the closer we got to the South Fork.
I was really worried about setting out across Rhode Island Sound on the long starboard from Montauk, but it was not as bad as I expected, and there was no choice except turning back, and that was not going to happen. We were able to make a landfall West of Point Judith, and tacked in toward Newport around daybreak on Saturday morning. We might have overdone our strategy of staying close to land, we saw the orange barrels and wire fish nets off Sakonnet and tacked out right away!
As we approached Buzzards Tower around 10:15 am on Saturday, the wind temporarily dropped below 30 knots. Thinking about the run home, and reviewing our forecasts which said the winds would peak between 9 and 12 on Saturday, we decided to shake the first reef before reaching the Tower, since it would be very hard to do downwind. Bad idea!
At the Tower the spinnaker decision was mine. Tim Powell asked for the masthead 3A and I should have listened. Thinking we had true running conditions in under 30, and checking the polar sailchart, I called for the 4A (maximum size masthead runner). The combination worked great for about fifteen minutes and we were off, hell bent for Block Island, in winds around 30 plus knots, with boatspeeds steadily over 20.
Then the first of several strong gusts hit and Blue Yankee rounded up rather suddenly. We are still getting to know the boat and how quickly she loads up, and this wipe out was a bit of a surprise, to say the least. Just plain too much sail up in too much wind, with a header. Well, the carbon reaching strut shattered and then the guy snapped. So we were laid over, spinnaker flogging, main boom in the water and yours truly on helm trying to bear away. With the storm jib still up, it was possible. Around this time we saw Snow Lion beating upwind toward the Tower, did some rough calculations, and figured the corrected times might be close for the Race.
Finally, she answered the helm (always return the rudder to centerline after broaching, blow the vang, hike like crazy, and pray quickly) and bore away. We regained control with the tack of the asym on the tack line and were absolutely flying. The feeling on the helm was this combination was quite unsustainable. After about ten minutes, and another hard broach, I called for the 4A drop. The crew did an awesome job, got the 4A down quickly with a letterbox drop, and immediately set up the 5A reduced area heavy air fractional asym.
Under full main and 5A we were off again, laying Block Island on port and with much greater control than we had with the 4A masthead asym up. The discussion in the afterguard turned to how to navigate around Block Island and where to enter the Sound. The discussion could not last long, we were closing Block Island at over 20 knots! We were expecting a wind shift from the East to the Southeast, and wanted to position to the North as we entered the Sound, so that called for The Race. Accordingly a gybe around Block Island was in order. There was considerable apprehension onboard about getting the main across in 40 knots and the damage that might result from gybing. As the discussion peaked we got a lull and I called for the gybe. Of course as soon as the crew was ready to gybe (not long!), it started gusting 42 or 43 again. “Drop Spinnaker Now.” And we tacked bare headed (granny).
Always try to have some headsail up for tacking in heavy air. We almost did not make it. But the boat kept just a little speed and we were off again on starboard with full main aiming for the North side of The Race. Next debate – what headsail or spinnaker? Ian Walker and Tim Powell argued for the Jib Top which was a great call, and we made short work of Rhode Island Sound on starboard, aiming for Race Rock, winds gusting 40 plus, and steady boatspeed still around 20 plus. I think this is where Tim hit the peak speed for the Race of 29.6.
We approached The Race at the end of the ebb, and I used binoculars to confirm my fears, overfalls on every wave. We had already discovered that Blue Yankee will bury her bow in the big short seas, and I was sure that the overfalls in The Race would present one of the biggest challenges to finishing this Race.
Tim did a superb job helming through these waves. Heading up at just the right time, and skillfully guiding the boat through this minefield. His Volvo experience shined through, and he said later that it rarely got this bad even on the Volvo race. In truth this is one of the longest periods of sustained gales I have experienced to date, certainly on Long Island Sound, and rivaled only by the Hemingway Cup and Sardinia Cup.
We were breathing a little easier after making it through The Race, and planning a strategy of three tacks into the finish back in Stamford. Eddie Warden Owen came up on deck and started to quiz us. What is the highest gust you have seen? What are we going to do if it really picks up? His questions were well presented. Shortly thereafter we started seeing gusts into the 50’s. The full main and jib top was clearly too much sail. We brought the masthead starboard halyard aft and secured it to the spinnaker turning block padeye to add support to the mast. Next decision – how do shorten sail on this dead run?
Mother nature left us very little time for discussion. Several more gusts into the 50’s and skipper Bob Towse instructed us to shorten sail. We sent the bow team, lead by Mitch White, forward and dropped the Jib Top. It washed part way overboard, and broke a couple of stanchions in the process, but the crew wrestled it back aboard. Now bare headed, we luffed head to wind in 50 knots, and dropped the main.
The sail came down well to the second reef, but the lock mechanism there was problematic and it took awhile to drop it all the way. Again, the crew did a superb job and got the sail secured to the boom with lashing. Tried to bare away, not possible. Hoisted the Storm Jib, and the boat answered the helm immediately.
Once running with the Storm Jib, we quickly got the Storm Trysail set and were making steady speeds around 15 knots in the winds still gusting over 50. After several minutes we regained the nerve to replace the Storm Jib with the #4. Good call, and we made great progress Westerly down the Sound, straight toward the center of Ernesto!
This storm was one of the rare occasions where I have actually sailed downwind into the strongest winds. Usually the gusts overtake you from astern. On this run home to Stamford, I actually felt like I was being sucked into the center of the low. The further West we sailed downwind, the windier it got! Around this time we recorded the peak gust for the Race at 62 knots!
Running on starboard with the Storm Trysail and #4, and the whole crew of 20 in the stern, Ian Walker suggested we needed a jib trimmer to tend the genoa sheet. Just as he said it, I hit a wave, the sheet bounced out of the self-tailer, and the #4 immediately started flogging in front of the boat with both sheets flailing in front of it. Not good. I said to Mitch White our bowman “I guess you better take it down.” He said something like thanks a lot and took his team to the bow again to try and get it down. They got it down but we hit several waves and it nearly washed overboard. To their credit they saved the sail, and themselves, but it was dicey to say the least.
Next, the Storm Jib went back up as we approached the Cowes Buoy. The sail combination was ideal for the reach into the finish behind the breakwater, and we crossed the finish line reaching faster than 20 knots, in 50 knots of wind!
Blue Yankee completed the course of 238 nm in 25 hours 20 minutes and 2 seconds elapsed time, to win the race in the IRC Fleet with a corrected time of 37:44:51. Snow Lion placed second with Lora Ann third. Blue Yankee was awarded several trophies:
The Nina Trophy – First boat to round Buzzard’s Tower and finish
The Jig Time Performance Trophy – Best corrected time IRC from Buzzard’s Tower to the finish
The Bill Luders Trophy – Fastest elapsed time IRC
Nirvana Trophy – Best Vineyard Performance by a 3 boat team (for Storm Trysail’s Red Team with Lora Ann and Googolplex)
Vineyard Lightship – Best corrected time IRC
Northern Ocean Racing Trophy – For the NORT Series
Back ashore as night fell there were no lights on in Norwalk. Ernesto had knocked out the power and there were trees down all over the place. The next day the local news reported 150,000 homes without electricity in the area.
The crew of Blue Yankee -
Towse, Robert – skipper, navigator, and owner
Backus, Justin
Benjamin, Steve - helmsman
Clark, Chris
Jurkowski, Dave
Kane, Rob - mate
Kelly, Matt
Murphy, Jordy
Newkirk, Bill - captain
Ogden, Spencer
Malloy, Chris
McCarthy, Tom
Means, Artie
Spinney, Lat
Powell, Tim – watch captain
Reynolds, Matt
Walker, Ian - helmsman
Warden Owen, Eddie
White, Mitch - bowman
Williams, Chris
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