MVS

We had to pull the plug on Deception... no lightship for us.

 

we found a cracked rudder bearing (I guess this means our punch list of transpac boat prep gets both a significant new addition and is hopefully a whole lot shorter after a newly planned weekend of crew-based boat-work).

Flaka:

 

Coastal Cup June 12... Deception (SC 50) is doing it as our transpac delivery... we'd love the company.

 

http://www.encinal.o...gSched_2013.php

Da-Woody,
1) The DHF race is early in the year
This means a higher likelihood of hitting a winter storm or unstable conditions (out the gate during winter can be even nastier than a bad summer storm) -- even inside the gate there are (rare) winter storms when racing is cancelled (memorably with boats tipping over in their cradles and storm swells extending over seawalls into whatever used to be behind them).
2) Some of the teams are, as a whole, and completely understandably, likely less experienced than the single-handed version of the same course.
This does not reflect poorly on BAMA (the OA) in any way -- they are the first to work on building towards safety, communications, and appropriate decision making while acknowledging very real adverse potential.
3) Very few folks have a lot of time spent sailing back and forth to the Farrallones
Almost every time I race in and out of the Gate I learn new things about how currents and wind patterns respond to their respective geographies and the conditions of the day.
-- even fewer folks have extensive time on task when the conditions are truly unfavorable.
-- even when retiring one still has to make the decision of if, how, and where, to re-enter the bay.
4) for many events (not just Farallones) there is a post-event discussion not so much on wind but on the wave conditions
-- at the DHF skippers meeting three of the four panelists addressed waves (location/swell/size/pressure/shape/torque/...) as a more serious / causal event than wind (the last was a line squall that pitchpoled a cat).... with this in mind, the potato patch is the shoaling (north side) from the outflow of SF bay.... with predictable wave effects. Both the patch and south bar have been the location of sinkings and numerous rudder failures.

[whodathunk... waves in the ocean... chance of 1 in a million...]

Sobering.  Tough on the survivors and those left behind.  It is great to see the support here.  The writeups do seem to capture much of the experience that was lived.

Oracle's continued support for, and outreach to, the gay community

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=LbH8bYd_2oY