Heavy Boat, Light Airs

In unbelievable flat seas and light air - I'm talking 2-4 knots - our Team turned in a very creditable result for a short, 1.77 nm, course. We didn't trophy, but we scored a 6th place in corrected and elapsed time. That's better than it sounds because that's 6th out of 26 starters!

Again, my tactic was to turn the motor off at minus 5 minutes to start time, coast to a creditable - not perfect - start on the windward end, and then park the crew on the leeward rail. I didn't expect much out of the day's efforts so I, early-on, swapped the helm off for the Rock Box's remote. Gave up on Roxie shortly thereafter in order to sit on the boom. Our windward position, patience, unique spinnaker, and attentive sail trim permitted us pass lighter and longer craft.

I think small-ish spinnakers work well for air flow in light airs. How else could we have out-drifted a J-46? Only sleds and multi-hulls finished before us. Except there was that one pesky Ranger-33 sailed by a bunch of old coots older and smarter than me. Why are they always there, taking the water and glass to which we are entitled?

Nevertheless, maybe it was enough to be able to look back and remember that 21 of the boats we saw behind us were in our class!

Roxie's On Board to Stay

Roxie the RockBox is the latest addition to our crew. MVP put her through her paces with the remote yesterday. It's clear that Mainsheet Trimmer, being a good old-school - if low-tech - sailor, detests her presence as a distraction to the skipper. Others are indifferent to her presence. As a crew diversion she definitely works for me. Roxie at least keeps her voice down when things get tight! It will take some time for us to understand how best to integrate her with our racing program.

In Sunday's pursuit race, we started 13th out of 20 competitors, and finished 1st. We started exactly five minutes behind the 2nd place finisher, beating her by two minutes. We passed her by establishing an inside overlap at the leeward mark by virtue of the fact that we were able to carry our spinnaker, longer and stronger, to within one length of the mark! Along with perfect execution by all members of the crew, the steady 14-16 knot breeze was a factor.

After the race, we conducted a short victory sail with Son-of-Foredeck at the wheel for a photo opportunity. In return for bringing us luck and wind, Dusty collected the day's glass!

Clippers Are Finishing from Across the Pond!

Don't be looking for Vigilance: she's still on the rocks of Scatarie Island where I left her during the last Leg.

I'll be updating Open Container III's standings on the leader board as the Leg progresses. Racers who comment on these pages will have their boats added. (Click chart to enlarge image!)
Notice the determined emergence of Gilliano into the top 5,000. Gilliano, who usually beats me on the real water, was notified of the start two days late. What a comeback!

Team USA! Bring Us Together

Rock On!

Tonight's twilight beer can race was the first occasion for my recently installed RockBox GPS. Mounted on the port bulkhead to the side of the companion way (with industrial Velcro), it was extremely visible and legible from the helm whenever I found myself on port side. When I was on the starboard side, I had to remind Mainsheet Trimmer to lean/crouch forward so I can see my latest birthday present in action. That's a negative, but unavoidable.

Another negative for the RockBox is its complex menu which requires navigating through a labyrinth of options. This can only be done with a remote device, presumably hung around one's neck. It works. But....

All this country boy (thinks he) needs is a split screen display of Speed and Velocity Made Good (VMG). I didn't think that was too much to ask for the price. I didn't need time to start line. But I have it. I didn't need a count down. I've had that on my $20 watch for the past two decades. All I wanted was the capacity to store a dozen waypoints and the functionality of being able to dial any waypoint up for the real-time computation of evolving VMG's. What would have been even better would have been the storage of even half a dozen routes around waypoints. What I got was seven intermediary menu stops along the way to selecting waypoints, each of which is capable of inadvertently erasing any default waypoint.

All of which goes to the point as to why it was a prudent decision to mount the RockBox on the bulkhead instead of the skipper's tabernacle. It doesn't seem possible for the helmsman to manipulate the RockBox's remote device while sailing, once the race committee announces the course. I need all my attention on the time remaining, the water around me, and the feel of boat and wind.

At this point I feel the real raison d'etre for the RockBox is crew information. When disagreement rears its ugly head on deck, it's usually over a perceived lack of speed over the water. I want Crew to become more aware of speed over the ground. I need to get one or two members of the Team to buy into VMG as relevant information and to become proficient with its remote. Once that happens, RockBox will have proven worthy of its price.

Wednesday night, we finished 8th out of 25 in elapsed time. (That's a decent-sized fleet!) In 13 to 17 knots steady, I loved every minute of it except for the five minutes it took the lads to sort out the spinnaker. Time to bring back the turtle? Maybe.....

Last Night Chris Matthews Was Playing Hardball

And threw a hard slider across the heart of the plate:

Let me finish tonight with this emerging embarrassment on the right.

Joe Barton reminds us that sometimes, politicians get what they deserve. In other words, they get caught saying exactly what they wanted to say. Someone once said that the late Spiro Agnew had about the same depth of political belief as the tired guy on the 5:00 commuter train after his third drink. Well, maybe they don‘t have bars on the trains any more, but you get the point, and you also know the mentality.

This guy picks up the newspaper but all he ends up talking about is he doesn‘t like taxes, he doesn‘t like government regulations because his boss says they‘re bad for profits. He doesn‘t like government at all because that‘s the way the guys talk in the executive dining room—guys who get their talking points, by the way, from the editorial pages of “The Wall Street Journal.” And, oh, yes, he thinks jokes about climate change and environmental concerns are really a hoot.

And here comes the embarrassing part: Joe Barton and Michelle Bachmann elected members of Congress—they‘re out there talking BP‘s side of this public debate. Why? Because they have been kennel trained to do it, bark at regulation, bark at government and if you can reach it, lick the hand of big corporations.

Rand Paul has called the president‘s pressuring of BP “un-American.” Barton, the top congressional Republican on energy policy, said the president was shaking down BP for getting it to set aside $20 billion for the people they‘ve hurt. Bachmann called the $20 billion a redistribution of wealth, a slush fund.

Pay no attention to Mr. Barton‘s apologies and Ms. Bachmann‘s endless regurgitations. They got—well, they got it right the first time the way they really think.

I'm calling this for what it was. A strike.

The Usual Suspects

Dad's Day

BP CEO Tony Hayward Races his Yacht in Clear Blue Water

News Item

Saturday June 19, 2010, near Cowes, Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England
The sun rises before the 5am start during the JP Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race, and includes the yacht "Bob" (left), co-owned by BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward.

Mr. Hayward took time off Saturday to attend a glitzy yacht race around England's Isle of Wight. Hayward took a break from overseeing BP efforts to stem the undersea gusher in Gulf of Mexico so he could watch his boat "Bob" participate in the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race. The 52-foot yacht is made by the Annapolis, Maryland-based boatbuilder Farr Yacht Design.
Tony Hayward, center,
sits aboard his yacht Bob, during the JP Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race, Saturday June 19, 2010.
 

Hundreds of yachts take part in the 50 nautical mile clockwise circumnavigation of the Isle of Wight.

No troubled waters there!

Beer Can Fridays

Don't have the results yet. 
Strangely, they are no longer available. 
But this Friday we were very much into it, 
as this shot demonstrates.

The drive down in Friday afternoon traffic 
is still the nail-biter aspect to this 
once-a-month event. 
The race 
is almost anti-climatic, 
even if sublimely enjoyable.


After the race I scored some time at the tiller!

USA vs Slovenia

Time Out for the Real Game!

Postscript!

Pouring Oil on Troubled Waters: A "Redistribution of Wealth Fund"?

The Quote of the Week is an unbelievable and incredible statement.

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) is emerging as a fierce critic of the Obama administration's proposed escrow fund to handle damage claims against BP.

Bachmann spoke Tuesday to the Heritage Foundation, and badmouthed the idea.

The president just called for creating a fund that would be administered by outsiders, which would be more of a redistribution-of-wealth fund. And now it appears like we'll be looking at one more gateway for more government control, more money to government.

They have to lift the liability cap. But if I was the head of BP, I would let the signal get out there -- 'We're not going to be chumps, and we're not going to be fleeced.' And they shouldn't be. They shouldn't have to be fleeced and make chumps to have to pay for perpetual unemployment and all the rest -- they've got to be legitimate claims.

I am too stunned to say anything more. Have to go run Doberwoman and reflect...