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hewebb
Admiral

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USA
761 Posts

Initially Posted - 07/23/2017 : 05:04:26

I have put together a crew and chartered a Hunter 42' boat to participate in the Harvest Moon race. It starts in Galveston, TX and ends in Port Aransas. It is about a 150 mile race that runs through the night. This is the first time I will be sailing in open water through the night and I am looking forward to it. Gathering the required safety equipment has been fun. The planning is still in work.

1988 WK/SR w/inboard diesel Joe Pool Lake
Hobie 18 Lake Worth

Life is not a dress rehearsal. You will not get another chance.

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5851 Posts

Response Posted - 07/23/2017 : 05:39:04

You might have already considered these suggestions, but, FWIW...

For night racing, I suggest you bring a good quality, small, bright flashlight that you can use to play on the sails to check sail trim. Headlights can be useful but are very problematic, and some skippers just prohibit them. When you hold a flashlight in your hand, you usually pay attention to where you're pointing it. When you wear it on your head, it points wherever you are looking, and is constantly being pointed at the helmsman, ruining his night vision. If someone has to work on the foredeck at night, it's usually better to turn on the deck light than to use a headlight or a flashlight, because the deck light leaves your hands free to work, and it isn't directed in anyone's eyes.

Every crewmember should wear a pfd and a strobe light that attaches to their pfd.

I'm omitting lots of more obvious suggestions that I'm sure you've already considered.

Steve Milby J/24 "Captiva Wind"
previously C&C 35, Cal 25, C25 TR/FK, C22
Past Commodore

Derek Crawford
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3312 Posts

Response Posted - 07/23/2017 : 07:57:22

Howard, may I suggest that at nightfall you go to "buttoned-up mode" - all hatches, portholes and companionway closed. The Gulf has a habit of throwing sudden vicious squalls at you without any warning. One of my friends took a knockdown in the race a few years back and took considerable water through a porthole before he recovered.

Derek Crawford
Chief Measurer C25-250 2008
Previous owner of "This Side UP"
1981 C-25 TR/FK #2262 Used to have an '89 C22 #9483, "Downsized"
San Antonio, Texas

hewebb
Admiral

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USA
761 Posts

Response Posted - 07/24/2017 : 03:45:53

Thanks Derek
We were thinking about head lights. I will pass the word to the guys.

Howard

1988 WK/SR w/inboard diesel Joe Pool Lake
Hobie 18 Lake Worth

Life is not a dress rehearsal. You will not get another chance.

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9013 Posts

Response Posted - 07/24/2017 : 06:39:37

Very good point about headlights! Night vision is tough enough...

Dave Bristle
Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT
PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired),
Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5851 Posts

Response Posted - 07/24/2017 : 07:32:53

One other thought - in daylight the helmsman usually watches the masthead vane, the sails and the telltales to steer the boat accurately. At night you can't see those indicators, unless you play a flashlight on them (which you should do occasionally at night). So, at night your primary aid to accurate steering is the apparent wind indicator. When you establish your desired heading, and you have trimmed your sails for that heading, the AWI will help you continue to steer on that same apparent wind angle. But remember that the wind at night will continue to shift back and forth between a lift and a header, just as it does in daytime. You need to keep track of your compass heading so you'll know if you are being persistently headed. If so, you might need to tack, or, if you are on a reach, you might need to re-trim the sails in response to the lift or header. Also, the knotmeter speed (not the gps speed) should be noted before and after each sail trim adjustment, because it will tell you if the sail trim change has increased or decreased your boat speed.

My recommendation is that you steer the boat in daytime by reference to the masthead vane, the sails and the telltales, and not primarily by the AWI. Those indicators are more accurate than an AWI.

Steve Milby J/24 "Captiva Wind"
previously C&C 35, Cal 25, C25 TR/FK, C22
Past Commodore

Derek Crawford
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3312 Posts

Response Posted - 07/24/2017 : 08:18:39

Steve, strangely enough the wind on the Gulf tends to be steady in direction and varies mildly in intensity (we joke that lake sailing is hard work but sailing on the Gulf is "set 'em and forget 'em"

Derek Crawford
Chief Measurer C25-250 2008
Previous owner of "This Side UP"
1981 C-25 TR/FK #2262 Used to have an '89 C22 #9483, "Downsized"
San Antonio, Texas

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5851 Posts

Response Posted - 07/24/2017 : 09:54:53

quote:
Originally posted by Derek Crawford

Steve, strangely enough the wind on the Gulf tends to be steady in direction and varies mildly in intensity (we joke that lake sailing is hard work but sailing on the Gulf is "set 'em and forget 'em"

I'm sure you're right, but, if the wind shifts a few degrees during the night in a way that's unexpected, you'll want to be the first to notice it and react...not the last.

To a large extent sailboat racing is about recognizing unexpected opportunities to gain an advantage over the competition when they present themselves and then capitalizing on them immediately. You aren't likely to see those opportunities if you aren't looking for them. If you react immediately to a windshift and tack, and your opponent reacts 15 minutes later, he has been sailing for 15 minutes in the wrong direction, while you have been sailing for 15 minutes in the right direction.

Steve Milby J/24 "Captiva Wind"
previously C&C 35, Cal 25, C25 TR/FK, C22
Past Commodore

Davy J
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1511 Posts

Response Posted - 07/24/2017 : 10:02:21

quote:
(we joke that lake sailing is hard work but sailing on the Gulf is "set 'em and forget 'em"

Do you not get any type of sea breeze there?
Here, most days start out with something easterly, then a mid to late day shift to the west, then usually back to the east after sundown.

Davy J

2005 Gemini 105Mc
PO 1987 C25 #5509 SR/SK
Tampa Bay

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5851 Posts

Response Posted - 07/24/2017 : 10:16:01

It runs in my mind that currents in the Gulf can be fairly significant at times. I don't have any working knowledge about them, but here's a link to a primer on Gulf Loop currents. Scroll down to the paragraphs captioned "Currents in the Gulf of Mexico." They might help you plan your race. You might find more useful info with a google search. http://classroom.sanibelseaschool.org/currents-in-the-gulf-of-mexico

Steve Milby J/24 "Captiva Wind"
previously C&C 35, Cal 25, C25 TR/FK, C22
Past Commodore

glivs
Admiral

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USA
822 Posts

Response Posted - 07/24/2017 : 14:20:21

Steve is right on Howard. To be competitive you need to play close attention to the currents. I spent 15 years in Galveston in my younger years on both research vessels and working with satellite imagery so I've seen just how complex and seasonally variable the currents can be. Between Galveston and Port Aransas the currents will be typically parallel with the coast but their direction will change with distance from the coast. Near shore, the longshore current will move beach sand eastward. Further off, the counter current will move Mississippi River water westward, usually to meet the Yucatan current somewhere between northern Mexico and Corpus depending on the season.

NOAA offers detailed current maps based on satellite altimetry, ocean color and sea surface temperature which might aid you in identifying what waters you are in if the scale is appropriate. They are worth studying regardless.

Best to you in your adventure but, as you probably already know, beware of the Gulf's short choppy waves. They can be brutal.

Gerry & Leslie; Malletts Bay, VT
"Great Escape" 1989 C-25 SR/WK #5972

hewebb
Admiral

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USA
761 Posts

Response Posted - 07/25/2017 : 04:23:37

Thanks all for the info. I have only sailed in the gulf twice and both times during daylight. I found that the winds were steady and there was a light current. I only got about 10 to 12 miles off shore. I have not seen the boat yet but am hoping that it has an apparent wind instrument on the pedestal. I will check the current charts. We have selected one of the crew to be the tactician. He has several years of racing experience.

1988 WK/SR w/inboard diesel Joe Pool Lake
Hobie 18 Lake Worth

Life is not a dress rehearsal. You will not get another chance.

Heartbeat
Navigator

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USA
161 Posts

Response Posted - 07/25/2017 : 07:30:02

I have done the Port Huron to Mac a number of times, and when I was in Tampa the Davis Island overnight down to Longboat Key a couple of times. Here are my thoughts on lights to see the sails for racing at night.

Really restrict headlights. They don't help you much and ruin everybody else's night vision. The bowman can have one or a flashlight if needed, and he shouldn't need that much. If it's a headlight, tell him never to look sternward and turn it off on the way back.

You need to see the windvane. Most of the time, the anchor light will illuminate it enough to see it, so run the anchor light. (Someone can chime in about some rule regarding the anchor lite, and I have this to add: at night in the middle of a large body of water what LEO is going to be around to ticket me? More visibility is better, and I don't care about the color.)

Set up a clamp flashlight with low power light on the leeward forward life line to shine up the headsail. You need to see the tails.

Set up a clamp flashlight with low power light on the windward rearward life line or stern pulplit to shine up the mainsail. You need to see the tails.

This with your night vision should give enough light to see the winches and lines.

Heartbeat used to (probably still does) have interior lights with a red option for nighttime use. This helps your crew find the beer.

-Matt, in a curmudgeonly mood.

former Captain of Heartbeat
Catalina 25 Tall
#4816

Derek Crawford
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3312 Posts

Response Posted - 07/26/2017 : 11:39:40

DavyJ,
The prevailing wind on the Texas coast is S-E and it only changes when a front comes through. It is seldom a "breeze" but usually
15 -20. There are many members of the 2 yacht clubs in Corpus Christi who took their O/B off the boat the day they bought it and they sail in and out of the marina, the wind is that steady and constant.

Derek Crawford
Chief Measurer C25-250 2008
Previous owner of "This Side UP"
1981 C-25 TR/FK #2262 Used to have an '89 C22 #9483, "Downsized"
San Antonio, Texas

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