Easy Amble replaces Windy Reach

Stan Honey's canonical article on Pacific Cup strategy begins with an
upwind beat to the Golden Gate, followed by a "windy reach" to a point
south, where boats would then begin their course to the magnificent
sailing in the tradewinds. Well, no. Not this time.

We started with an easy beat out the gate, that we carried several miles
NORTH. Most boats then turned left to find, instead of a windy reach,
what we shall call "the confused amble." Perhaps the most benign
sailing conditions for a Pac Cup start in the last decade or so, most of
us got a very relaxed start, with periods of no wind, but mostly
reminding us of lake sailing on a lazy summer day.

Except of course it's a race, so we are trimming our sails and trying
different combinations to eke that extra knot of speed out of the
system. Aboard VALIS, we put up the spinnaker, perhaps a half hour
early, and were rewarded with a 50% increase in speed. Yup, three knots
instead of two. That was a few hours ago. As predicted, we are moving
out of the slow zone into a more respectable area of wind, and are now
enjoying 6+ knots of speed, reaching under a 3/4 ounce sail.

Very civilized, but we are eager for some real speed. And we want to
run our competitors down. So bring the wind!