The Race Committee decided to send the Rainbows out to R “2” out in the bay on a slightly foggy and misty night. The takeaway was supposed to be how to navigate to a mark you can’t see. Use the parallels to plot the magnetic course from the windward mark and sail that course. With “Into the Mystic” playing in their heads we did a practice start and then set them off towards a windward mark and then off to R “2”.
The low tide was forecast for 4:00 so the tide should have been flooding by the time the boats reached R “2” where the bottom drops from 16 feet to 30+ feet deep. I actually coached a few boats to fall off as they were pointed above the mark. As we neared the mark and the anchored tankers became more visible it was apparent that not one of them had flipped around as they should have for a flooding tide. As the boats reached R “2” I could see the current was visibly ripping past the mark. It looked like river sailing on the Chesapeake. What was once a reach was now a beat with the current setting the boats down the Bay at over two knots. I urged the boats to give R “2” a wide berth and to keep their boats sailing close hauled until they were around it.
Ryan Miller informed us two years ago that the tide is actually the third factor that affects the current in the Bay. The first is wind and the second is rainfall. We were in a northerly breeze all day and we have had steady rain since Saturday so the Chesapeake basin was full of water and draining. While we still might have tides on the shoreline, out in the channel the Bay was trying to get rid of all that excess rain water.
If a racer had noticed the tankers earlier and kept their course high of the mark they would have crushed it. They wouldn’t have had to do multiple tacks to get around the mark. What started as a lesson in navigation became a lesson in currents. I learn something every time I go out on the water. A video of the current ripping by R “2” is here: 21802FC9-CECE-4F41-AEF1-CB9DD3EB1321 Copy
Check out the rest of the pictures here: MNR 6-16 with Dolphins including the dolphins that met us at the finish line.
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