Stomp Dancer Caught High and Dry

At the 2010 Blakely Rock Race, the skipper and crew of Stomp Dancer found themselves out of water after running aground on the sand bar west of Blakely Rock, a fate that befell Tenacious the year before. 

POSTED BY GORAN ZIVKOVC

Looks like there were some familiar faces with wet feet hanging off the leeward shrouds last weekend.  Last year it was Tenacious sitting high and dry, this year it looks like it was Stomp Dancers turn.

Here is an article from Three Sheets Northwest about the grounding, and here are some photos of Tenacious aground last year. 

Trigonometry and Views of Mount Rainier

A short report on the intermediate cat class.

BY JOHN COURTER

We had a little wind on Saturday for the class to try to put into practice the near incoherent mumblings about using trigonometry on apparent wind angles, and some sort of insanity about major versus minor axes of the mast affecting how you want to rotate it. The instructor was constantly asking, "What do you think the telltales are telling you?" But we had an incredible Sunday of double trap weather with views of Mount Rainier.

Notes from Last Meeting

A summary of February 16th's general meeting, and what you can expect at the meeting tonight.

BY ERIN JOHNSON

If you're planning on heading out to the WYC meeting tonight, here are some things that happened last meeting, some of which will continue to be discussed tonight. 

There was a lot of talk last meeting about the daysailor handbook, and how it may undergo both content and form revisions. The handbook, which is given to each new member, has information about the club rules and general sailing reference information.  

A pdf version is already available online, but there was discussion about a more interactive version that would include multimedia to help illustrate topics. If completed, members at the meeting questioned the place that printed copies of the handbook would have in the club.You can expect more discussion on this topic. 

Andrew R. proposed a bylaws amendment that would impact the amount of collected membership fees allocated to the new boat fund. Currently 15 percent of all membership fees go toward the new boat fund, which is set aside for the club to purchase boats to supplement the WYC fleet. This number was lowered from 30 percent, after an accident raised the club's insurance rates and required the additional 15 percent to go toward paying that off. 

Now the club's insurance rates have gone back down, so Andrew proposed that we raise the percent allocated to the new boat fund back up to 30 percent. This will be voted on in today's meeting. 

The purchase of new sails was discussed, and will continue to be discussed in tonight's meeting.

Finally, Andrew C. will motion to rename the club's I-14 to "Gotta Skiffy?" 

If for no other reason than to take the bribe of homemade cookies and brownies, be sure to stop by the general meeting in the HUB room 304F at 7 pm.

Building an A Cat

One member's quick plug for building an A Class catamaran. 

BY KEN INOUE

There has been some discussion of whether the club could build an A cat. Though I would love to see one made, of carbon fiber I believe it is a little out of our price range. As a substitute, and to show it can be done, I direct you to the following site: http://www.thebeachcats.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=49&theme=Printer.

Yes it is an A Cat that has been stitched and glued. 

Chris Williams' A-Class Catamaran, built from plywood. Photo courtesy of TheBeachCats.com

Revisiting High Tides

More intriguing tides in Washington.

POSTED BY MATT NEWLIN

Here is an interesting blog entry from UW's Cliff Mass about some local tides that were much different than predicted in the tide tables. How much different? How about TWO FEET! 

Although these tides were higher than predicted, who's to say we couldn't get tides much below predicted...something to keep in mind out on the Sound.

"Low on Tide" 1 - Doug Behrendt, courtesy of Apalachee Bay Communities (ABC)

A-Class Cats: Speed and Innovation

Take a look inside one of the fastest and most cutting-edge racing classes in the world: The International A-class catamaran.

POSTED BY ANDREW CHEUNG

The international A-class catamaran is a boat class that boasts one of the fastest single-handed racing boats in the world, and they keep getting faster. Unlike one-design racing classes, the A-class catamarans, or A-cats, are a development class. This means that the boats have only a few design constraints (class rules) and anything else goes, so the sailors can continue to develop their boats to get a leg-up on the competition.  

Usually built from carbon fibre, these boats are 18 feet long by 7 feet 6 inches wide, and weigh only 165 lbs. Coupled with a sail area of 150 square feet, these boats reach very high speeds. While explaining these boats, the West River Sailing Club stated:

"Sailors go upwind on the trapeze as fast as 14 knots, they fly a hull in 8-10 knots and by 12 knots they are 'wild-thinging' downwind at speeds up to 22 knots."

The A-cats have been very popular in the international sailing circuit because of their high speeds and lack of developmental restrictions. Though old, check out this article published in Seahorse Magazine, where they spoke with many of the leading A-cat developers. Also take a look at this video, it shows the A-class German Championship in 2009 in Arco, Italy.

High Wind Capsizes

This video shows many different capsizes in high winds. Test your knowledge of how to plan for and avoid these situations.

POSTED BY MATT NEWLIN

Look at these capsizes. Can you identify the cause of each capsize, and what could have been done to avoid it? Being able to recognize and adjust for these factors will help you earn your skipper rating, and improve your high wind sailing in general.