HOW TO WIN THE 45
MILE NIGHT RACE
Dave Keen

Preparation: The race started for Dom Perignon about 24 hours before the starting gun. We began a search of meteorological, aviation prognosis or "prog" charts and hydrology database materials to have as input as possible when decision time came. The meteorological conditions came in a number of forms including the Weather Channel, the Corinthians wind forecast site called Intellicast, both live and recorded histories of various NOAA data buoys, and just plain old standing on the boat and using intuition. The aviation weather data, provided by DeRidder Flight Service Station for official pilot briefings, was also helpful. Though it lacked the met-simulation results found in commercial broadcast weather forecasts, it does present the wind direction and speed by altitude along with excellent technical narratives which permit a reasonable understanding of the "big picture" and what is likely to happen. Last, the water current and historical hydrology data was gleamed from the USGS website in different points around Lake Pontchartrain. By selecting "3-day" on the visitor friendly site, we pulled up tidal activity, winds at specific points around the Lake, and most important- viewed an hour by hour track of the winds, which lead to a specific profile or "personality" for the conditions experienced for this event.

Decision Making: The happy crew of some 11 sailors: Jim Baker, Ken Charbonneau, Holly Collins-Casanova, Danny Casanova, John David, Ben Fontaine, Ricardo Gutierrez, Dave Keen, Steve Klyce, Cyril Swartz and Frank Stanley arrived for boat call at 5:30 pm and began assessing the information. Since two of the crew live in Slidell and had just left that part of the Lake, we received a near real-time report of the North shore. With the NOAA weather radio playing in the background, the sound of gear bags being stowed and ice being poured into chests, a round table discussion ensued about which direction to take: clockwise, straight North to Mandeville; or CCW to South Point? The thoughts started with tidal data: we had learned that the high tide, only 19"above low tide, was to occur at 8:00pm, just an hour after the starting gun. This tidal flow, when combined with the winds that remained steady at 10 knots at 110 degrees, told us that the flow would likely be minimal if we elected to strike out for South Point.

The most heavily weighted criteria in our route selection formula was the wind direction and speed and whether or not it would change direction throughout the night. In reviewing the previous three days of USGS charts, we observed that indeed there was some wind direction changes that occurred around 10:00 pm and continued up until about 2:00 am. Though the changes were at the most 30 degrees, it brought our attention to another recent trend. That is, the wind had been going to a dead calm around 1:00 am and then picking back up just before dawn the previous 72 hours. Dom Perignon likes the stiff breezes, so the focus became how can we cover as much of the course as possible before midnight when the conditions might go calm. The result? Head North with the chute on the first leg, then up with the number 1 in a beat to South Point and ride the chute from there back to "A." It sounded like a good idea and the more we prepared and thought about it, the more positive we felt about it. It felt almost like a momentum was being generated as we loitered around the committee boat 20 minutes before the gun. If the wind clocked 30 degrees to the right at midnight, our chute run back to the finish line might be pluperfect.

The Race: At the committee boat, we searched the horizon looking for the non-spinnaker fleet that had departed an hour earlier. We couldn’t see very much and never conclusively figured out the directions they selected. We started getting ready and 10 minutes before the gun we were une promenade about the starting box with our chute bag on the port side, ready to launch. The Skipper mentioned after the fact that we probably should have delayed this so as not to broadcast our intentions to the other vessels. Oh well, it’s a fun race.

At the gun, we were less than 5 seconds going over the line and went up with the chute for a near perfect set. Dom’s rig immediately loaded up and the all-familiar creaking and groaning sound of two-inch sheet lines bearing the loads that could be heard and felt throughout the boat. The wind sure seemed to be blowing more than this predicted 10 at 110 degrees. Within a half-hour, we had pulled steadily away from the lone S2 (add BOAT NAME) that also selected the northerly or clockwise course and started taking the pounding that would be with us all the way to M1. Just over half way across, about the same time as the fireworks display at the fairgrounds, which was visible to us on board, Skipper calls for the number 1 genoa. There is just too much weather helm being required and the trimmer was dumping air that caused Dom to constantly require speed-costing course correction inputs. With the crew at stations, the take down began, but a halyard snafu caused a minor delay that was quickly remedied. Within a half-minute, the number 1 was flying and we had settled into an excellent beam reach directly on the rum line. Ten minutes from M1, it became clear that we just had too much wind to carry the number 1 so just before rounding, we went up with the number 3 and made the rounding smoothly at 9:10 pm or just over two hours from the starting gun. We were still wondering what happened to that 10-knot breeze we were predicted to have. This stuff felt more like 15 knots with gusts even higher.

On the beat to south point, while keeping a sharp lookout for other boats that we knew would be heading our way, we realized we were getting knocked down from our intended path. The wind and waves continued to pound and there was little to do except change out drivers, and head and main sail trimmers, as they became fatigued. It also started to get a bit chilly, since several of us were wet from foredeck work with waves splashing over the bow. Within 45 minutes, we sighted the first approaching boat, but she was so far away we could not make out the name. We counted six more sightings, one boat being completely darked out with no running or navigation lights presented anywhere. About 11:30 pm we could see parking lot lights of the BP fuel station located at the Irish Bayou exit on I-10 which back-lit the South Point marker and realized the wind was calming. We quickly went back up with the number 1 and rode it around the marker just after midnight. A quick starboard chute set followed and a calm settled on the boat as the heavy dew became apparent and the deck and our rain slickers became covered. The closer we got to the finish line, the calmer the winds became. If our predictions about the winds falling off turned out to be correct, we would barely make the finish line with decent speed.

Finish: The closer we got to the end of the runway at Lakefront Airport, the more it became clear that the winds were fading rapidly. This made the trimmer’s job difficult in that keeping the massive chute ventilated and working efficiently required minute and constant changes. Fortunately, both the grinder and the trimmer, assisted by a flashlight holder or two, kept the the spinnaker working efficiently. Crossing the finish line at 1:31 and 10 seconds am (VERIFY), GPS time at just over 5 knots, we had completed the 45 mile course in 6 hours, 31 minutes. Looking back to the east, a heavy fog could be seen just forming behind the large, red Bally’s casino sign, a sure indication that things were dying fast and any boats behind us would be captured by the lull. Off to starboard we saw another craft that turned out to be Jambalaya, entered in non-spinnaker, that had apparently overshot the mark and was efficiently working her way back. We exchanged pleasantries and agreed there was no better way to spend the night, then motored back to our slip after first checking War Canoe’s slip and finding it empty. With the equipment stored and the shore lines and power cords engaged, we were able to clear the docks around 2:30. It was very quiet leaving the docks at that hour and the drive back home was absent the normal 5:00 pm rush hubbub found on Wednesday evening races. The Jambalaya crew was right, you’d be hard pressed to find a better way to spend the night than on a beautiful lake with excellent company, decent winds and great boat.