Sailing

Most social events at KHYC are sponsored by KHYC Fleets. The club holds annual events throughout the year that include monthly Live Music Fridays, the Annual Commodore’s Ball, Opening Day, Christmas Party, and New Years’ Eve Party.

King Harbor Yacht Club Celebrated the Opening of the 2022 Boating Season

By: KATHERINE M. CLEMENTS

REDONDO BEACH— The Opening Day ceremonies for the boating season at King Harbor Yacht Club were celebrated on April 10. The ceremonies are modeled after events in the northeast and other cold climes, where boaters must wait for the ice to melt before they can begin boating. Because of the endless 365-day SoCal season, local boaters joke that the only ice is in their drinks.

This is the 73rd boating season for KHYC, formed by the merger of Win’Ard Yacht club, founded in 1949, and Redondo Harbor Yacht Club, founded in 1956. The clubs merged in 1960 and built the current clubhouse in 1964. This year’s Commodore is Francie Hope, who is married to the 2006 Commodore, who is the son of the 1956 Commodore; it is a family affair.

Guests included commodores from many sister SoCal yacht clubs and various community leaders, including from the U.S.Coast Guard and its auxiliary. The offices of the Redondo Beach Congressman, State Senator, Assemblyman, and County Supervisor all provided proclamations in honor of the Opening Day. Redondo Beach Mayor Bill Brand personally addressed the assembly, accompanied by harbor-area Councilman Todd Loewenstein.

The members and guests were fed appetizers and champagne, followed by a barbecue and dancing, and music was provided by a live band. Two-dozen hospitality boats flew decorative signal flags while the guests aboard for snacks and libations. The entire extravaganza was chaired by the outgoing Commodore, Tom Polizzi, who was inducted into the ‘International Order of the Blue Gavel’ for his service to yachting.

The U.S. Naval Sea Cadets provided the Color Guard, the Sea Scouts managed the parking, and the King Harbor Youth Foundation served as ushers.

King Harbor Yacht Club hosts year-round sailboat races that are open to all boat owners and community members wishing to crew. In addition, the club has sailboats available to rent for its members. KHYC also incorporates ‘Fleets’ of boaters with similar interests, including Cruisers, Powerboaters, and Fishermen.

The club provides Adult Sailing Lessons and Youth Summer Camps to the public during the summer.

Please contact the Club Manager at (310) 376-2459 during regular working hours to set up a tour of the facilities and meet members.

Drop Your Anchor Low

Ahoy Sailors, now that you’ve learned each function of your boat’s different sails, it’s time to talk about anchoring your vessel correctly. Stay tuned for the next lesson, which will explain how to secure your galley.

By: KATHERINE M. CLEMENTS

When released, anchors dig into the seabed to hold your boat in position. They serve a safety role by keeping vessels out of the surf or off the rocks. They also allow boaters to secure the boat temporarily while fishing, having lunch, or spending the night.

How Anchors Work: When an anchor penetrates the seabed surface, suction generates resistance created by the bottom material plus the weight of the material above the anchor. As the boat pulls on the anchor rode, the anchor digs deeper into the floor, creating additional resistance. Anchors can›t dig in rocky bottoms but rather snag on protrusions and hold precariously.

Setting: Setting an anchor means ensuring the anchor has locked onto the ocean floor. If the anchor is not set, the boat can seem well anchored until the wind comes up, causing the anchor to bounce along the bottom as the boat drags toward a hazard.

As the boat moves backward due to wind, current, or the engine’s power in reverse, gradually pay out the rode (an anchor-rode is the connection system between the anchor and the boat, and its sturdiness during mooring is undoubtedly essential. The critical point is the splice where the rope and chain are connected). Always keep a light tension on the line, but don’t clinch it tight yet. (If you tighten the rode too soon, the anchor will be pulled upward and out of the bottom and not completely set.)

Visualize the anchor rode pulling straight back on the anchor shank as the anchor fluke(s) point(s) dig into the ocean floor. If your anchor rode is all chain or has a chain section at the anchor, the pull will be more nearly horizontal along the bottom. This is how anchors are designed to dig in and hold.

When you have about three times as much anchor rode out as the water depth (a scope of 3 to 1), temporarily cleat or cinch the anchor rode at the bow and let it pull tight. Keep a hand on the rode to feel the tension. The boat should stop, and the rode should feel very tight, indicating the anchor has been set. If the anchor has not set, you will feel the tension in the rode come and go or feel its pull changing as the anchor bounces along the bottom.

If the anchor has been set, continue with the next step of paying out scope. If it has not been set, you can also continue but must be careful to ensure the anchor digs in when you have the proper scope. If the anchor has not set yet with about a three to one scope, many sailors prefer to hoist it now and try again rather than letting out more anchor rode and bringing it all back up to try again later.

Scope: The scope is defined as a ratio of the length of an anchor rode from the bit to the anchor shackle, and the water depth under the boat’s bow measured from deck height. Most anchoring texts and anchor manufacturers agree that a scope of 7:1, meaning for every foot of water, you should release seven feet of the anchor. This scope achieves the anchor’s designed holding power, and more scope is better than less. In theory, the 7:1 scope is an excellent yet crowded anchorage; most cruisers scoff at the idea of paying out more than 3:1 or 4:1; there isn’t that much space for boats to swing. You can consider shortening scope in a crowded anchorage when an anchor is securely set.

Once an anchor has been set, it will almost always hold the same amount of tension that was used to set it, even if the scope is reduced. This means that you can pay out the long scope, pull hard on the anchor rode using the engine, and then shorten the scope to reduce swinging room. However, if your boat swings and the anchor has to reset itself, it will have to do so at a reduced scope. This technique is known as Anchoring Russian Roulette.

Resetting: It’s relatively easy to set an anchor when wind and current come consistently from one direction, but if they veer, some perform better than others under varying angles of pull. If the boat swings far enough, any anchor can become dislodged from the seabed. Four techniques can alert you when your boat swings: • If you have an anchor alarm on your

Chartplotter, set it to alert you if the boat swings too far from where it was when you dropped the anchor. • If you have an electronic compass or autopilot, set the course alarm to alert you if the boat’s heading changes radically. • If you have alarms on your depth sounder, set maximum and minimum alarms to alert you if the water

depth changes significantly, indicating that you are drifting either away from or towards the shore. • Stand an anchor watch. It is an excellent practice to take bearings on prominent landmarks when you anchor to detect any subsequent change in position.

Anchoring Techniques with Two Anchors Other Articles on Anchoring; Anchoring Bow and Stern:

You may need to limit your boat’s inclination to swing at anchor in tight anchorages. You can locate the boat precisely in the anchorage by dropping an anchor close to the beach and a second anchor in the opposite direction. You can also use the tension on one rode to help set both anchors.

Two Anchors Off the Bow:

Bob Ogg, co-inventor of the Danforth anchor, recommends setting one anchor into the wind or current and a second anchor 180 degrees away. Then take both lines to the bow of the boat. This action allows the boat to swing around in a tight arc while still allowing the boat to pull against an anchor without causing it to reset when the wind or the current changes.

Other Anchoring Considerations: Assessing Bottom Conditions:

Anchors need to develop enough resistance in the seabed to withstand the environmental forces on the boat, such as the wind and the waves. However, an anchor’s ability to build resistance depends entirely on it engaging and penetrating the seabed. able results. Conversely, most anchors will hold tremendous tension in hard sand. The lightweight Danforth-style anchors are the best anchor for sand like the West Marine Traditional and Fortress anchors.

Mud:

Mud has low shear strength and requires anchor designs with a broader shank-fluke angle and greater fluke area. This allows the anchor to penetrate deeply to where the mud has greater shear strength and presents more surface area in the direction of pull. Mud is frequently only a thin layer over some other material, so anchors that can penetrate through the mud to the underlying material will hold better. Fortress anchors have superior holding power in the mud because they can be converted to a broad fluke angle.

Rocky bottoms:

Holding power is more dependent on where you happen to drop the hook than on the type of anchor you have. Plowshaped or grapnel-type anchors with high structural strength to sustain the high point loads generally work the best. These include the Bruce, CQR, Delta, and the old-fashioned Fisherman-style anchors.

Shale, clay, and grassy bottoms:

Tough bottoms don’t work for all anchor designs. The weight of the anchor, more than its design, might be the most crucial factor in penetration and holding power. CQR and Delta anchors are thought to be good due to their ability to penetrate the vegetation. However, these conditions have a high probability of false setting due to the anchor catching on roots and protrusions rather than something solid or stable.

Jordan B. Darling Photo

Challenged Sailors San Diego works with disabled sailors to get them out on the water in specially designed boats.

2022 Kyle C. McArthur Memorial Regatta

By: GUEST EDITORIAL

SAN DIEGO— Once again, it’s time for Challenged Sailors San Diego’s biggest event of the year! Coronado Yacht Club is hosting the 2022 Kyle C. McArthur Memorial Regatta (KMAC). If you’re not familiar with Challenged Sailors San Diego (CSSD), we provide therapeutic and recreational adaptive sailing opportunities for people with disabilities to enhance their dignity, well-being, and independence. For many who sail with us, it’s life-changing!

After a day of competitive racing, Saturday night, we invite you to join us in the Coronado YC dining room for drinks and dinner to your favorite rock sounds of the Geoff Corey 5 band. There will also be a Silent Auction and Raffle, and a portion of the proceeds will benefit Challenged Sailors. We welcome silent auction and raffle donations!

The racing and events will take place between April 30th and May 1st at the Coronado Yacht Club!

Sat, 4/30, 12 noon: Martin 16’s 1st Race

Sat, 4/30, 5:30 pm: Drinks, Dinner, Raffle & Silent Auction

Sun, 5/1, 12 noon: Martin 16’s 1st Race

Here are the CSSD Links to buy tickets and learn more about the race: https://theclubspot.com/regatta/ Q3p9twMzE3 (Registration & Tickets) https://www.challengedsailors.org/ kmac-2022-1.html (Racing Information)

Please contact me as soon as you’re able to make your donation to this worthy cause.

ON THE HORIZONS

By: JORDAN B. DARLING

2022 Twilights First

Half (May 5)

REDONDO BEACH—The fourth race of the first half of the King Harbor Yacht Club’s Twilight series will be on May 5. The race is governed by The Racing Rules of Sailing and is open to all sailboats with 20 feet or more in overall length. PHRF rating handicaps will be applied automatically at registration. Boats wishing to race without it will need to notify the HRF Fleet Captain 48 hours before the race to obtain a rating based on similar boat handicaps. An $8 entry fee per race is due before 5 p.m. on the day of the race. Races will begin at 6 p.m., and classes will be split as follows: • PHRF A (PHRF rating < 100) • PHRF B (PHRF rating 100 and higher) • PHRF H • PHRF V (PHRF rating135 or higher & Performance Factor under 1.76)

For more information, see https:// bit.ly/3xE9fNQ.

Anacapa Island Se-

ries (May 7)

OXNARD—The second race in the three-race Anacapa Island Series will take place on May 7. The race will start at 11 a.m. and take Anacapa Island to port. A $30 entry fee for the race must be submitted by 5 p.m. on May 6. After each race, refreshments will be waiting for racers at the Anacapa Yacht Club. There will be personalized trophies awarded for the race. For more information, contact Todd Tuner at racechair@anacapayachtclub.org.

Santa Barbara Skiff

Festival (May 7&8)

Skiff Festival will be held in the Santa Barbara Channel within three nautical miles of the Santa Barbara Harbor entrance on May 7-8. The festival is open to all boats of the 29er, 49er, International 14 (I-14), 505, ILCA Standard, and ILCA Radial classes. The regatta is governed by The Racing Rules of Sailing; US Sailing prescriptions to rules 63.2 and 63.4 shall not apply; RRS 63.7 is replaced with: “If there is a conflict between a rule in the sailing instructions and one in the notice of race, the sailing instructions shall apply.” The event will serve as the Area J Qualifiers for the single-handed discipline. The top two finishing and eligible sailors will qualify for the Chubb US Junior Sailing Championship. The first warning signal on each day will sound at 12 p.m. Ten races are scheduled, with no more than six races to be sailed on either day. There is a $60 fee for the event, and registration will close on May 6 at 11:59 p.m. To learn more or register for the event, see https://sbyc. org/skiff-festival.

2022 SDYC J/22 Fleet La Playa Beer-

can Series (May 12 -Sept. 1)

SAN DIEGO—The first race in the San Diego Yacht Club Beercan Series will take place on May 12 at 5 p.m. in La Playa Cove. The series is governed by The Racing Rules of Sailing and the SDYC J/22 Fleet Boat Handling Guidelines. The series is open to all J/22 Fleet members and their guests. There is no fee for J/22 fleet members for this series. There is a 20-team limit each night, and registration is due at 12 p.m. the week before each race. The first warning signal will be at 5 p.m. for the silver fleet and 6:15 p.m. for the gold fleet. For each race, the winning member of the silver fleet will be moved to the gold fleet, and the last member of the gold fleet will be moved to the silver fleet. For more information or to sign up for the series, see https://sdyc.org/calendar/ event/2022-j22-beer-can-series.