Mar 19th, Racing postponed.

March 19, 2011 was to be the last day of the Sequoia Yacht Clubs winter series. The Bay Area was in the midst of several winter storms and the weather report was changing daily. I had secured one crew member for the race and was happy to have him. Friday the night before the race I was watching the conditions intently, none looked exactly promising. Basically it seemed almost anything could happen. Partly cloudy with little wind or the beginnings of a gale, either was a possibility. (See Latitude 38 description of the storm)

I called Ed the harbor master at Coyote Point. He was strongly discouraging boaters from heading out. I left a message with the race organizers to see if I could get their take, no luck though.

The wind in San Jose, was looking very ugly with strong gusts, tree limbs coming down and sheeting rain. I spoke with Scott, my crew, and tried to get a feel for his thoughts. I admit that I don't like backing down and despite my certainty that a day out would be both miserable and memorable, I did my best to weigh the risk to fun ratio and opted to not sail.

I did take a trip up to the marina to inspect the boat and pull a couple of items out for maintenance. The drive was likely more dangerous than anything we would have encountered on the water with of sheeting rain and high gusts of wind. When I pulled up, the crew of "Sweet Grapes', an Ericson 36', was disembarking. I decided to say hello and was told they had made it to the San Mateo Bridge before deciding it wasn't worth it. Four foot waves in the channel and pouring rain. They had already started their return when they found out the race had been postponed.

I spent a little time poking through "Dayspring" trying to find out where my various little leaks are coming from and adding to the list of items to address on my next haul out.