Anyone here in eastern NC?... Sailing in the Around Harkers Island race?

NCWindRunner

NCWindRunner

New Member
I'm quite new to these forums (and am a Zuma sailor), so don't know how widely read these forums are, but are there many here who live and sail in eastern NC? The Around Harkers Island race will be hosted by the Harkers Island Sailing Club on Saturday July 24, with a casual practice sail around the island on Friday July 23. Because I don't have a Sunfish I likely can't do the race (and don't want to interfere with a Zuma anyhow), but I do plan to sail on the casual practice day. This will be a great way to judge how the Zuma performs against the Sunfish. I read that the Sunny will sail circles around the Zuma... it'll be interesting to see how much of a difference there is. I think I do pretty well in the Zuma.

Anyhow, if anyone here is doing either of these events let me know. I don't know a single person in the club or event, so it would be good to at least have a connection. Thanks!

BTW, I have never found a Zuma forum, so here I am :)
 
That's a great idea, sailing round the island on casual practice day! I don't know what the elevation of that island is, and I can't be bothered to look it up since I'm out West, but know this: Los Coronados off the northern end of Baja rise high enough to create significant "wind shadows"---Isla Sur has a summit elevation of 672', a considerable wind block to those aboard small craft on the surface of the ocean, in the lee of the island. I have a feeling that your island in NC doesn't rise as high, but that's still a factor to consider whenever you circumnavigate an island. You might check the tide chart & the forecast before you set sail... I like NOAA Weather, that site usually produces detailed marine forecasts. If I were joining that casual practice, I'd bring lunch and plenty o' beer, lol. Have fun, dude! Cheers!!! :cool:

P.S. I'm all happy this morning because it rained cats & dogs last night, and we need all the rain we can get... the air was so fresh & clean this morning, it was awesome! To top it off, my A/C electric bill arrived in the post... I thought for sure it'd be around $200 after that brutal heat wave we recently had, but it was only $132, WOOHOO!!! I paid it right off and I'm roughly $70 to the good, which means extra money for steaks & beers!!! Lol... life could be worse! :rolleyes:

Edit: So I went and looked up the island anyway, lol, and it's only 10' in elevation... but remember, whenever breeze passes over a land mass warmer than the surrounding water, the breeze rises and it sometimes takes a little while for it to drop back down to the surface. Something to consider if you're close inshore on the leeward side of the island, particularly since the Zuma rig isn't that tall. Just my $.02, I should've known that island was low like the Outer Banks... however, if it's developed with buildings and all, then those will add to the "wind shadow." :confused:
 
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Cactus Cowboy said:
That's a great idea, sailing round the island on casual practice day! I don't know what the elevation of that island is, and I can't be bothered to look it up since I'm out West, but know this: Los Coronados off the northern end of Baja rise high enough to create significant "wind shadows"---Isla Sur has a summit elevation of 672', a considerable wind block to those aboard small craft on the surface of the ocean, in the lee of the island. I have a feeling that your island in NC doesn't rise as high, but that's still a factor to consider whenever you circumnavigate an island. You might check the tide chart & the forecast before you set sail... I like NOAA Weather, that site usually produces detailed marine forecasts. If I were joining that casual practice, I'd bring lunch and plenty o' beer, lol. Have fun, dude! Cheers!!! :cool:

P.S. I'm all happy this morning because it rained cats & dogs last night, and we need all the rain we can get... the air was so fresh & clean this morning, it was awesome! To top it off, my A/C electric bill arrived in the post... I thought for sure it'd be around $200 after that brutal heat wave we recently had, but it was only $132, WOOHOO!!! I paid it right off and I'm roughly $70 to the good, which means extra money for steaks & beers!!! Lol... life could be worse! :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply! It's a pretty low-lying island. This race has been held a number of times before, but I just heard about it as I am getting back into the sailing scene (been wrapped up in kiteboarding and windsurfing for many years). The race is timed such that the bridge "crossing" (as-in under it) will mostly coincide with low tide. I'm looking forward to it... I agree... need to load up on some beverages :)
 
tag said:
Looks like an awesome event.
(not sure why, but click thru to watch the video on Vimeo...)
Click to expand...
Thanks for posting that! I had seen it somewhere before but couldn't find it. Yes, it should be great. In July the wind could be 0 or it could be a 20-25 thermal breeze... Probably will be somewhere in between though.
 
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