PROVINCETOWN — After two weekends of dangerously high winds, the forecast for July 7 predicted winds of seven to nine knots — “perfect conditions” for the Provincetown Yacht Club’s first race of the summer season, said race committee member Ray Tobias.
But, when the big day came, the wind barely reached three knots.
“Wind is unpredictable,” said Betty Zakheim, a PYC member aboard Sunday’s committee boat. “It doesn’t believe in us as much as we believe in it.”
The club’s first race of the season was originally scheduled for Saturday, June 29, with a second competition slated for the following Saturday, July 6. Both races were canceled because of unsafe conditions, making Sunday’s — which should have been the season’s third — the inaugural race of the summer.
Wind speeds above 20 knots — or roughly 23 miles per hour — can be dangerous for small class boats, though Tobias said he will typically cancel a race before they get that high.
According to weather records, speeds reached 15 m.p.h. with gusts up to 23 m.p.h. on June 29. On July 6, they hit 21 m.p.h., gusting up to 28 m.p.h.
Sunday’s weather represented the “opposite extreme,” said George Lynde, PYC member and captain of one of Sunday’s race boats.
Despite the suboptimal conditions, four boats made their way to Provincetown Harbor for the event, a slightly lower turnout than the five to eight boats that typically compete on race days, Tobias said.
Competitors included three boats in the Rhodes 19 fleet — the Selma Rose, captained by Joel Shaw, the Bobbin’ Along, captained by Jeff Lick, and the Sparkle Marie, captained by Lynde. Summer Om, an O’day 19 boat captained by Steve Sahl, rounded out the group.
Bobbin’ Along began with an early lead after Selma Rose was penalized for a false start and Summer Om struggled to make it past the starting line. But Sparkle Marie soon pulled ahead and took home first prize.
Bobbin’ Along came in second, while Selma Rose finished third. Summer Om struggled for nearly an hour to complete the first leg of the course before withdrawing from the race altogether, with Sahl citing a “lack of sufficient wind to propel us.”
Lynde said success on low-wind race days is equal parts luck and skill. “My strategy was just to stay where the wind was,” he said. “When you’re sailing in light air, it’s very difficult to maneuver. Everything is in slow motion.”
In addition to winning — which Lynde said is his favorite thing about PYC races — he appreciates the sense of camaraderie involved.
“We’re competitors for sure, but we’re also very collegial,” he said. “We watch out for each other.” That was evident on the starting line on Sunday, as racers greeted each other and exchanged jokes across the water before sailing off.
Usually, boats compete in several races per competition day. But after an hour-long initial race in Sunday’s calm conditions, racers opted to head back to shore for a post-race cocktail rather than compete again — “from the race course to the Harbor Lounge we went,” Lynde joked.
It was hot, humid, and breezeless on Sunday — conditions Tobias said he would not want to race in. But the committee boat crew said racers consistently turn out regardless of weather conditions.
“If we run a race, they come,” Zakheim said. “It’s just too damn fun.”
