Last Race 2009

Once again we had to wait for the wind to fill in for the start. The RC set a course to Mark 5, Gibraltar, Dufferin, T3. We had a reasonable start; mid line.

Balance was clear ahead and we were not going to catch them. Second would be OK for a series win.

The first mark rounding was crowded. Windlight was just ahead; and a Beneteau was just astern and to our windward. There wasn't time to sort out whether or not to fly chute. I said 'wait' as I had not decided; but I guess the chute has an auto hoist setting and it was put up anyway. The chute came down once it was clear that our course was too high. I wanted to stay windward of Windlight. Windlight did not allow us to go to windward and kept us astern. Once we had a good angle to the next mark, we bore away and flew the chute. Windlight now sailed a different course. She definitely gained.

We rounded the mark and and gybed the chute. The layline to the next mark allowed us to fly the chute; but we were at the limit. Windlight had a lower course. They seemed to be unable to fly her chute and sail a course as high as we did. Her lower course meant that at some point she would have to drop her spinnaker in order to make the mark. (I think they had a halyard problem that prevented them from having a good gybe.) At the mark, we were within feet of her stern, i.e. we had gained! We tacked away and went south; Windlight didn't cover. There was a huge wind shift. We got a nice lift to the mark!

At our next crossing we were on port, Windlight was on Starboard. We had to duck, but we could make the mark. (BTW: I am very happy when we have caught other boats!) Windlight had to tack. That extra tack was basically the difference. We beat Windlight by 30 seconds! A great race to end the 2009 season.

Race or Family cruise?

My last chance at a trophy was the fall Round the Island. The winds were very light. The RC was short of crew so David decided to lighten the boat by joining the RC. The winds were so light that we had to put the motor on to make it to the line in time for the warning signal.

Our start was good but slow. We were not able to make much headway and we slowly drifted to the north. It seemed that boats south were doing well with sails filled and better speed. What was the problem? Another development was that the split ring holding the main sheet block broke. We had to do a bit of repair work. Our sail trim was not optimal! After we got the main sheet block repaired I decided to try to improve our performance by lifting the motor out of the water. It was dragging. Surprisingly (I should have known this) we now had much better boat performance. We were able to work our way south and get into better 'winds'. I thought we were catching up to the fleet but this maybe an example of wishful thinking. At Gibraltar we had an interesting port tack crossing in very light winds. We manged to tack, make the mark, and stay ahead of the starboard tacker. The tack didn't slow us down and we were able avoid pinching to the mark.

At T1 we were able to fly the spinnaker. I noticed the J22 gybed as it entered the Outer Harbour. My thought was to do something different; to go further north and then gybe. Bad idea. We got into a wind well; there was absolutely no wind. I felt very embarrassed (angry?) as the other boats to the south sailed by. Embarrassing for me, but entertaining for the fleet? It took us forever (at least it seemed so) before we were able to get south enough to make somewhat decent progress.

Once we got into the Inner Harbour the winds started to pick up. We had a pleasant sail. What a nice day to be on the water! Before the start, the RC had given the skippers an apple pie. The event was billed as the Fall Round the Island RACE or a Family Cruise. Skipper's choice? I now decided that we must have been on the Family Cruise; this wasn't a race afterall. We went to the restaurant and consumed our lovely Family Cruise pie just as a very violent thunderstorm went through. An interesting and enjoyable end to my first 'Family cruise'.

Humber Bay Lost and Found

It was windy enough that while at the dock we discussed whether or not to use the jib. We sort of decided that it would be a good idea. Force of habit produced the gennie. Funny how routine took over from the rational discussion.

The RC went to "0" and set the windward mark at Dufferin. No offset. It was not a true windward/leeward. Port tack favoured? Once again it was a crowded start. The choppy seas and high winds (there was a lot of heel) made for sloppy tacks. I had to do fast tacks in order to keep clear and the crew's agility wasn't up to the required speed and conditions. The sloppy tacks meant that we were not able to hold our position relative to the fleet and we lost speed. We had an OK start but "Three" was well ahead; by mid leg, I was pleased to see the CS 30s were behind.

We had a good mark rounding at Dufferin. On our way back to "0" Flemming, the PRO, hailed the fleet with a plaintive: "Would someone please answer!". Grand National, while moving to the finish position, had dislodged a spinnaker from the depths of Humber Bay. The spinnaker rose to the surface and snagged the prop. It made for some amusing radio chat. Napadelus answered first; but Diva, who was withdrawing from the race due to an equipment problem, was the one to tow GN back to the club. Polaris asked "Are you abandoning the race?", an appropriate but as yet unanswered question. After the obvious response "yes" was received, we elected to proceed to "0" anyways. No use in wasting a "race"!