Second best?

There was another bad weather report to ignore. Nick replaced David who was working at the G8; Chris was back from his three week visit to France; Janet and I filled out the crew. The RC once again set up a long way south. We motored all the way to the start and arrived in time to do a chute practise.

We had what appeared to be a good start. Basically we were running the line and had to barge in. We were able to be just ahead and windward of Pearl. I wasn't happy with the start; our good start was based on luck rather than being well thought out. (One of the interesting things about reality versus appearance is that you should be able to tell the difference between good luck and competence. Publicly: 'It is all skill'; just be sure, privately, you know the real deal.) Taz started late.

It is always a bit maddening to be first as you don't have anyone to act as tactician or navigate to the mark. The wind had shifted west and the swell was still more southerly. As we approached the windward mark the wind lessened. On starboard tack we were headed more directly into the swell; and with the lighter wind, it seemed slow.

Our mark rounding and spin set went well. Taz slowly caught up to us. At the leeward mark, we did a windward take down of the chute. This difficult manoeuvre went well but was a bit slow. One of my problems on helm is that I am nervous/anxious when other boats are around me. As Taz overtook, I made things worse by losing focus. There was nothing we did particularly wrong except we weren't doing things as well as Taz. As a result Taz was able to get ahead.

We followed Taz more or less to the finish. Taz, Anthem (from another division) and Aristosera finished clear ahead of the other boats. We did well and I am not unhappy that we came in second. Second best is good enough? Maybe. Sometimes yes.

Non race race

It was the sort of night that nothing happened but everything happened. The rain had cleared by 16:00 but there was wind. Normally I wouldn't go out in wind gusting over 25 knots. Races are different. The wind was gusting up to 35 knots. I had a consultation with the crew: Jamie, Janet, and Melissa.

I felt comfortable that we could handle the situation. It would be uncomfortable and the conditions would be challenging. I have a high regard of Jamie's abilities and I felt he would have no problem. I think I am honest with my crew assessments and I believed that Janet and Melissa would be OK. I wanted to be clear that it was up to each crew member to decide if it was too much. The crew should not be pressured into going. We decided to go.

We had the boat on the hook when the RC went into AP. Rather than launch or put the boat back we decided to leave it pending clarification from the PRO. I told Richard we would launch if he wanted to go. He decided to launch so we put the boat in the water. It was a bit difficult using the crane in the high wind. I almost lost the windex. Almost. We tied the bow to the dinhy dock. The RC decided to head out. I couldn't get the motor to run so we sailed off the dock. I wanted to use the western most exit. As a result we threaded our way through the yachts anchored in the outer basin.


Grand National was about a mile and a half south of Ontario Place. As we rounded the Ontario Place point and entered Humber Bay, the gusts became more intense. The wind was from the north north west and was pretty intense in the open waters of the Bay. The shackle on the jib gave way. Jamie went forward to control the sail. A bit of a rough ride. I tried to sort of feather the boat and keep things a bit depowered. The boat was more or less headed directly into the waves. Jamie got things sorted and we headed back.

The westerly wind direction meant we had to do a few gybes. In these conditions you don't want to be headed directly downwind for fear of an accidental gybe. However a broad reach meant we were not able to sail the most direct course to the club. It was a bit of a challenge. The boom swinging across the boat can be intimidating. There was no problem; we handled the challenging situation.

The docking was the next problem. The quay was on a leeshore. My intention was to sail into the harbour and head up into the wind just as we came to the dinghy dock. (The dinghy dock is about 90 degrees to quay.) The boat was going too fast and I didn't get the boat headed up as I planned. We avoided any mishap but it was not my best docking. We got lots of help from other drysailers who decided not to go out after all (including Richard!).

It was a non race but not a non event.

In a bit of a fog

It seems like I have been confused this year. It is difficult for us to get to the start line on time. We just made it last night, i.e. we started at the pin. We hadn't had time to check the wind or check in with the committee boat. The only positive was that the other boats in our division were in the same 'boat'.

The easterly wind had shifted a bit to the south during the night. This meant that at the windward mark one had to gybe onto port for the downwind leg. Our gybes were not good. At second leeward mark rounding we were well behind Threes Company.

On our way to windward, I lost contact with Threes Company. How could that be? They weren't that far ahead? We ended up finishing on our own. The course was twice around and we did three times. Once Threes figured this out, they must have gone back and finished. We thanked the RC for their patience.

As you can see from the photo there was not much fog. It was basically low lying cloud that enveloped the city's towers. Of course there is more than one type of 'fog'; and I must admit that my thinking was definitely in a bit of a fog last night!

November Alpha

There were a couple of late afternoon weather reports from my crew: "Hi. Richard, it's raining." My response was: "It will dissipate!". I hate the idea of cancelling before the event given my experience with Environment Canada.

It continued to rain. Sailors sheltered in the clubhouse and took the opportunity for a scuttlebut session. It was an opportunity to meet and greet the crews from the other boats. A few topics: Janet and I discussed yesterday's Tango. There was a collective whine over the preparations for the G20. Eventually the RC hoisted November Alpha.

Apollo 10

Jamie and I decided to try the Monday double handed event. The main feature is that it allows Jamie to bail at the last moment. I was able to get the boat launched on my own. Just after I got the boat in the water Jamie called. Oh no, cancel? No worries; just a traffic report.

There was of course no wind. We motored out to about 2 miles south of Dufferin, drifted aimlessly for 30 mins. and then motored back. It was sort of like Apollo 10, all of the procedures of a lunar mission were successfully completed except for the lunar landing.