F*** it let's get a beer

The photo shows a nice relaxing derigging after a pleasant sail. The actual sail wasn't so sedate. The forecast was for winds to be one of the strongest for a race this season. It was the same forecast for Tuesday but, Tuesday ended up being a light wind (with residual swell) event. Wednesday looked like it was the real deal. The NYC weather station indicated winds of about 17 knots. The winds were moderated by the shelter of Ontario Place point. It was clear that once we got into Humber Bay proper the winds would be much stronger. (Aferwards we heard reports of gusts over 30 knots.)


Jeff had indicated that he might not be there if the 'storm' hadn't cleared. He has had challenging weather on all of the events on Aristosera. Tonight was not going to be an exception! It was good to see him and it was also good that we had regulars Chris and Janet whose experience would come in handy with the heavier winds. (Flawed was short handed. They made a good call to opt out of a noob from the crew bank. At the dock I knew it was going to be a difficult night for them.)

This was the "Crew Race". Chris would be good on helm with his skipper experience. Janet could do foredeck, with help from Jeff. I wanted to do sheets. Although I trust whoever I put on helm, I still want to be nearby.

Taking off from the dock was a bit of a problem. Flawed had rafted up; with the number of drysail boats launched, there was not enough space for everyone to tie up to the quay. I wanted to flip the boat so my bow would be heading more into the wind. It took a bit of time, with the onshore wind, but eventually we motored off. I wanted to sail as soon as possible. I used the motor to hold the boat into the wind, while still protected by the breakwater, and the crew put up the main sail. The main sheet got wrapped around the block. While Jeff cleared the line he got knocked by the boom. We were headed into the wind so the main sail was pretty much depowered. Jeff got hit at the hairline and the deck was starting to resemble a crime scene from CSI. I handed the helm over to Chris, jumped below to get the first aid kit. Janet and Jeff went below to sort things out. Things were all sorted by the time we got clear of the point and faced the full force of the wind.

We headed more or less west. The RC had set up at Gibraltor. They were short staffed so Kim was on-board. Dragon Lady wasn't being used. Dufferin was the windward mark. It would be a long and rough upwind leg. We sailed west and approached the starting area on a broad reach.

I delayed putting up the jib until were at the line and starting. We almost didn't make the line as our upwind ability was hampered until the jib was up. We had to tack onto port to make the line. We had good start. Flawed was clear ahead but we were well ahead of other boats. We were headed over to the island. I wanted to avoid tacks and I wanted to avoid a lee shore. We were one of the first boats to tack back. Flawed and Aristosera were the two western most boats. We followed Flawed on a course that would take us slightly west of the white buoys.

The upwind leg was rough. I was worried we wouldn't be able to complete tacks, since we were headed into rough seas which would act as a brake. Boats can stall out before the tack is completed. Fortunately that wasn't a problem and Chris handled the boat well. The wind was fairly steady which made sail trim much easier. I sat on the rail trying to keep the jib sheet uncleated and ready to be released. With the other hand I was holding on! It was a very uncomfortable ride.

As we proceeded north it was apparent that we were catching up to Flawed. They clearly decided to head in. (They had a ripped jib, which we couldn't see from our perspective.) We were now lead boat. I decided to tack over. We crossed Daybreak. I wasn't sure they saw us. 'Starboard'. They altered course in lots of time. Just before we got to to layline of the windward mark, Janet reported that there might be some rain approaching. Grand National also made an appearance. They were too late to finish at Dufferin(!How annoying!). We were now closest to the Club and if we headed back to the finish we would have to complete another upwind sail to get back home. We would be cold tried and then there was the rain. We bailed a Moitessier: 'F*** it let's get a beer'!