CREW
Foredeck - Kathleen, Nansi, Sam

Mainsheet & Start Timing – Susan

Jib Sheets – Steve & Chris B

Helmsman and non-watcher for starboard tack boats – Skipper Ron

That’s right, we had a special guest back on board Circe after a long absence. Chris Brown was in town for Giselle’s film screening so managed to create enough time to sail with us again. As a reward for this we put him back on his favourite winches. This gave us a full crew with Sam making up the third person on the foredeck. Pam, sadly, is still injured but getting better slowly.

WIND & JIB SELECTION

The weather forecast was for a 10 knot steady breeze out of the east and that’s what is was. Black Magic was stowed below in the cabin where we had put it wet after the last rainy race. We decided to rig it again tonight on the dock. There was a suggestion that while the water was high and we could not easily fold sails that we use only this one jib. Tempting.

RACE

Graham set up a buoys to starboard triangle in the east end of the bay. Had the ferry pirouetting through our fleet the week before deterred him from using the whole bay again? So it was a relatively small skewed triangle with a pretty short third leg. But he gave us four times around.

It was a perfect night for a sailboat race. A nice steady east wind around 10 to 12 knots. No thunder, no lightening, no rain, no hail. And not too cold but cool enough that Chris switched from shorts to long pants before the start.

But the wind must have shifted to the north after Graham set the weather mark and the line because we ended up, again, with a heavily skewed start line with the committee boat end heavily favoured and a weather mark that had a short starboard tack and a long port tack.

We had a full turn out in our fleet including Abracadabra, Amelia, Alpha Omega, Veloce, and ourselves. Blue Streak was still having keel repair issues. As with the previous week it was difficult to cross the line on starboard if you got too near the committee boat. After a VERY brief discussion SR determined he would not risk a port tack start. SR’s part of the discussion was a definite “NO!!!” Everyone started on Starboard, except possible Veloce who seemed to be setting up again for port tack heroics but we lost track of her. We let Abra and Amelia slid by ahead of us sailing to the committee boat end which turned out to be a good move for us. Amelia headed up and was over well before the gun but dipped back down. Was she forced up by Alpha? We started cleanly with clear air with Alpha to leeward. But soon after our start I glanced over to the committee boat to see all hell breaking loose with Veloce, Amelia, and Abra in that order head to wind right beside the committee boat.

We carried on for a short distance and then tacked away on to port to clear our wind from Alpha short of the lay line. We came into the weather mark on starboard not far behind Abra who arrived first and Alpha just got across us on port. We rounded third right behind Alpha. We caught Alpha a bit on the dead run second leg but she had buoy room so stayed ahead on the next leg too and on the next buck.

It was looking good on catching Alpha on the third buck. We tacked later than she to the port lay line and we had everyone up on the high side moving fast. It looked like Alpha wasn’t laying the mark and we were and going like a train. Skipper Ron was reveling in that realization when suddenly there as a “starboard” call out of nowhere and we threw in a crash tack with jib full aback just in time to see L’Otago sail over us on starboard tack as we were stopped dead in the water. L’Otago then tacked for the mark and we tacked back on to her transom and endured foul backwind from her before we could get past her after rounding the mark. But Alpha, despite her two extra tacks had lengthened her lead.

But we closed the gap on the second and third legs and followed her on starboard tack onto the windward leg. Skipper Ron then gambled that the wind would hold steady and tacked on the port tack lay line before Alpha did. Alpha held on for several more boat lengths before tacking. A fatal mistake. Not only did the wind into the mark not head us, we got a lovely lift and managed to get Alpha to windward of us in an almost lee bow position. Skipper Ron was now steering from leeward to keep an eye peeled for starboard tackers but still managed to almost miss the C&C 37 Evelina coming in on starboard. But we safely crossed her and rounded ahead of Alpha and held that lead to the finish.

RESULTS

On corrected time Circe 1st, Alpha 2nd, Abra 3rd, Veloce 4th, and Amelia 5th. But there is a protest Abra against Amelia for that debacle at the start.

So, in the series with three races sailed and one drop race Circe leads with 2 points based on our two first place finishes and dropping our 4th. That’s two points ahead of Veloce and Abra who are tied for second with 4 points.

And we won the jug AGAIN!!!

Well done Circe Crew. It was good to have Chris back on board again, even for just one race.

You were all magnificent!

Skipper Ron