We had a full a full crew and then some for the first official race of the summer. Pam couldn't make it but the whole foredeck gang was there, Audrey, Kathleen, and Nansi. Susan was there on the main, and Gary was back for more punishment on the winches but this time his winch mate was Trevor who was putting in a guest appearance as his boat's not ready yet. The new Steve also came along for an introductory Circe ride. He picked an interesting night.
The Usual Suspects are out...
It was a windward leeward course 3 x around. Or at least I was supposed to be. All the usual suspects were out, Blue Streak, Abracadabra, Alpha Omega, Veloce, Amelia, and Kokoro.
When we got out there it was a fairly steady south west wind between 5 and 7 knots with the occasional 12 knot gust. We went with the heavy #1. The Vanderbilt start arrived us at the line about 10 seconds early again so need to revise the formula a bit. But we had room to run the line and were in contention for the jug but Alpha got it by a whisker. Or more likely closer to the committee boat.
We stayed on Starboard with Blue Streak immediately ahead of us raining back wind and dirty air on us with Alpha Omega below her. We couldn't tack away until Abracadabra who was behind us and slightly to windward gained on us sufficiently to allow us. We tacked as soon as it was clear and ducked her transom with maybe a foot to spare. Alpha and BS tacked over soon after.
We all carried on on port tack and were going very fast as we seemed to be holding BS 10 boat lengths to weather and gaining significantly on Alpha to weather so that when we tacked back to Starboard for the mark we crossed her bow. Steve A's extra weight on the weather rail may have been the factor. Blue Streak rounded first and Abra nipped us at the mark on port to round second with us right on her tail.
Shifty wind, then the wind dies...leaving the bay a glassy calm
It was wing and wing on the next leg with all boats going about the same speed down wind in a dying and increasingly shifty breeze. We all rounded the leeward mark in about the same positions. We hung on to port tack around the mark until Alpha and Veloce tacked onto starboard soon after rounding and we tacked over to cover. The dying wind held to get us to the second windward mark with increased leads over Alpha and Veloce and within close sight of BS and Abra. On the run back the wind died completely and the whole fleet bunched up again prior to the leeward mark. We were hoping the Graham was going to shorten course and finish us there but no such luck as we saw BS round ahead and start upwind again in a glassy calm Bay.
Except it wasn't upwind anymore. The very light wind was shifting continually round the compass as we were continually adjusting sails and changing tacks to suit.
A quick jib change to the #1, and a shemozzle at the mark
We went to the north side of the leg toward the city with Abra and BS all side by side. Veloce and Alpha headed south after rounding behind. When the very light wind went right behind the foredeck crew brilliantly executed a foresail change running up the light #1 outside the heavy #1 and we picked up speed as it filled nicely wing and wing going into the mark. It was a bit of a shemozzle at the mark with a very bunched up fleet but we managed to time it right and duck in at the mark for a very neat rounding and in the excitement the skipper immediately started heading up port tack on the new windward leg back to the finish completely forgetting that what we were rounding was the old weather mark and there was a spacer mark we had to round. And the wind was freshening.
And we miss Mazzarati by FRACTIONS of an inch (or a centimetre!)
Once the dunderhead on the stick realized that we were the only boat going to windward around the mark, he slammed the tiller over gybed around on starboard and aimed straight downwind aiming right at his old Shark Mazzarati. which was the last of a solid line of boats reaching for the correct mark. Phillie on Mazzarati and Kathleen on Circe locked terrified eyes only feet apart as Circe cleared Mazzarati's transom by fractions of inches and we immediately gybe back behind Mazzarati to round the correct mark. Phillie was asking if we could send over a clean diaper.
But we now found ourselves sailing upwind with our precious light #1 up in a breeze that was continually increasing to 14 knots over the bow. We hung on to the finish and got there with two tacks but watching the sail strain under the load and unable to point as high as we would normally. But we felt we were in good shape as BS and Abra were not far ahead and Alpha and Amelia were well enough behind. But we couldn't find Veloce anywhere.
That's because they rounded well ahead of EVERYBODY. On the second last leg when the wind went light and they went south toward the Island they picked up a magic little breeze that no one else got, even if it was blowing from where we were. They sailed under the whole fleet and rounded the last mark well ahead of everyone!!
So Veloce won and Circe was second. Kokoro was third, Alpha Omega was fourth. Abra was fifth, Blue Streak was, amazingly, sixth, and Amelia, who had jib clew problems, was seventh.
A weird night. And these are the same waters they plan to sail the Pan Am games finals for all classes!
-Skipper Ron