CREW
Foredeck - Pam, Nansi, Chris L
Main sheet & Timing - Susan
Jib winches - Steve & Jay
Tiller - Ron
Kathleen was away at a cottage. In her absence, our new crew member Chris Lockhart joined Circe for the first time this week. Welcome aboard Chris. But that gives us a roster of 8 crew, so if everyone shows up that makes for a pretty crowded boat. We will need to monitor how that's going to work.
WIND
The wind was light out of the east but there was at least some. We went with the light #1. Not a hard call.
THE RACE
Graham set up a buoys to starboard triangle three times around. The only problem was that the wind must have shifted because you couldn’t cross the line on starboard and the line was hugely boat end favoured. So it was going to be VERY crowded down there and it was. Most of the fleet decided on a port tack start as close to the committee boat as possible, us included. Due to the light winds nobody strayed too far from the line. In the churning before the start we got squeezed out by Blue Streak in tacking back to the line which put us in the back of the port tacking pack. Turned out not to be a bad place to be as the only starboard tack starter Kokoro was wreaking havoc on the port tacking boats in front of us who were either ducking her or were forced to tack over. Veloce was forced to tack in front of us to leeward and we managed to tack below her in a nice lee bow position with just enough room to clear the committee boat. Thanks for the heads up on the anchor line, Jay. I don't recall ever seeing Kokoro again.
We pulled ahead of Veloce on starboard tack. The rest of the fleet including Blue Streak, Abracadabra, Alpha Omega, and Amelia had stayed on port and were heading into the Island. Veloce tacked over on to port before the layline and we followed suit. Abra and BS crossed us on starboard and near the starboard layline we ducked Alpha who was coming in on starboard and tacked just after. We rounded 4th right behind Alpha and when we tried to pass her to windward she took us way up perpendicular to our intended course for some distance before relenting and laying off. It was almost a run so we were then wing and wing. Our light #1 was filling while Alpha’s wasn’t and we gradually pulled ahead. We gybed around the second mark and it was a close reach back to the city mark. That was the last we saw of Alpha as we pulled away from her as well as Veloce, Amelia, and Kokoro. The second buck was uneventful as we lengthened our lead and kept Abra and BS in sight.
The course was shortened to 2x around in the light breeze which was still managing to stay up. In fact on the last close reach to the finish it actually seemed to increase by a knot. We finished 3rd overall with hopes of catching those ahead on corrected time. Did I already mention that those behind were WELL behind?
RESULTS
Abracadabra won it beating Blue Streak by 27 seconds on corrected time and us by 29 seconds. That’s right, Blue Streak beat us by 2 seconds. That was the cost of that Alpha Omega luffing match. Alpha was 7 minutes behind us on corrected time in 4th. Veloce was almost 18 minuted behing in 5th and Amelia close behind her by a minute and 11 seconds, and Kokaro who created all that delightful chaoes at the start was 25 minutes behind us.
So with each having a 2nd and 3rd we are tied with Blue Streak for first in the series after two races with 5 points. But Abra and Veloce are only a point behind, each with a 5th they can drop and a 1st they will keep. So its still pretty close.
Again, well done Circe Crew!
JIB UPDATE
The new Dacron #1 we test drove before I went west some weeks ago is being recut to be a new #2. We were concerned that it was too heavy and would not fill down wind in light to moderate conditions, but it woould work as a #2. So, a new lighter laminated #1 has been ordered to replace it, hopefully light enough to fill on a run in an 8 knot breeze.
Pam, Susan, and I recently took Circe out in a 15 knot breeze with our old, well past its prime #3. We were doing 7 knots upwind with moderate heal. With it sheeted at the chainplates we weren't pointing worth a damn but it was a very nice, not overpowereing sail. Based on that I have ordered a new Dacron #3 as well.
We should have the recut #2 in a couple of weeks and the new lighter #1 soon after.
Skipper Ron