CREW
Nansi had to work and Jay too, but today saw the long awaited return of Pam to the deck of Circe!!
Foredeck – Pam & Kathleen
Mainsail & Timing – Susan
Jib Sheets – Steve & Sam
Tiller – Skipper Ron
Circe leading Alpha Omega on the second last leg of the race
WIND & JIB SELECTION
An agonizing decision that went back and forth to the last minute between Black Magic and the light #1. The wind was out of the east averaging about 5 knots but continually oscillating in strength between the wind ranges of the two sails. In the end we decided to go with the light #1 and light sheets on the expectation that the wind strength would likely drop over the course of the evening. A good call.
THE RACE – FOUR LEAD CHANGES
This was the first race of the second series as last week’s race was abandoned due to lack of wind. All our usual competitors were out, Abracadabra, Veloce, Alpha Omega, and Amelia. Steve had talked to Rob Eckersley on the tender on the way over and learned that there was a major dimensional asymmetry in the new keel cast for Blue Streak, so launch has been further delayed until August while another keel is cast.
Graham set up a buoys to starboard triangle 4x around in the east end of the bay with the windward mark near the eastern gap. But the wind shifted so much to the north just prior to the first start that you could not cross the start line on starboard tack. Graham inexplicably did not reset the line.
Despite our previous fiasco trying a port tack start at the heavily favoured committee boat end Skipper Ron (the eternal optimist) decided to try it again. The decision was aided by the lack of any other option as a starboard tack start was impossible. We came in low on port tack to the committee boat but Alpha Omega was below us threatening to block us out. But SR estimated that Alpha was early and hung back. When Alpha had to lay off to avoid an early start a nice big Circe size hole opened at the committee boat just for us. Alpha got the jug but Circe got the start. Everyone else must have been even further down the line.
The apparent wind strength was at the upper limit of the light #1 but we were holding our own with Alpha to leeward but slightly ahead. But the wind was shifty and patchy. It looked like everyone was heading into the island on port tack but we had lost track of Amelia and Veloce and they were never a factor in our race. Alpha tacked over on starboard which forced us to pack over too. She gained on us a bit and was to weather. We tacked behind her when she tacked for the mark. Abra crossed us both coming into the mark on starboard but not by much. We rounded third right behind Abra and Alpha.
The second leg was a dead run port tack. The foredeck crew set the pole to port and it looked like Pam hadn’t forgot a thing. The light jib was coming into its own in the light air down wind. We managed to get an overlap on Alpha just before the 3 boat length circle and rounded inside her to take the second place lead which we held into the next buck. We stayed on starboard tack around the mark and Alpha tacked away onto port behind us. We hung on a bit longer to ensure clean air when we tacked It turned out we were right on the layline as the wind lifted as we came into the mark. But it looked like Alpha was getting better air where she was than we were and when she tacked over onto starboard she was ahead again and tacked for the mark just a head. We had a Beneteau to weather and slightly ahead raining dirty air on us which slowed us further but we managed to just pinch up and just squeeze around the mark with the tiny bit of space they provided us.
Alpha maintained her lead on the 3rd cycle around. We occasionally saw Veloce with a huge crowd on board and Amelia cheekily sailing upwind very tight to the second leg running fleet. But they were both well behind.
On the last buck Alpha again tacked across our bow to go into the island soon after we rounded the mark. Again we stayed on starboard tack for a relatively short time on this heavily skewed upwind leg. We tacked on the port close to the layline to loosely cover Alpha. But this time it was Alpha that had less wind and we again got a nice lift into the mark and crossed ahead of her and rounded the weather mark with a 4 boat length lead.
She gained a bit on us on the run as she was directly behind stealing some of our wind. But we kept our lead going into the mark. We stayed well port of the mark to allow Gone with the Wind who was coming into the mark on a beam reach ahead of us room to clear then gybed for the mark behind her. Just as we were rounding, out of nowhere, the blue bow of Alpha suddenly fills my field of vision to leeward. WTF!!
With a reflex action I was unaware of at the time but confirmed later by the tiller bruises Steve claims are on his legs, I yelled “No Room” and headed up to close any gap that might have existed between Circe and the mark thus forcing Alpha not only into the mark but likely over it. She did a 360 and we sailed on to the finish with a comfortable lead.
French fries for all!
RESULTS
On corrected time Circe won with Alpha 2nd, Abra 3rd, Amelia 4th and Veloce 5th.
Well Done Circe Crew!!!
A good race fun race for Pam to come back to.
After the race there was a protest hearing about the collision between Abracadabra and Veloce at the start of the last race of the first series. Veloce was disqualified. Not sure if that will change the results of the first series where Veloce and Alpha were tied in net points but Veloce got the third and Alpha the fourth.
Skipper Ron