SMASH!
Last night was yet another Tuesday night race. It was the perfect wind and the perfect course for us. We won the start (I nailed a port tack start) and were second to the weather mark boat for boat and in the lead on corrected time. We were planning on a gybe set and had gybed. A J/30 was coming at us but wouldn’t have hit us had he maintained his course. Instead the driver paniced and tried to bear away. He turned about 90º into us and smashed into our bow… Eggshells galore and a wrecked boat for us. Terrific. :unamused:
Tuesday night sunset!
Well this past Tuesday we had another beercan race. The wind dropped out pretty bad so our little boat didn’t do very well (it’s won’t by design, but our rating hurts as well leaving us over 8 minutes behind the guys in SECOND TO LAST!). We had a GREAT sail though, we played the shifts right on the beats leaving us close the the other guys, we just couldn’t hang downwind in the super light stuff. There was a gorgeous sunset though, luckily I’m rarely w/o a camera these days.
Tuesday night destruction?
Well we raced again last night and collected yet another DFL (due to our rating). We had a great time, but ended up having an embarrassing moment at the dock at the end of the night. Our boat is having some teething issues with its keel. The supplied keel wedges were way too small, so we’ve had to make our own. Our newest versions fit very well for keeping the keel still, but also bind it pretty tight for lifting. We were also trying the French way of pulling the keel last night (main halyard and a block and tackle) and the line broke. The added friction of the new wedges was too much for the line apparently. Anyway, our keel spent the night at the bottom of the bay and the boat stayed in the water. We went back today and got it easily enough with our dive gear. It was actually fun, and will be funny in a month or so, but right now I’d love to have a boat that’s put together as it should be from the factory. Regardless we had another fun sail (in light air) and I left a camera at the house so Mom was able to grab some shots.
Tuesday night mayhem?
Went out racing last night. Well “racing”. We drifted across the bay in NO WIND but actually, the boat sailed pretty well for the little wind we did have provided we kept it as heeled as possible. Our start was a non event with NO wind and we just sat there… There was an awesome storm system moving in the whole time and we sat…. and waited… and watched… and waited… Well then the wind filled in and we figured we should get back to the dock ASAP. We happened to go by photographer Amory Ross in his powerboat on the way back in and he shared some great shots he got of us with me. Thanks Amory!!! Be sure to check out his awesome site and his blog. He’s got some great shots from the Bermuda race start as well.
Made it to Castle Hill to watch the start of the Newport to Bermuda Race. The bay was CROWDED and there were at least 4 helicopters flying. Made for an interesting day to say the least. It’s always fun to see who shows up boat wise for these things, but my highlight was the last start with both Puma and Speedboat on the line together in the open division. I’ve got all the images online in a gallery here if you’d like to buy a print of any of these shots.
