09/10/06
Crew: Seth, Megan, Bob & RW
Course: Vixen - W - Silver Eel - Intrepid - Vixen - W - Vixen Finish Distance: 12 nm
Current: ebb 1302 North Hill Wind: N, 8 to 14, gust 16
The course began with a downwind start to a drop mark 1.9 nm at 210 degrees. I turned a bit too late for the set and starboard reach to the line; we crossed last I believe. The hoped for flat seas, typical of a north wind were spoiled by the fair-weather Sunday power boaters. So our 12 to 14 knot downwind was not as lucrative as it often is.
Jibing around the mark set us up for a spinnaker reach to Silver Eel, I kept her high, allowing the overtaking larger spinnaker boats to pass to leeward. Approaching Silver Eel, Seth got a few good photos of the over hauling fast boats.
Rounding Silver Eel, we saw most of our class exiting the cove south of North Hill. Seeing little wind between us, I was reluctant to pursue, so tacked offshore instead for visible wind. The current may have been less favorable offshore. Bill St. John remarked later that they had good wind with them up there. I could not see it from our vantage point.
We appeared to make good time in tacking in phase with the shifty breezy winds offshore of North Hill and through the Dumplings towards Intrepid. Swapping tacks with Jeannie & Sequester we crossed ahead more than once. Although there should have been significant current on our nose through the Dumplings, it was not noticeable.
As we cleared North Dumpling we saw Salud rounding Intrepid; so it appeared we had held our own from Silver Eel. The long two mile reach to Vixen following Intrepid was not kind to us. This is where horsepower (or a lot of wind, high teens for us), waterline and favorable current matter. We rounded Vixen with a good set for another lumpy run to the drop mark with wind now dropping a bit for the shifty beat to the finish at Vixen.
Link to Chart