Wind: W, 5 to 8, avg 7 kts Crew ? BB, BF, SR & RW Distance ? 4 nm In the ?X? starting area and an hour & a half left of the ebb, conditions were ostensibly similar to last week- a two lap WL course of one mile legs at 270 degrees, upwind into the current with seven to eight knots of wind. We chose the starboard end as it would allow a flop to port for current relief inside of Horseshoe. Our turn for the line with forty seconds left began in a lull which led to clearing the line nearly a minute late. We tacked at the first opportunity and ducked out of the current. Following with a starboard hitch just east of the rocks, we cleared Horseshoe then tacked port for a long board close ashore towards the airport.
The boat did not feel right as we watched the other boats pull away. It was heeling but only doing three knots. We were suspicious of seaweed on the keel, yet the rudder was clear. I can only surmise the knot or more of adverse current combined with the meager seven knots of wind to be the problem. Concerned with the lack of performance from the boat I lost focus
Over standing the layline required a good bit of cracking off as we neared the mark followed by a good set. A jibe to port half way down the course set us up for a smooth leeward drop and rounding of the mark.
This time around, with no great improvement in the feel of the boat, I stayed bit farther offshore with the thought of more wind, not so, but more adverse current. This time we understood the layline and had to throw in an additional minute or so port tack in stronger current to make the layline to the mark.
On our final run, I delayed the jibe for the finish to insure a fresh angle. Over the next ten minutes, what started as a 150 degree port reach in six to seven knots of wind ended up with us crossing the line under genoa as the wind veered north five minutes short of the line. We crossed just after sunset, all in all not one of our stellar nights.
On both windward legs there was over a knot of adverse current. Last week we had less than a half knot- a big difference. It is interesting to see that Crystal Slipper & Kite were the gunboats in their respective classes and corrected to first also. I believe this supports my theory as they are the largest & fastest boats in their respective classes, therefore did very well on a night with adverse current on the windward legs. This was the only race of the season where Crystal Slipper corrected to first. Kite did so last week, also a night of adverse current on the windward leg.
On the motor back to Spicer?s with Brian driving, we made over five and a half knots in the smooth water and had everything put away by the time we made the dock, giving us plenty of time for some chips & beer on the last Wednesday night of the season.
Link to Chart