59th Annual Round the Island Race
Wind: NE, E & SE 7 to 9
Average Wind: 115 at 8.2 kts, Baro 30.26" Temp 72 F
Current: flood Race Pt: 1143, Race: 1208
Start & Finish: West Harbor
Course: counter-clockwise
Race Length: 14.55 nm
Crew: Brian, Daphne & RW
A counter-clockwise course (downwind start) was announced about 15-minutes prior to the first warning There being only three of us, I decided to start sans genoa, run up the line under just the main and pop the chute near the committee boat where the current was least. The majority of the class favored the pin end, while Jolly Mon to our starboard was the only boat nearer the committee boat.
We favored the shallower water near Flat Hammock & South Dumpling more so than the other boats
then gave a wide berth to the buoy at North Hill avoiding the stiff current there and remained offshore of the North Hill bluff. There may have greater pressure had we gone even farther out.
Transitioning to the genoa at Race Point, we hardened up a bit and continued out on port for nearly five-minutes, prior to a short tack to starboard to access things- saw a big park-up along the shore west of Wilderness Point, little wind, a discouraging course over the ground (COG) and white caps far offshore.
LooneyTunes had passed us about half way down the west shore well above Silver Eel and rounded Race Point a few minutes ahead of us. We now had caught up as they passed a couple boat lengths in front of us headed offshore on port. So we tacked to continue offshore for another 20-minutes gaining confidence in the greater wind, and even more so about halfway out when we discovered a lift in our COG. After a bit over an hour on starboard and nearing the end of the island we began an incremental bear-off for Lords.
At the MOA the angle was too tight for hoisting the chute so we kept it wide and set in the bear-off for Can-7 and jibed shortly thereafter. The run to the finish became a spinnaker reach with Brian on the pole and Daphne doing a superb job of trimming often exceeding 6 knots- a Gorgeous Day, Fun Time!