MRMSA Wed Night-Summer Series - Race 1

Date: 07/10/2002 Log Entry: Race
Distance: 4.0 Weather: WNW 12-16, gusts 18, lulls 9 Current: flood 1732 RI
Course: s/f-V-s/f, p Crew: BB, BF, TD & RW

MRMSA Wed Night-Summer Series - Race 1

 

Last night was the first of the Mudhead Wednesday Night Summer Series, and the first night for our new genoa & spinnaker combination.  The R/C chose a short course for the mid-season party night.  In a 14 knot northwesterly, we got a good start at the committee boat on Tumult’s stern with Sanibel on our tail soon lifting and passing above us. With all the crew hiking, we clawed our way out to windward popping the flattening-reef in and out numerous times.  With all four of us on the rail, Bob trimming the genoa & outhaul, Tracy hiking and Brian on the flattening reef.  We must have popped the flattening reef in three or four times. Above the majority of the fleet, with the windward mark Vixen slightly below a beat and current in our favor we were able fetch the mark without a tack. 

 

Nearing Vixen, it became obvious that a jibe-set would be most beneficial, contrary to our port bearaway setup.  Realizing RW had forgotten to prepare the spinnaker halyard, Bob quickly got the gear to starboard using our starboard genoa halyard. Jibing around Vixen, reaching up towards shore under genoa couple of minutes and above some of the inbound traffic we soon had the chute was up and pulling.  With Bob initially trimming, Tracy and Brian got the genoa down and secured, and we were off for an accelerating ride to the finish.  Brian took over the trimming as Tracy & Bob moved to the high side of the cabin. I soon sensed the mast pumping; Bob secured the lazy jib halyard to the bow and trimmed in as Brian cinched it up tight.  

 

We then had a rip roaring spinnaker run to the finish occasionally catching the quarter wave of larger boats as they passed us to windward, with sustained speeds over 7 knots.

 

Boat     Type    Skipper            PHRF  E Time C Time Class    Fleet

 

1 Tumult 2        Ericson 30-1    Litke    215      40.48   34.39

 

2 SeTherin        Catalina 22       Magner 273     44.88   35.45

 

3 Sassy Lassie  Newport 28     Burnham162     40.15   36.65

 

4 Sanibel          Wanderer 30    Keeler  199      42.45   36.84

 

5 Good Goose Triton               Richardson 249            48.05   39.09

 

6 Gael Force    C&C 24           Harren  218      46.72   39.54

 

7 Raggedy Ann Ericson 25        Bonola 234      48.1     39.88

 

8 Blue Lite        Cal 25              Giulini   225      57.22   47.99

 

 

Bob & I left the party at 2215.  On the drive home, the sky was awesome, Wow!

 

 

-     The Curmudgeon’s Counsel

We could learn a lot from crayons: some are sharp, some are pretty, some

are dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors ... but they