Current: flood 1521 at Ram Island Wind WNW 10 to 18, average 12 kts Course: s/f-Vixen-LM-Vixen-s/f Distance: 4 nm Finally some wind! The anemometer was registering speeds into the high mid-teens and the opposing the max-flood made our motor out to the starting area a bit wet. Seth observed the current would be with us on the windward leg, an advantage as there is usually more distance to cover on the windward leg.

The RC set up again about quarter mile south of the old X starting area and posted a two lapper out to Vixen with the leeward mark short of the line by a quarter mile. Seeing starboard obviously favored, we moved the spinnaker gear around for a jibe set at the mark. After running the line a couple of times and I found Race Point Lighthouse gave a range off the pin with a good safety margin and remarked that we should be extra careful due to the tendency of the flood to push us across the line. With a minute and a half to go, we started down the line from the pin as the rest of the class approached from the committee boat. As Jolly Mon approached we tacked onto starboard right on their stern and ahead of Sanibel. With Jolly Mon blocking my vision of Race Point, yet trusting they were not above the line we hardened up for an excellent start at the gun.

Mini Maxi (OCS) did an immediate abrupt tack back to the line restarting with little loss. For a minute or so it looked like Sanibel might pass us close to windward, but with the hard hiking of Brian, Bob and Seth we held high forced them to bear-off in our lee. Directly thereafter we put in the flattening reef and the boat settled down with much better feeling helm. A bit later, looking aft we saw Sanibel a long ways to the rear and wondered if they also returned to the line? In the commotion following the start, we did not hear the radio call and wondered even about ourselves being OCS? After our tack to port for the layline, the wind eased to the low teens and we popped off the flattening reef for the remainder of the race. Coming into the mark on a conservative layline, we noticed Tumult pinching up but not quite making it and having to tack, a costly maneuver. We jibed cleanly around and set the spinnaker in short order. I saw Jolly Mon reaching up towards shore for less current as we had stated would be our strategy. But we were cooking good in a 12 to 14 knot wind with 5 knots plus through the water so I elected not to dogleg that far in. We had a good run down to the leeward mark, bearing off to nearly dead-downwind short of it. Immediately after the rounding, I noticed to our lee Ripple & Caliente approaching from the starting line on starboard. Our pole not yet stowed, we had to duck them prior to tacking ourselves a few seconds later.

The second windward leg was similar to the first but in only 12 to 14 knot breeze. Cosmic was the first boat to the windward mark both times. Approaching the layline we noticed Jolly Mon having a bit of difficulty with their set. Our set was also about minute late sorting out a twist in the spinnaker bag. This time with the finish more distant than the leeward mark I doglegged a bit more towards shore though not as drastically as Jolly Mon. Abeam Horseshoe we bore off to DDW, then jibed to starboard a couple minutes shy of the finish.

We finished fourth again, boat for boat and corrected to first. It was a fun night!

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Current: ebb 1451 at Ram Island Wind S at 4 to 8 kts Course: s/f-W-s/f, W 190 at 1.6 nm Distance 3.2 nm It was just Brian, Bob and I this week with Seth away at Cape Cod. The RC set up channelward of the old X starting area just west of Groton Long Point, as the wind gods tantalized us with a six to eight knot breeze out of the southeast. At max ebb the odds of any improvement was slim. The RC had second thoughts and changed the original course posting for a two lapper 1.6 nm southeast to W in the mouth of Fisher Island?s West Harbor to a one & half lapper to finish at W.

We got a good start mid-line in clear air, and delayed tacking to favored port till windward of MiniMaxi?s hip. Port took us out just east of North Dumpling where I lost the better part of minute sailing too far into a header prior to tacking. A couple more tacks got us thru the shallow water reef north of Flat Hammock, where we sailed along the edge of the reef for current relief maintaining the righthand side of the course with a half dozen more tacks to the layline. After sailing alongside the reef of Flat Hammock JollyMon crossed the harbor entrance towards Clay Point beyond the middle of the course prior to tacking back to port for the layline. Concerned about the current, I chose not to go that way. In retrospect, if had we continued out on our starboard tack from midway up Flat Hammock to the middle of the course, we may have been able to make W with better wind and a less tacks.

We rounded in clean air just in time avoiding the building traffic from the faster later starting classes, then got pinned high to the right with the benefit of clear air. A jibe to port got us a good lane clear of traffic and took us back through the gap in FH?s reef to within shouting distance of the finish as the wind decreased drastically and the fleet compressed. Jibing a couple of times, we continued to stay left and above the fleet with a final port out to the left and a tight starboard for the pin at the port end of the line clear of all the traffic converging on the finish (shortened to one lap due to the wind or rather lack of). We finished fourth boat for boat correcting to third over Cosmic just a few seconds ahead of us. Link to Chart

We started in an 8 knot breeze off of Horseshoe for a posted two lapper out to a drop mark 245 degrees at 1.5 nm. There was real lumpy seas and a bit of a swell from offshore, low ceiling, visibility variable one qtr to a mile+. We got a good start about half way down the line on starboard. Tumult tacked a bit in front of us, we ducked and were able to come up to speed enough to pull clear and had a good thing going for five minutes or so. Then the wind began to willy-nelly and sailng was difficult in the lump[y sea. . Nearing Seaflower the wind really dropped off to 4 or less and they called the race around 1840. We had a maybe a quarter mile visibility out near Seaflower and I could not tell if Jolly Mon, MiniMaxi or Cosmic had made the mark or not. With thunderstorms eminent we wasted no time putting the boat to bed. No time for beers. Rowing in from the mooring there was a good bit of lightening to the west and about a 100 yards short of the dock it began to pour.

Link to Chart