Crew: Seth, Bob & RW
Course: “X†to Mystic River Câ€1″ to “Xâ€, one lap Total distance: 2.6 nm
Winds: NE (avg 77 dg), 3 to 7 kts (avg 5.2) Average Boat speed: 2.8 kts
Barometer: 29.91, Temp: 73 F Current: ebb 14:26
Ram Island Having rained cats & dogs all day, finally letting up late in the afternoon, we were left with foggy conditions and little wind. Our strategy was to start near the committee boat, and to sail out on port to mid-channel for the greatest assistance from the current. We had what was probably our best start ever and led the class for the better part of five minutes in a six knot breeze.
With the visibility down to less than a half-mile, I found orientation difficult, and failed to realize how favored port tack was. Had I recognized how far north of Intrepid we were, I may not have been tempted by what appeared to be more pressure towards shore. Following Watercolor’s lead, we tacked in along the east side of Groton Long Point and squandered our fantastic start. I believe the hot-ticket was to remain offshore in the current similar to what MiniMax, Noo Problem & Jolly Mon did. With the windward mark about to become very crowded, we chose to overstand the layline a bit, and lost an additional minute strategically (yet it may have been worse had we gotten tangled up in the cluster) and rounded with a good bearaway set.in 3 kts of air. We stayed high to avoid the hoard of larger spinnaker boats behind us and sailed towards GLP for the advantageous eddy alongside the east shore. Things got crowded at Groton Long Point, especially between GLP 22 & 24 again staying high, doing our best to remain in clear air. We were nip & tuck with Legacy the last ten minutes to the finish, and had to verify room at #24. It’s possible, we lost a minute or two downwind in our effort to avoid the bad air of over-taking boats, yet I doubt it. The race was lost on the windward leg tacking in to shore.
Link to Chart