Crew: Bob, Seth & RW
Winds: SE at 3 to 6 kts (avg 130 at 4.4avg)
Baro: 30.21-GON, Temp: 61
Current: ebb - North Hill 1834
Start time: 1800, : 00:34 left of flood
Start/Finish: between GLP & Horseshoe
Course: s/f- W-I-s/f, Distance: 4.7 nm
Shrouds: fwd: +2,upper@ base, aft: +1
Wednesday was a pleasant day and a welcome break from a week of rain; especially considering a forecast of another rainy week ahead. There were just three of us leaving the dock as Brian was stuck working on one of the local dry-docked ferries. We left the slip a bit late (1735 - as Seth & Bob were delayed on Rt. 2 due a bad accident) and arrived at the starting line just in time to kill the motor a second before the 5-minute warning gun. A course of s/f-W (West Harbor)-I (Intrepid Rock)-s/f was posted for a total of 4.7 nm. We quickly stowed the OB and positioned ourselves for a mid-line start, with Watercolors comfortably to windward and Cosmic likewise to lee, with a strategy of covering our competition.
Watercolors was first to tack for offshore and we followed shortly thereafter as did Cosmic. In retrospect, we may have faired better had we remained on starboard to short tack along Groton Long Point and beyond in less current prior to crossing over towards West Harbor.* Short of North Dumpling, we all tacked onto starboard towards the outer entrance of West Harbor. It was on this long starboard tack eastward, that Jolly Mon (starting 5-minutes later) crossed our stern. They had skimmed along Groton Long Point, for prior to crossing and it appeared to pay off for them ; also for Wunderdog and Looney Tunes.
Having passed abeam of R”2” and fearful of overstanding, we tacked well to the west of where Cosmic & Watercolors had tacked. It appeared they overstood by a hundred yards or more, though apparently it did them no harm. Maybe they had more current push entering from the east (?).
We easily made the mark and trailed Watercolors around “W” by eleven minutes, with a minor twist in the spinnaker (due to crossed sheets), quickly sorted out when Bob trimmed in hard on the port (red) sheet. I can’t think of anything we could have benefitted from or done differently on the return. The ebb now in effect we crossed over to skirt the GLP nuns. About half of the traditional-poled boats jibed near Intrepid where there may have been slightly more pressue but against the current, while we (with less horsepower) chose less adverse current alone the shore.