Crew: Brian, Seth, Bob & RW
Winds: SW @ 8-12 kts, clocking with storm peak 27, low 1 kts, Avg: 7.2 kts @ 133
Weather: clear, heavy rain, rain, mist; Temp 66-64 F; Baro 29.66
Current: flood - 1628 North Hill
Start: GLP Starting Area, Finish: Vixen
Course: s/f–B–LM-Vf Distance: #.# nm
Shrouds: Waters Base +2.5, +5, +3
Our pre-start assessment more wind appeared near the offshore port end of the line. So we chose to start in the upper port end of the line and extend on starboard for deeper water and more favorable current. Jolly Mon to our lee was over early, and turned back. Salud was the only other boat in class to extend out on starboard where we appreciated two degree+ lift on our heading. I tacked a minute too soon as Salud then tacked on our wind, and after a bit tacked again for clear air.
Decidedly late, I jibed towards a storm building ashore across San Souci’s stern. On the jibe back to starboard we were even with Sans Souci farther offshore. With the storm threatening, things began to get interesting- compression of the fleet, weathering Horseshoe , the with wind spinning around the clock a couple times, with nice douse short of the mark we rounded the mark less than a boat length ahead of San Souci. Just a few boatlengths out of the mark, the squall hit, with winds in the low to mid-twenties, causing us to drop genoa and reef the main. For a time we sailed in a torrential rain with just the mainsail. Once confident of the diminishing wind, we hoisted the genoa & shook out the reef.
The RC had had shortened the course to finish at Vixen, the wind now out of the east, the last half mile was a drifter sailed wing & wing as the wind not sufficient to fly a wet spinnaker. Short of the line the wind clocked southwest the last couple minutes for a near reach finish in the rain.
A dozen or more boats, DNF’d. Surprisingly, there were no collisions in the leeward mark melee.
Cosmic, Jolly Mon & Sans Souci took the near shore route which from a distance did not appear as fast; less favorable current & less wind(?), though both Jolly Mon & Cosmic beat us to the mark as they should. We were fourth to round, comfortably leading Sans Souci, but lost it due to a late spinnaker set as the spinnaker sheet was wrapped inside the genoa cross-sheeting block. It took a couple minutes to rig a backup sheet for the spinnaker hoist, enough for San Souci to catch and pass us on the inside. And another five minutes for Seth to unwind the old sheet from the block.
Link to chart
First Race of Summer Season results