Wind: Average 2.6 kts, peak 9 kts; Wind Direction Variable; Temp: 78 F, Baro: 29.97
Current: Flood North Hill 12:21
Course: GLP-Silver Eel to Vixen, Race Length: 3.7 nm;
Shortened from Inside Course #3 (of approximately 11 nm)
Start: 1020; Finish: 1344
Crew: Brian, Josh, George Wilson & RW
For days the wind forecast had been un-promising and followed suit Sunday morning. The Race Committee wisely chose not to go around Fishers in such light airs. We were “Echo” Class, 5th in sequence and had a good start leading the pack on starboard jibe down the line towards the committee boat, to pop the chute short of the gun.
We initially went farther west than the rest of our class, yet some boats of subsequent classes went even farther. Abeam the Dumplings/North Hill park-up we had better wind than those east of us, and for a while had cards on Checkered Demon, Jolly Mon & Mentor to our port. With Checkered Demon initiating, we all jibed one after the other. Had we had jibed five-minutes earlier at the first noticeable wind & movement along Fishers’ western shore, we may have avoided the protracted spell (1110-1120) of no wind where we tried the genoa, even hoisted the old drifter & drug out the whisker-pole in efforts to get the boat moving.
Prior to our arrival to Silver Eel, many boats rounded to sail north along the shore. Yet that breeze opportunity evaporated, so we aborted a shoreline attempt and escaped just in time to work northwest offshore towards Vixen. It was one of those pot-luck days where often times boats around us were pointing towards all points of the compass.
Finally short of 1300, we began to benefit from a meager southwest zephyr which built to a max of 4 knots then tapered off; yet enough remained to carry us to the finish. Considering the extremely light airs we were very fortunate that the typical weekend power boat chop was absent and onlyhad to cope with a handful of rolling wakes of passing power boats.