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Highlights:
Not much during the race itself as this proves fairly uneventful. The sight of the crew huddled in the cabin, changing into their new Jackal team gear!
Downers:
When are they actually going to get a weather forecast right? When are we going to actually get a really steady 14 knot breeze?
Result:
4th on PYR and Personal. Only reasonably dismal. At least Jackal moves again
Lessons Learnt:
You can fly an asymetrical goose winged. You can get more than 30 people onto a J80. 30 people on a J80 can drink over 100 cans of Steinlager within 40 minutes. Some more than others.
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Race 6 Winter Series. Medium Inshore. Friday 19th March
Wind 8-15 South East becoming 17-205 at times throughout the day.
A 10:00 briefing, where Ken also instructs everyone that there's a party on the Marina at Jackal's berth after the race! We get out on the water for an 11:15 am start on the transit of Al Bander Port Poles, crossing the line west of Green & White pole. The wind is really good - about an 8 and we're cruising up and down waiting for our start approach. Another slightly late (but safe as Ken's watching the transit from a start boat) start but we accelerate on a reach down to West Pole, round to starboard and raise the bitch for Pumphouse Port. All is well, we're getting boat speed, steering around the weed (unlike last time) and pull ahead.
That seal has started 15 minutes ahead on a staggered start, so we're just closing the gap on the beat up to Shoal Spar when the wind dies away to a fraction. So we play the shifts as much as we can recoginse them, tacking a few times and make good progress. But that Seal is still ahead. And remains ahead on the run down to Earth Station. We gybe around that mark and, thinking we'll have a good broad reach up to Pumphouse again, set off in pursuit.
We'll overhaul him, slip by and then just put distance between us. That'll completely demoralise him and victory will be ours. Simple.
The wind drops to zero. We hold the bitch up to prevent it from dipping in the sea, limply goose-winged in a desperate attempt to fill our sails, and inch our way to the mark, millimetre by tedious millimetre. The Seal drops anchor just around the mark and we both sit marooned an a glassy calm.
Eventually the wind creeps back in, The Seal ups-anchor (only pulling forward very slightly) and we progress towards the Shoal Spar mark - likely to be our last due to course shortening provisions. 500 metres from the mark it's them and us, neck and neck, but we have better boat speed, pass and take line honours! Not much of an honour really, knowing you've been beaten good and proper.
Our finish places us badly, but caring little as we have a party to prepare, we sail back to the Club and along the way break out our new team gear, fix the website address to the boom and generally prepare for a rapturous and envious welcome at the dock. Now it starts to rain as well. Still, we manage to gather a good crowd to launch our website, dole out gallons of Steinlager, thanks to Gulf Cellar, and put up with a load of off-th-cuff banter and evil comment from our highly jealous fellow yachties. Looks like we might even sell a few Jackal polo shirts....
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