|
Highlights:
Watching that huge bulk carrier very, very nearly block the fleet from finishing. A great day out in general. Calm, relaxed crew. Andy's warm sausage rolls!
Downers:
Our early start; Snappy crew (I didn't mean to be totally annoying)
Result:
3rd equal on PYR
Lessons Learnt:
Offer Bulk Carrier captains a bit more more than BD50 to provide on-course blocking tactics.
|
|
....... |
Race 2 Spring Series. Long Offshore. Friday 16th April
Wind 5-7 South East.
An 09:00 briefing and all's well with the world: Another fine day out on the water awaits - and this time we're prepared, having adjusted all the rigging properly yesterday!. we've ignored the forecast today, put up our big jib - throwing caution to the wind (or lack of it yet again). We're going offshore, through the channel and out to play with tugs and bulk-carriers in the Mina Salman approach.
The course is the usual spagetti junction with plenty of reaching, so we're set to have a good time. Until our early start that is! Here we are in the final approach to the line with seven seconds to go, power up the boat and go for it only to hear a yell from Mike (further out from the transit than us, so he has a clear view) that we're early. Trouble is we have to sail around the pin (rule 30.1) which loses us 6 minutes as we started early well out along the transit.
Never to suffer defeat so soon in a race, we decide we just have to sail really, really well. So we try hard. Up to Shoal Mark, then down to Mina Salman Approach bouy where a bitch take-down sees me panicking (at the top of my voice), stuck on the helm while the jib takes a while to set due to a slight snarl-up. Having now, as a direct result, had my head bitten off good and proper, and feeling close to blubbing with shock, I decide to shut up, say 'please' and 'thank you', ask opinion and debate strategic options in an effort to be the carefree, laid-back sort of skipper that everyone wants to sail with.
Just because I yelled "jib out" 47 times in a row, without breathing.
I'm stressing about potential mutiny now. Hamish suggests some calming music, so to the sound of Dido and some strange rave-music we beat [sic] back up to Seistan Wreck light overhauling Blue Chip, now slowly closing in on Yella Belly. Around this mark we set the bitch and overhaul her finally, taking her wind briefly as we pass. The wind is all of about 5 knots as we head back down to Mina Salman Approach again.
A vast bulk-carrier is approaching the outer beacons while four large tugs and a pilot cutter race towards her. A possible obstacle to the race is rapidly becoming a dead-cert and at the top mark again we turn downwind, thankful that we are the lead boat, gleefully half hoping the others will be diverted by the Coastguard. Our glee is boosted by five loud blasts from the monster as the tiny, wooden Yella Belly beats across her bow. This will make up for our loss of time, for sure. But Peter escapes clear, calling up the Bulk-Carrier over VHF and asking him to state his intentions! The nerve of it all - and they even hold up an expensive commercial tug push while he sails clear. Racing can be so unfair!
We continue down to Mina Salman bouy and across to the finish recording a time of 15:05:25 which just manages to scrape us a 3rd equal place with TNT. But Jackal certainly felt better today. We sail back down the channel, heading for the bar.
In a couple of weeks it's the Club Regatta, where I'm told, we have a visiting competitor from Kuwait and, of all things, another J-boat from Qatar. Quite a big, fast, mean, well-sailed one I'm told. Oh hell. Just when things were looking up.
|
