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Highlights:
Curry on the beach. 15 boats. No 30+ knot squalls under rain. A good breeze sailing back. Docile crew. Oh, we came first as well...
Downers:
Starting last. We really feel for those F1 guys at the back of the grid. Coming first was a bit embarassing when I organised the whole event.
Result:
Umm, yes, well.. First. (rare these days)
Lessons Learnt:
Make sure Andy mixes more cocktails for beach functions..
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1st Fun Series - Pursuit Race to Bird Island. Friday 29th April
Wind 5-10 knots, North easterly, becoming 30+ knots around rain squalls later.
I really don't know about these forecasts. They get crazier by the minute, but at time of writing, I'm 'eating my hat'! Its Friday evening and there's a howling dust storm, rain, lightning... and it's gusting well over 30 knots, just like they said.
So there we were this morning, another gentle desert-island day at the Yacht Club. It's early summer, the weather has settled and the days are getting hotter. This time it's the first of our 'Fun Series' races - a schedule of six events where social matters more than sport. I've been email heckling the fleet into this - a race to Bird Island with 'curry-on-the-beach' and a leisurely sail back - and the fleet has swelled considerably today, with 15 boats on the water and about 60 people.
Briefing is at 10:00 for staggered starts (slowest boats first) on a start line between the green and white mark and the outer club port pole. Tails between our legs we slink back to the Clubhouse for more coffee; breakfast; a snooze on the sunloungers.... Adrenaline-thumping, 'I-want-to-get-racing-right-now' feelings are put on hold as we don't get to go until 11:43 - right at the very back of the fleet! We leisurely rig Jackal and make our way out to the start, sailing timed runs to and back from the line for something to do until finally we're off - with everyone else almost hull down, far on the horizon. But it's a downwind start and, even better, we find once we raise the bitch, that the wind is from a perfect 135 degrees. Nice and gentle, but not too shabby, as we drag race our way down to South Pole. With precision and rare control.
At South Pole we turn to port and reach for Bird Island. We've caught up and are midway through the fleet now, following a stuff-up free (rare) spinnaker take-down. We chase Kaos' stern looking to pass to windward. She luffs up inviting us to play, but we bear off and pass her to leeward instead, saving valuable time. Graham's shoulders slump. Reaching onwards we play with the sails, counting telltails and making sure that they're all fluttering nicely. We adjust travellers; vangs; cunninghams; mainsheets; jibsheets and the exact cockpit position of Jim - to optimise everything that we've read about in books like 'Sailing for Dummies' and 'Advanced Racing Tactics'. Hamish squints up at sails, mutters "trim" and takes pictures of the boats we pass. Andy hits me when I try to look back.
It really seems to work, because fairly soon (well, just before the finish line) we gain first place, crossing to a cheery wave from Ken on-shore, (who has come out on our Water-Taxi, complete with hot-boxes of curry and cool-boxes of refreshments, to be our transit pole for the day) and instantly run aground - whump - just for a moment. Jackal feels a bit like an olympic runner ducking for the tape and, as I feel badly for our keel we bear off to deeper water before heading up into the lee of the reef to anchor.
Our water-taxi soon picks us up and we head in to the beach for a mountain of curry with all the trimmings followed by prize-giving, where we're shocked to find that we've come first. I try to give one of those 'I'd like to thank the Academy speeches' but nobody wants to listen.
Mixing and mingling through our social soiree afterwards, I'm approached by two rather dishy girls, who absolutely insist on becoming TeamJackal groupies. Eat yer heart out Hamish (see crew profile for reason).
After lunch we pack up and enjoy a good sail back to the Club in a fresh breeze, watching Pandora shortcut right through the reef and run aground.
The first of our Fun Series days has been quite a success, so I'm told.
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