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Highlights:
Well, kindof obvious. Killing Rapscallion on the water and then seeing Mike's expression at the bar afterwards.
Downers:
None really. This was quite uneventful. Oh, bit worried about Trifler - under new ownership, flying one hull and overtaking us rather fast. Until she broke her mainsheet..
Result:
1st on PYR and 1st on Personal.
Lessons Learnt:
Absolutely none, apart from learning how to do rap music.
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Autumn Series Race 1. Friday 16th September
Wind 8-18 knots, Northerly.
It's been a long summer, dripping in sweltering heat, thankfully off on hols for a while. But we're back. Racing again for this, the start of our Autumn Series. It's a long offshore race - out through the channel to the big blue. Speaking of blue, Mike and Caroline have sold 'Blue Chip' and, at great expense, imported a Mustang 30, renamed 'Rapscallion'. By all accounts this is the boat that's going to give us a hiding on water, running from a PYR of 930 as opposed to our horrible 890 rating. They've even got Quantum sails. And Mike doesn't let up in his pre-race tirade. So we're giving him 3 minutes an hour on the water.
TeamJackal will never stoop to trembling and cursing. Not as a team, although individually it might be different.
So we prepare ourselves for a tussle, attend the briefing, synchronise watches (that strange little ritual) and go down to prep the boat, only to find that the engine won't start after a long hot summer (where the petrol in the carburettor has evaporated to glue the float solid against the chamber). Rapscallion stands by to tow us through the channel, but an engineer fixes our problem and off we go. Late. But at least we're not late alone. Rapscallion is with us as we motor up, setting sail still in the channel and bursting into clear water under sail one minute late as we cross the start transit. At the favoured end thank goodness.
We claw our way to windward up to Mina Salman Approach, our first mark. Rapscallion is sailing low, way low, hard over and we wonder slightly what's going on... But we shift our concentration to matters in hand and get into our own peculiar kind of groove around the course. Ken's aboard today, though he's so damn skinny that team-hiking isn't making much of a difference as the wind gusts up to 20 knots. I just kind of scallop my way upwind, rounding up to gain a few metres and laying off again to keep boatspeed between the gusts.
The course takes us on a complete cats-cradle around the offshore course area; setting a rather well-behaved (just for once) spinnaker; reaching and beating again a few times, until we start to lap some of the fleet. A most satisfactory feeling. Rapscallion trails far below, but still close enough for us to pay heed. Extraordinarily, we don't make any major mistakes, and after about 4 hours cross the finish transit, trim sail and glide back to the club down and with the tide through the channel.
We've come first on handicap and on personal. Not a bad way to start the season. Bet we can't keep this blistering performance up!. No way. Bound to be a big snarl up soon....
Nice song round the bar though... To the tune of Queen, with thumping on the bar:
...What's with Mike, big disgrace
Sailed his boat all over the place
Rap, Rap, Rap, Rap-scallion
Andy's idea. I had nothing to do with it.
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