|
Highlights:
Races 1 and 2
Kids in an open dinghy heard across the water saying "Wow, there's the Jackal; look at her go; Coool". (It's nice to have fans).
Downers:
Race 3. Enough said.
Result:
Two first places, then a dismal seventh, places us 3rd overall on IRC. Well, we could have won the regatta...
Lessons Learnt:
All we had to do was get a second or third in that last race, but did we? No chance. Always organise a Regatta to have a scratch race, as a matter of self preservation.
|
Stop Press: Elizabeth Shepherd writes to TeamJackal all the way from San Diego, USA, congratulating us on a campaign well-presented. She then flys several thousand miles and pitches up around the BYC bar after the Regatta to personally say 'hi' and admire our stunning race gear.
Not content with that, it seems that she's staying around in Bahrain for a year as she can't bear to be too far away from the Team, and is keen to join the Cruiser Fleet to be out on the water with us. Plus, she races J105's back home, so she obviously knows a thing or two about asymetricals.
This just goes to show that some fans will go to extraordinary lengths to be with their chosen idols. TeamJackal always makes a point of warmly welcoming fans. After all, we have so few.
|
....... |
Bahrain Yacht Club ABSOLUT Regatta 2006. Thursday 2nd and Friday 3rd November
Wind 3-8 knots, South easterly, becoming 8-13 knots later.
The Regatta is a slightly different format this time. Thursday is a practice race with three races on Friday - and no discards, at my suggestion. We have two visiting boats from Kuwait; Gerry Burden's 'Kamulla' with his gang of highly suspicious-looking crew, and a newly and beautifully refitted 'Regina', now renamed 'Aaza Dana' helmed by Kate and Marc. She's a very impressive yacht to have with us. Big, blue and ocean-going, with acres of canvas to go horribly wrong around the course! It's good to race against these guys as it adds a real extra dimension to the event. They're bigger boats and usually give us a hard time on the water. If you're reading this, guys, thanks for coming. It wouldn't be the same without you!
Thursday lunchtime sees us register, grab the goody bags and get out on the water for a 15:00 start. There are quite a few boats out on the start line, even though this is just a warm-up race.
Warm up race? Warm up disaster. We're up at the top mark, half way through the race, overlapped by 'Kamulla' on the outside (who only establishes overlap within the two boatlengths). To avoid being swept onto the mark by the tide we don't immediately round for the downwind... possibly infringing very slightly. Next moment there's some chap in a patrol RIB blasting a horn and pointing at us. "Bloody hell, they've got marshalls on the course this year", I explode. And prepare a 720. The chaps have managed to partially launch the spinnaker on the windward side of the boat, quite forgetting that we need to gybe first, so down it comes in a mess and we perform our penalty. When the dust settles Hamish, our bowman, tells us that the 'marshal' was flying an 'S' flag which means course shortening, (The chap was pointing at the finish mark, not at us, after all) while 'Kamulla' sails away from us, heading for the downwind mark. We assume that this is now the finish line and after crossing it's transit to the 'marshall', relax and slowly sail north in cruising mode along the course to head back. 'Kamulla' keeps racing, set to finish the entire course. Later we're told, with much mirth by others, that course shortening means we should have proceeded from the 'marshall' to the finish line. Result: DNF. 'Kamulla's result: 'Out of Time' - Well, they did sail four extra legs!
Friday is the main day of the event. With three races on the water, we'll see some good close racing, fine winds and sportsmanship par excellence. The wind has filled in nicely from the South and it promises to be a good day, even though I'm worried that 8 knots of wind really doesn't look that flash on our polars..
First race, the line heavily favours port ( though most start on the safer starboard end, running down the line at us with rights! ) But we clear them from our timed run, admittedly a bit late as I'm crap at timed runs, and sail up the course as fast as we can. There are boats in front of us though, so our start definately wasn't that good, but we gain anyhow. Let's face it, with our handicap we have to!
We pass 'Aaza Dana' to gain the lead at the end of the downwind leg and gybing our spinnaker to pass the bottom mark, we're overshadowed by her. She gybes hers, gets in a horribly wrong tangle, and, amidst a hell-of-a-lot of shouting, bears off to relieve pressure on her spinnaker - forcing us down. I call water. She helms up. Her foredeck crew yell "Bear off, forget Jackal". I yell, "Protest. I will protest, Aaza Dana. Sail your course", our sails limp in her shadow. They apologise and promise a round of drinks, continuing to bear off to try to resurrect the mess on their foredeck! I relent, because 1) we're going nowhere, and 2) we have to let them as they're bigger than us. Bullies. (It's also perhaps not in the spirit of things to protest a boat that has sailed for some 50 hours from Kuwait just to race around the cans with us for a few hours). But we manage to stall, slow Jackal and, having fallen back to create a slight seperation, we round up under her stern, passing her to windward (sailing our true course). "Right, they're buying drinks" I reassure an irate crew... (Note: Never got the drinks. Should have bloody protested as 'a drink-promised is a-promise-to-be-kept'. I guess they'll make good next time!)
Once clear of her we simply accelerate, gaining and gaining to finish well clear of the others. Our teamwork has seldom been better, setting, gybing, doing 'Mexican drops' and all kinds of technically advanced-racing-tactics kind of things - just for once.
Second race sees us try a different tactic on the start. Approaching the line on starboard, sails stalling to kill time, we flap and flog at the pin end together with 'Rapscallion' and cross with her clear of the rest, quickly tacking to port for a beat straight up to the top mark. We're very soon in the lead, with the Rapper falling off behind and literally blitz it round the course, gaining on every leg. Unbelievably, we don't make a single stuff-up and finish first by a good margin with about nine minutes on the nearest boat in under an hour.
Third race is after a very quick lunch back at the Clubhouse. The wind has dropped to about two knots and can't decide where it's coming from. We opt again to start from port and time a run away, turn together with TNT' to go for the line. A strong tide is pushing us far too fast and, right on the pin end again, we're forced to 360 to kill time. We're about six inches away from 'TNT' and very nearly hit the pin marker sideways due to the current. 'TNT' really gets it from the starboard majority this time and with so little steerage just manages to turn to starboard and avoid collision with a large, aggressive 'Aaza Dana' whose crew are all yelling "starboard" in unison. (It's a beautifully coreographed group yell - they've practised this one, its obvious), Finally having missed the pin (just), turned and got moving on port we manage to duck a few sterns and sneak through. But this start is truly abysmal. We sail as close as we dare to what wind there is up to the top mark and find we can only head hundreds of yards away from it. I can't tack to starboard towards the fleet as that would kill more time against them, plus they all seem to be moving really well. Why aren't we? Where the hell is the bloody wind, and where the hell is it supposed to be coming from?
Who the hell is the idiot that advocated a Regatta with no scratch race? ( Me ).
The reach across the top is miserable as well. It's virtually a beat as the wind is now trying to swing to the east in feeble puffs, but the downwind is even worse as we sail at 1.9 knots against a 2 knot current and basically stop dead on the course for a good ten minutes, trying desperately to get out to the reef where the current is less. At least most others have stopped too, but they're only about 50 yards away. We've managed somehow to crawl our way into third place on-water with the 'Rapper' ahead and 'Kamulla' well ahead. We set to catching them, but realise that by now we should be a leg ahead to have any hope at all of this race.
Managing to get past 'Rapscallion', we aim for 'Kamulla' and after sailing a supposed downwind leg our course as a close reach (?) we catch her just at the mark. The wind has finally filled in and we round with them, thinking that the only way to gain is to set the spinnaker. If the last leg was a close reach, this one should be broad is our reasoning. Our spinnaker set is instant, but the wind isn't kind and proves, in the face of logic, to still be ahead despite the fact that we're returning up the course to where we came from. We're miles off course and dropping again try to salvage the leg under a tiny little 100% jib (the only one we're allowed). Kamulla is roaring up the leg with her 155% and we realise that she's got us. Big time. Trouble is, nobody is that far away from the two of us and we finish second on the water, and probably about last on handicap, our dreams of podium glory shattered.
Regattas without scratch races really, really suck.
|
