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Spring Series Race 4 (We think). Friday 21st March
Wind 15 - 20 knots North East
TeamJackal is back. Finally. Work has really got in the way for the last 5 months or so. Vital crew have deserted - well, fled the country, so we're short a spinnaker trimmer, and we've had other problems as well... Lack of motivation; lack of crew; lack of time.... During all this Jackal has been languishing on the marina berth, growing coral reefs in all the wrong places and falling into general disrepair. But that sorry chapter in our daring exploit saga is over. What got us back? Not sure. Possibly a combination of factors... Aramex Couriers (our trusty sponsors) shipped and delivered a whole new boom from Hall Spars, US. [Photo story to come]. We found a new 'copper-bottom' antifoul. I varnished the tiller again. Small details, but together they add up to a whole new movement.
Just last week I sent out a message to the fleet: "Don't come out sailing, as we don't want you to witness TeamJackal in a mess". So what happens? A bigger than normal fleet, out on the water, ready and very, very willing to see us make a complete pigs-back-end of virtually everything.
Which leads me to today.
It starts out normal and usual. Race briefing is at 10:00 with a start at 11:30. The forecast is for 10-15, becoming 15-20 knots at times. Due to our lack of crew, Hamish and I have decided to enlist the help of Christina and her 'young man' Barrett, all the way from Canada. He's sailed in the Caribean so he's sure to know his stuff.. We pitch up at the Club early, to get out on the water early, to get some practice tacks in. Rigging the boat all goes well until we back out of the marina berth and I find that the outboard won't go into gear. Hamish comes to the rescue... "Let's unfurl the jib and sail out" he suggests. And all goes well again as we do.
We head down to the start line having luffed up to raise the main, confident and prepared. Reaching, gybing and running, we shake up the new crew and find that both Barrett and Christina are actually pretty competent, although slightly nervous ( well who wouldn't be, after all we've got a whole website full of our inadequacies). Our start is on port and we take a timed run from the line, gybe turn and head back, beating to the transit start slightly late on port. We tack to starboard early to get clean air and head up to the Green and White laid mark.
Hamish and I have been a trifle undecided as to the valour (versus the potential tragedy, given our 'youth crew') of using the bitch but having rigged her lines anyway just in case, we can't resist using her on our first long down-wind to South Pole mark. We coach the newbies, raise the spinnaker and roar off down the course, passing Rapscallion, who have just raised their spinnaker halyard without a spinnaker attached. It's quite a floor-show as we move past her, with Mike-the-valiant sending his wife up the mast to retrieve said halyard. We like it when they have a calamity of this kind.
This is a long course, so there's plenty of time for things to go horribly wrong. Hamish reads out the course, telling me Port or Starboard roundings. Barrett and Christina wrestle with the spinnaker on our downwinds. Beats are uneventful, but its blowing pretty good and on one tack we nearly (but not quite) lose Barrett into the water. Christina acts as a really good spray dodger, sitting up on the rail at the front....
The end is finally in sight. Up to East Bouy, around that and another spinnaker set to the finish line of West Pole and pumphouse transit. A powerboat approaches. It's Patrick, a member of our fleet. "Mike wanted me to let you know that you went round East Bouy the wrong way", he yells across the water. "You should have rounded to Starboard" he adds.
By this time the wind is gusting, we're sailing at a very tight angle and Barrett is hanging on to the spinnaker sheet for grim death. The thought of retracing our steps and rounding the mark, now far astern, the correct way is just too much to bear. Expletives cross my mind.
So it's 'DSQ' for TeamJackal. Well, at least, on debrief, we find that the vote is unanimous. TeamJackal wins the Duffers Prize. After all, the prize is not awarded for gear breakage, nor broaching necessarily. It's meant instead for sheer, unmitigated acts of complete and utter stupidity. Today we qualified.
But I'm told that Barrett's now 'hooked on sailing'. All he has to do for his next trip is read "Sailing for Dummies" and learn "Advanced Racing Tactics" by Buddy Melges, off by heart. Sure beats rowing.
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