After a drifter port start, we coasted across the sound keeping pace with the other NFS boats in front and behind us. Gradually we pull away from Grayling as we work tide lines and sail hotter angles to keep the boat moving. By the time we get to Point No Point at tide change, the wind is starting to build. Our "middle west" approach worked for awhile, but by the time we get to wind, the smaller boats are gone. Still with 100+ boats on the course, we had plenty of company.
When the wind finally picked up, it actually started honking out of the north and we scooted around the Double Bluff mark to finish the shortened course. Because by then it was 5PM, it was too late for any of the boats to finish the long course. We were the second NFS boat to finish, and won our class for the first leg. Still we owed Time Flies (a well sailed "little guy" who started earlier with more wind) almost an hour. So we knew we had our work cut out for us on the return leg.
Sunday was a bit of everything. Had a pleasant start in light air (only a slight problem in that we had to be towed to the start 10 minutes prior because I couldn't get the engine bled and primed) tacking into the bay for tide relief. We followed Ladybug to Marrowstone, where the entire fleet slammed into a nasty back eddy against 3.5 knots of tide. With about 4 knots of wind. Parking lot #1. Boats aground, drifting, head sails down. We exited with negative VMG to cross to the Whidbey side, followed by 2/3 of the fleet.
We did fairly well short tacking the coast, seemed to do better than the boats on the Marrowstone side, but since it was a re-start, the faster boats passed us and we had all we could do to keep a couple of well sailed Moore 24s behind us. We rounded DB around two, just ahead of Blue Martini and Just behind Whistling Swan, with Fandango (the eventual overall winner) just ahead of them.
Then we caught a ride on The Zipper, the tide line over to the other side, passed a number of faster boats and managed put the C&C115 fleet in our rear view mirror. Temporarily.
Just as we started congratulating ourselves, we found parking lot # 2, as the entire fleet crashed into a big wind hole. By 4PM it looked like the 100 or so boats had all joined us, parked off Point No Point for a few hours.
I had plenty of time to get the engine working again, so about 5:30 we fired up the engine to motor home, with the bulk of the fleet taking off in a cloud of blue smoke at about the same time when we realized finishing the long course would be impossible.
Then it blew 35 on our nose. Oh, and we were towing Frecklebelly Madtom, who couldn't get their engine to start. Then our engine died. Fun.
So we ended up towing a Moore 24 home in the teeth of it, under reefed main alone. Would have been motor sailing, but the engine kept losing its prime, and needing to be bled. Still, good fun!
Finally got into the marina about 8:30. The race committee stayed late to help us with a tow if needed (not) and the good folks from Kowloon came down to catch our lines. We were beat, but not beaten.
Once again, Ishtar finished first in class, both days. And we snatched back the first overall division win from Quixote, who had a great day on Sunday, where speed overcame the early start advantage that the smaller boats had on Saturday.
We had fun, Janna drove wonderfully, and I proved my worth as a diesel mechanic if not as a sailor, and we were able to motor in the last couple of miles to the marina and the exhausted but grateful guys on Frecklebelly. bought Scotch for me and flowers for Janna. How is that for a happy ending?
No comments:
Post a Comment