[Public-List] Surprise had a good night...

[Gordon Laco]

 Still glowing from a race win last night.  First time old SURPRISE got line
 honours in a mixed fleet; I guess it was our kind of night.  Last night was
 the mid-season Snake Island Race - a departure from the usual Wednesday
 night round the buoys.  After a short (200yd) upwind leg from the start, we
 rounded a buoy fourth and had a blistering spinnaker reach 6 miles to Snake
 island during which we startled everyone including ourselves by stretching
 way out ahead.  Dumped the chute and hardened up to a beat (the course had
 us come up on the leeward side of the island), tacked around the end of
 Snake then galloped home on a bee-line, which was a tightening close reach
 that had us gasping and pinching to lay the finish by the end.
 
 Very satisfying - although for the last couple of miles we had our hearts
 in our throats as our dramatic lead was eaten up.  While we were hard on
the wind as close as we could go, the rest of the fleet were still quite
free and footing like crazy.  Thank heavens the race was not a 1/4 mile
longer or the leaders of the pack behind us would have caught us!
 
 Our mainsheet trimmer is the local Anglican minister... I told her that
 while I had great respect for her calling, I was appealing directly to Odin
 and Poseidon for the lift we needed (and got) at the end of the race.  It
 made sense to me that calling upon pagan gods who nobody had paid any
 attention to for centuries was more likely to get me something I didn't
 deserve... She laughed.
 
 Great night.
 
 Gord #426


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