[Public-List] Snake Island Race...

Wed Aug 7 16:30:49 PDT 2019

Wonderful report Gord.
7.2 is moving!
Well done!

"trimming the outhaul to minimize helm" have not heard that before!

Jonathan

On Wed, Aug 7, 2019 at 4:23 PM Gordon Laco via Public-List <
public-list at lists.alberg30.org> wrote:

> So there we were…
>
> Last Wednesday was the annual Snake Island Race… part of the Wednesday
> evening series but a (sort of) distance race rather than round the buoys.
>
> Clint couldn’t come due to injuring his back.. so it was Steve and I
> setting out shorthanded.  At the last moment Ken, who normally crews aboard
> another boat was wandering by because his skipper was out cruising for the
> week.  We scooped him up and brought him aboard as a third.
>
> Out we motored enjoying the brisk NW wind… the start was as usual a short
> leg to leeward of Midland Bay Shoal marker.   We joined in the mob swinging
> to and fro as the minutes counted down toward the start.
>
> With two minutes to go, Ken announced that his cut finger, injured earlier
> in the day, was bleeding again.  Bleeding?  Gushing!  Steve hopped below to
> get the first aid kit while I tried to keep up the wiggling with our foes…
> suddenly I realized we were right on the start with only seconds to go and
> there we were, starting on port at the pin end as we planned, but barging
> like mad on our arch rival, MAID MARION.   Robin, my friend, was quite
> within his rights to hold his course and bump us off the end of the line.
>
> Round we went while Ken finished bandaging his finger… we looped in a very
> tight circle and got across the line on port tack in MM’s wake.   The line
> was, luckily for us, badly laid so we could lay the course to the Midland
> Shoal pin on one tack (port), stampeding at high speed.   The bulk of the
> herd started on starboard and by the time they did their tack onto port up
> on the lay line we were in the midst of them.
>
> Round the pin we all charged and away on a wild reach toward Snake Island,
> about five miles east.   It was a drag race.  We settled down going like a
> bat outta hell with the boom way out trimming the outhaul to minimize
> helm.   SURPRISE settled down between her roaring bow and stern waves and
> making use of her overhangs to elongate her waterline, the speed crept up
> to 6.7, then 7.2.    We had a rooster tail coming off the leeward quarter
> aft of the spinnaker winch, the hissing of the water going by was loud, and
> there was so much force on the helm for the water rushing past I could feel
> the mad energy of it at every moment of the wheel (we have the rare
> factory-mounted wheel steering setup)
>
> We passed one competitor after another each a battle, but MAID MARION was
> still ahead.  We crept up till we were about two boat lengths behind, then
> I started coming up a few degrees to try to drive over them far enough up
> to avoid the lee bow effect…  Robin heard me and edged up to defend.  We
> shot down hoping to dive far enough below to drive through his lee… Robin
> resumed his course and I saw I’d have to go too far down and so would loose
> speed and apparent wind energy.  So I sat on his leeward quarter again for
> a bit, relishing the thought of the effect having our snarling bow wave
> over his shoulder might be having on him.
>
> Then… I feigned going down again… Robin bore off slightly and at the first
> move we shot back up 10 degrees and crossed his wake.  Up we went for a
> blessed but short period before he saw what we were doing so when he
> climbed to defend himself, we were abeam but three boat lengths to
> weather.  I let SURPRISE sag down on him till he shouted ‘UP!’ and as we
> should up we went.
>
> But the damage was done and we’d gained about half a boat length.   Soon
> we were clear ahead and to windward enough that MAID MARION was getting
> into our wind shadow….  Robin, my friend, was cooked.   I indulged in a bit
> of bravado and called to my crew ‘and this is what they call slamming the
> door!’    We slid down a little further and locked him behind our wind
> shadow.   Humph, now we’re even for being bumped off the line…(although
> that was my own fault of course...)
>
> So up we came rushing at Snake Island, an small feature about 200 meters
> long and maybe a third that wide… shaped like a grain of rice end on to
> us.  The turning mark was the club’s buoy off the far end of the island.
>  The pack was right on our heels… I was worried about tacking too soon as I
> usually do… so tacked too late, badly overstanding.
>
> Crack the sheets out and away we went skiddadling for the turning taking a
> couple of scalps of the leaders of the pack coming up on port… Round at
> last and away down the windward side of the island trying not to listen to
> the bow waves behind us.
>
> This leg was again too tight for the chute so we concentrated on keeping
> up maximum speed close reaching for the finish, five miles away.   The
> leading A fleet boat, who started five minutes behind us with their fleet,
> barely caught us a few hundred yards from the finish…
>
> The results came out today… we took first in B Fleet, tied for first
> overall.  Oh yes, it was a good night.  Reaching out, close reaching back…
> a rollicking romp.
>
> Getting organized to do tonight’s race, back to round the buoys…
>
> Gord
> 426 Surprise
>
>
>
>
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-- 
Jonathan M Bresler
S/V Constance Alberg 30 #262
Annapolis/Eastport MD