[Public-List] First race in a long time...

[Winslow Ayer]

Outstanding, thanks for the tale.

Winslow #283 Tinkers Damn 

> On Aug 5, 2021, at 12:01 PM, Gordon Laco via Public-List <public-list at lists.alberg30.org> wrote:
> 
> Good day friends, 
> 
> Here I am still glowing after our return to yacht racing… SURPRISE raced last night.   Last year there was no racing because of COVID… this year racing resumed (with particular protections) but I haven’t been going out due to a heavy work schedule.  I just had the feeling I couldn’t add rushing down to the club on top of everything else that was merrily boiling here in the office (Yes, I need to say ’thanks but can’t do that just now’ more often.)
> 
> Yesterday things seemed to be subsiding to a dull roar here in the office… I phoned up my old crew and asked if they could come on short notice… yippee they could.  I called the club and checked if it was OK to jump back in the middle of a series… no problem.
> 
> So I downed tools here in the office (well closed my email software…) and wolfed down an early supper then went to the club.  I nearly forgot to bring the spinnaker sheet blocks and the spinnaker itself, but luckily remembered them before I’d gone too far.  My neighbours must be used to seeing me depart, then return moments later… then depart again.
> 
> At the boat we shackled the blocks onto their eyepads on the stern quarters, ran the spinnaker sheets, untangled the spinnaker halyard and lift for the pole…sparked up the engine and away to the start.  What a joy to do a flyby the committee boat to get on their list, and enjoy waves and shouts from fellow competitors who seemed glad to see us back.  Naturally I’d forgotten where I’d put the stop watch, but Steve was able to time us on his smartphone and we joined the swinging reaches to and fro as the minutes then seconds counted down.   
> 
> I think I’ll gloss over the quality of our start and just say we crossed the line.  The truth is that somehow I managed to bury us behind a little posse of squabbling Sharks which guaranteed a bad start.  We barely laid the far end of the line, having to shoot to windward half a boat length to get around.  Dead last.  
> 
> We tacked onto port and had a nice view of everyone else sterns.   But something marvellous happened.   I haven’t mentioned yet that I bought new sails last year and took delivery of them just before the pandemic shut everything down.  For the first time ever, I have a new main AND a new genoa at the same time… normally I’ve one sail way past the blush of youth and the other new (or both old).  Not this time… I bought two sails at once and oh boy what a marvellous shock the result was.   It was as if we had a silent electric motor going… SURPRISE had speed and the steering was light as a feather.  Up we worked through the fleet, and rounded the windward mark right in the thick of the mob.
> 
> Round we went, up went the ‘chute.   That was the first hoist we’d done in two seasons, but in no time the sail was towing us powerfully along. Did I mention the air was light?  It was light.  We heard a voice come from another yacht as we came up on them hand over fist ‘hey Bob, I thought you said those old Alberg are slow in light air!’  How wonderful.
> 
> At the leeward mark we doused the spinnaker early so as not to embarrass ourselves as we rediscovered the procedure… but as things worked out there was no need.  Out flashed the genoa, down shot the spinnaker… down came the pole and around we went gybing and hauling in sheets like crazy in heavy traffic.  we were in the middle of five boats all just a few inches apart as we rounded… 
> 
> Then another wonderful thing happened… the wind had shifted enough that we could lay the whole windward leg, so it turned into a drag race straight up to the pin.  We tweaked and adjusted our genny sheeting and the main’s draft… 2.7 knots developed into 3.5 and then 4.   We left arch-rival MAID MARION behind and rounded the windward mark again in clear air.  Another perfect hoist and down we went under spinnaker… reaching merrily and steadily gaining on the leaders.
> 
> The finish was a wonderful thing… the red sunset put a rosy glow on the whole affair.  Second over the line at the finish on real time, easy first on corrected.  Glory.
> 
> Back at the club we made fast and doused the sails… I started groaning and holding my right wrist.  'What’s wrong?’ my loyal crew enquired… ‘My hand - my hand, there’s something wrong with my hand…’ I replied.  Their faces expressed concern, then one of them smirked and reached into the icebox and handed me a beer.  As soon as the cool cylinder was in my grip I exclaimed ‘ah, that’s better’.   And better yet, I’d remembered to bring ice, so that beer was a cold one.
> 
> 
> Gordon Laco
> 426 Surprise
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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