The ace Front Runner team of Matt and A.L. Braun were back for this regatta and swept all 4 races. The Garrett clan of Waddy and Parker sharing the helm with Caroline crewing just seemed to edge us out downwind to take 4 second places on the day. The racing was close and we didn’t make any major mistakes, we just couldn’t hang with the other two boats.
By the last race we had pretty much locked in 3rd place so I handed the tiller to Tommy who got to skipper his first race in a double-handed boat.
We started the July 4 weekend with some J/70 racing at Fishing Bay Yacht Club. We had 6 boats out in 12-16 knots of wind for a few races. I was on Nostalgia with Blake Kimbrough, Julia Page and Tommy Roper.
This photo was right after we finally got a correct spinnaker set. It only took us 4 laps to get it right. On the plus side we got a lot better at outside gybes.
Such a great time to play some soccer at the end of the day. Literally put blood, sweat and tears into this… after I got hit with a soccer ball while filming and the camera cut my forehead, and tears when I missed the sudden death penalty kick putting my team out of the final. Was a fun video to make and there’s never been a better time for me to start a rap career on the side.
I spent most of today at Fishing Bay Yacht Club putting the new boat together. After 4 hours and 3 trips to West Marine and I had it all tricked out like I wanted and ready to sail.
What really surprised me when I was sailing was how much stiffer the mast seemed. I haven’t sailed many boats and am pretty used to the feel of the old boat. I’m guessing after 17 years the old mast has been flexed so many times it’s lost a bit of stiffness. Couple the stiffer mast with control lines that are just a little thinner than I’m used to and I really felt like a wimp trying to crank everything in. I’m sure it’ll loosen up a bit as I get used to it. The other difference was the all Holt-Allen fittings which were just a little different than the Harken ones I’m used to. I’m not sure yet which I prefer, but I’m sure I’ll be able to tell in time.
Saturday brought beautiful weather for Fishing Bay Yacht Club’sOne Design Invitational Regatta. Sailing were Front Runners and San Juan 21s with another boat sailing Portsmouth handicap. I sailed a Front Runner and had Alan Williamson crewing with me on his first time sailing.
The wind started out light – which was perfect for us as we found our way around the boat and learned the routines of the maneuvers to get the sails up and down as we went around the course. Luckily the other boats had some new crew too so we all were getting up to speed at the same time. As a result the racing was close throughout.
We did 5 races with winds building from 5-11 and staying pretty consistently out of the east. Our race course as a windward-leeward 1/4 mi legs set just west of the end of Stove Point.
In the first 3 races we were up and down putting up a 3-1-3. I won the boat a couple times at the start, but never seemed to be able to live there with the other boats below us out-pointing us, so we had to tack out and make more tacks making it harder to catch up. In the races we did well in, I was closer to the pin and was able to foot and go fast and do less tacks. We also made sure to setup on the laylines early to give ourselves plenty of time to prepare for the roundings.
Going into the last race we were tied for 1st and it was a longer 3-lap race. We were close to Matt Lambert all the way around the course and more than once he tried to stick it to us and almost succeeded. But we were able to get through the turns quickly and use the favored positions to stay just ahead and win the race putting us in 1st overall and 2 points ahead of 2nd.
It was a lot of fun having Alan aboard and getting to show him sailing and racing and the level of athleticism and effort needed to do it well. He was a quick study and really helped get us around the course fast.
Thanks to Parker Garrett and the race committee for running the races today! We could have asked for a better day all the way around. And thanks Matt Braun for loaning me the boat to sail.
I recently got a new Fujifilm FinePix XP200 Waterproof Digital Camera and just gave it to my friends while we were racing. This is what they took and I’m pretty impressed with the camera and how it came out.
This evening I ran some races for a couple of J/70’s out practicing at Fishing Bay Yacht Club. What a beautiful night and a great way to start the weekend!
This weekend is Southern Bay Race Week in Hampton VA and today I was helping Sam Mitchener deliver Double Eagle to Hampton for us to race on. We had a cool overcast day with winds out of the Northeast ranging from 10-16. The 43nm trip in lumpy conditions was otherwise uneventful and we made it in just over 7 hours motoring the entire way. Tomorrow the rest of the crew joins us for 3 days of racing and hopefully some warmer weather. I’m looking forward to my first time at Southern Bay Race Week!
Friday
Southern Bay Race Week started with triangle courses in the James River just outside the Hampton harbor. We had some good starts and stayed in the fleet and had a good day putting up 4-5-4 in 3 races and were sitting in 4 at the end of the day.
Saturday
Today was distance race day at Southern Bay Race Week. It over an hour of pounding into waves under motor to reach the starting area just North up the bay from the mouth of the James River.
The first leg was a beat out and up into the bay. We picked a pretty good layline from 5 miles out and rounded with the leaders. Downwind some of the longer boats with bigger downwind sails were able to grind past us and we had to settle for a 7th.
After racing I wore my best pirate costume and spent a couple hours walking through the Blackbeard Festival going on in Hampton this weekend. Some of the costumes were pretty amazing and they kept firing cannons all afternoon.
Sunday
The 3rd and final day of Southen Bay Race Week was 3 windward-leeward courses sailed to the south off of Ocean View. We had warmer conditions than past days and wind that hovered around 14 in the first race and went down to 8-10 by the last race.
Our first race didn’t start well- we fouled a boat before the start and after doing circles we were almost a minute late at the start. Upwind in the first part of the beat we made some good moves and caught back up with the fleet. The rest of the race went well and we were able to pull off a 5th.
The 2nd race of the day was a bit tougher on us and we had to settle for an 8th. In the final race of the day we had a great start, and got around the course, but couldn’t quite hang with the bigger boats that pulled away and put a few places between us.
In the end Sea Star and Voodoo 2 got just enough points on us in the final races to tie for 4th place, leaving us just one point behind in 6th. We came close and had a good race and definitely a fun time. Thanks Sam Mitchener for having me along. It was great sailing with you, Mark, Mayo, Bonnie, Melissa, Chris, Mike, Marie, & Jerry.
Saturday was the final day for the offshore spring series at Fishing Bay Yacht Club. With winds out of the north west at 8-10 it was expected to go west and die off. We didn’t end up with that – it built and went east!
On Wavelength we were a little late at the start of the first race, but we tacked out and were able to get some clear air. We were sailing a 3-lap .75 mile course. Not exactly our favorite to be doing so many turns. Luckily we sailing 10-up and had plenty of help to pack the chute just in time to need it for another downwind.
This being the 5 race day for us this year – we really had some of the crew-work down well. We were executing maneuvers with less notice and doing them faster with less loss of speed during them. And even when we did make some mistakes like dropping the sheet-guy over the bow on the take down and catching it around the keel – we recognized it and recovered immediately with little fuss.
In the 2nd race we had a great start and for the first lap we actually held our own with the faster Double Eagle and Voodoo 2. Eventually they stretched their legs and started pulling away from us.
In both races we were 3rd over the line and 2-3 minutes out of 2nd on corrected time. We knew we just need to finished today’s races to finish 2nd overall in the spring series. Another successful day to conclude a successful series!
It was another beautiful day for racing at Fishing Bay Yacht Club for the 3rd day of the Offshore Spring Series. I was again on Wavelength for the 3 races on a mostly sunny day with temps in the high 70’s and wind that varied from 19-8.
The first race had the most wind and we started out with the No2 and a reef in the main. We did well at the start by staying away from the faster boats that outpoint us and we were able to make progress upwind albeit a little under powered. On a tack halfway up the beet we shook the reef out. The rest of the way around the course went well, but we couldn’t catch the 3 boats ahead of us and settled for a 4th.
In the 2nd race we lined up next to Voodoo 2 and had to take their bad air off the starting line for a while until we could clear the B boats and tack out. We kept up on the upwind leg, but it was the downwind legs where we shined and made up time on each leg. By the 2nd upwind leg the wind had dipped even more and we put up the #1. We barely missed 2nd place by 15 seconds.
The 3rd race didn’t start so well for us. We were over early and had to park it and let the fleet sail by so we could turn around and restart. Starting so far behind everyone made us get creative on the first beat and we banged the right corner (photo above) while most of the rest of the fleet went left which had been working all day. Sure enough the wind went right and we caught right back up to the fleet. Unfortunately, we would get stuck with the bottom 2 boats trying to cover each other for a position and ended up as collateral damage never being able to break free and chase the boats ahead of us and we settled for 4th.
We’re currently in 2nd place for the series and we got one more race day left next Saturday. With a good result we should be able to hang onto 2nd.
Following racing a storm rolled through throwing a 420 into one of the RIBs onshore and bashing Mad Hatter at the dock. I’ve seen some storms roll through and I’ve been at the club for some pretty serious tropical and nor’easters, but I’ve never seen a storm come up so quickly and with such intensity. Thankfully everyone was ashore and safe.
After yesterday’s Opening Day Race, Fishing Bay Yacht Club started the offshore spring series on Sunday with some buoy racing. We only had about half of the crew we had yesterday and had several new folks in new positions. Overall we held our own going 3-2-3 on the day. Results.
