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.
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.
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!
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.
Today turned out to be an absolutely beautiful day for racing. With 22 boats in 4 classes we had great racing aboard Wavelength in the 5-boat PHRF-A fleet in the 2nd of the Spring Series at Fishing Bay Yacht Club.
The wind started around 16-19 and was in the lower end of that range for the first race with mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the 60’s. The wind started from the North East and by the end of the day had gone a few degrees further east. The first race was a single windward-leward 1.25nm. We had a great start and just worked our way up the left side. With the general trend of the wind going right – there were still nice lifts on the left and more importantly some relief from the currant. We did well to stay with the fleet, be efficient around the course and not make any mistakes. Being the slowest boat in the fleet handicap-wise we were 2nd at the finish and less than a minute behind Double Eagle on corrected time and took 2nd place.
The second race was 2 laps and went similarly to the first race. We had good speed, went the right way and didn’t make any mistakes. Again we were the 2nd A boat over the line and corrected to 2nd.
For the 3rd race, another 2 lap race, we started well, rounded the top mark in 3rd and had good speed downwind. We rounded right behind Nanuq and while everyone else went back to the left that had worked so well all day, we ended up going right. That paid off when we got a 20-degree righty and found ourselves on the layline and rounding a short distance behind Double Eagle. Our downwind went well and we held on to correct out 15 seconds ahead of Double Eagle winning the last race of the day and solidifying 2nd place overall.
We couldn’t have asked for better weather and it is so great to out racing again this spring!
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.
What a beautiful weekend to start the sailing season at Fishing Bay Yacht Club. The first race of the season was a middle distance race of 12.8 nm from the mouth of the Piankatank out to the entrance to the Rappahannock River and back. I was sailing on Wavelength, a C&C37, with Rob Whittet and Steve Utley. We were among the 20+ other boats gathered in the 8-10 knot northerly breeze and mostly sunny skies.
We had a great start in the 5-boat PHRF-A fleet that consisted of a J/109 Double Eagle, J/105s Corryvreckan and Shamrock, and modified Quest 30 Chilcoot. The first leg was a short upwind leg inside the mouth of the Piankatank. We then sailed close-hauled out to the entrance to the Rappahannock followed by a spinnaker run down to the entrance of the Piankatank. Up until this point we were hanging with everyone except Double Eagle who was starting to get away from us. At the turning mark the J/70s and the C and non-spin fleets were also using this as a turning mark.
Most of the fleet who had asymmetrical spinnakers went low on their way back to the finish up the Piankatank. They weren’t laying the mark, but making really good VMG. With a symmetrical spinnaker, we elected to take the high route with the #1 up. About halfway back we could see Double Eagle get significantly headed and then drop the spinnaker. They had to beat back to the mark, while we just cracked off and came back down to the rumb line nice and fast and closed the gap. We didn’t beat them over the line, but had enough to make up the difference and won the race on corrected time. What a great way to start the season.
This season will be bittersweet for Wavelength and crew – this will likely be the last spring series for the boat.
Following racing the club held their blessing of the fleet and opening day party. The food was great – as was the fun!
Saturday was the final day of racing for the offshore boats at Fishing Bay Yacht Club followed by an oyster roast. The race was a pursuit style race where the slower boats start first and the times are calculated so everyone should finish about the same time. I was aboard Wavelength and for once it was great having boats of all sizes all around us for most of the race. We ended up finishing 9th in the 17-boat fleet while sailing in winds that started around 8 knots and built to as much as 23 knots during the 1 1/2 hour race. On top of that we were short-handed with only 6 on board and flew the spinnaker.
This year for the Smith Point Race at Fishing Bay Yacht Club I sailed on an Olson 911S called Mad Hatter owned by Bob and Lisa Fleck. We sailed in the PHRF-B fleet with close competition form a Tarten 40 and a Tarten 10. The Smith Point Race is a 57nm race starting in the mouth of the Piankatank River heading east across the Chesapeake Bay then North to the the Smith Point Light house at the entrance of the Potomac River and then back to the Piankatank leaving Stingray Point to starboard.
We started out at 2pm with the race expected to take about 10-12 hours. The forecast was for an east wind 12-18 all afternoon/evening with an outgoing tide starting shortly after the start.
On the leg across the bay we were close reaching and we stayed above everyone else in the fleet. When the wind went a little south, this helped give us leverage to round in second – behind only Chilcoot from the A-fleet. On the reach up the bay we were quickly run down by the J-105 Corryvreckan. The short choppy and confused waves made the going a little tough. Towards the end of the leg to Smith point we had the chute up reaching and all of the bouncing around kept collapsing the chute. We arrived at Smith Point just at sun down.
The way back in the dark was almost upwind and the wind slowly eased from 16 to about 12. Halfway back I helmed and we did a sail change up to the No 1. When we got to the Piankatank we turned west, put the chute up and finished the race as the 3rd boat over the line and 1st overall on corrected time by 10 minutes. Results.
