Wind, wind, where are thou? Wherefore art thou dying so?
Gorgeous day, nice strong wind in slots near Hamilton before the start, bit this wind lacked conviction, and as the sun lowered it died down. Â The result? Â The race committee set a course that was just too long. Â We were almost within hailing distance when we heard two guns: Â one was for the first boat to cross the line in a fleet that started 15 minutes before us. Â The other was the curfew notification. Â It was getting dark, but we finished the race anyway, the mark barely visible.
Lots of highlights tonight, though, despite the dying wind, especially the second time we were rounding #5.  All the boats were in slow motion as we crossed paths with our rivals on Sandpiper and then Battlewagon. Up at the mark, another boat had missed the mark and was starting to crawl downwind to ready for another attempt.  Which way do we go? drop below them and them try to climb up around the mark?  hope they make some progress so we can slip between them and the mark.  In slow motion a small hole appeared between them and the mark, and we aimed for it.  It was just wide enough for us when we got there!
And then there was the timpani. Â Yes, we brought musical instruments on board this evening, including Lazy Sheet’s set of timpani, which he used to great affect to highlight the mounting tension as we began to gain on Battlewagon in the home stretch of the race. Â Despite the fantastic sound track, there was no happy ending in store for this race.
Wait!  Yes there was!  On such a warm night with an early sunset, we stayed afloat until well after dark, ghosting along at very light boat speed, enjoying our snack and soaking up the tranquility of a becalmed bay basking in the glow of the Hamilton city lights.  A fantastic  way to cap off the season for the Tuesday crew.  Thanks for a great summer, guys!