Despite the shifty and hot conditions, we had a wonderful start to Canada Day Weekend with the Beyond the Bridge Regatta in our home waters. Their were eight boats in our fleet with a huge range of handicaps from Nauti-buoy to Sabotage.
Foredeck & Headsail: David
Pit: Lazy Sheet
Mainsail: Dinghy
Helm: StarPort
Race one: Skirting the hole
Course: 14S-1-9-14F
Good start at boat end, pushing a clump of boats up, Top Gun and Battlewagon over early. Spotted wind toward Burlington, tacked into it and back again to reach the mark just behind Sabotage. Good hoist, sailed hot toward evident wind at Hamilton shore. When time to jibe back, noticed that the center was a hole. Rivals sailed into the hole. We soaked deeper in the edge of the better breeze until well into it and then took a hot angle to the leeward mark. Well ahead of everyone (except sabotage). Douse, tack, Top Gun 200m to leeward. Holding our line, though a bit slower than them. Waited for them to tack. Covered instantly. Fetched the boat and finished, just as the wind was dying. Top Gun needed four more tacks and many minutes to finish. Battlewagon well astern of them.
Yessiree, this was the second race in a row when we beat Top Gun!
Race two: Sabotage Sandwich
Course: 6S-8-5-6F
Thought I was early, but crew encouraged me to push on for the line. They were right and we had a good start near the boat end in clear air. Course was a near fetch from that position and we got the lift we needed. Approaching the leeward mark, the wind shut down with a few boat-lengths to go. We had the inside lane and drifted into an overlap with Sabotage. Pandora was just astern of them and we both drifted to make a Sabotage Sandwich. Thanks to momentum and our inside lane we were first to round the windward mark!
Sabotage ahead
Catching up: Pandora outside
Overtaking: Pandora outside
Sabotage Sandwich
Just before the mark
Hoist was perfect…except… the wind had shifted nearly 180 degrees. We had to douse in a haste while sailing toward shore (the wrong way) in all the traffic that had stacked up behind us when the wind quit. Spinaker was blowing out the back as we doused and got caught on the end of the boom! Damage averted with quick reactions.
OK. Look around. Where’s the wind? Everyone had tacked away toward Hamilton, but we discovered the wind was coming from the NE: a fetch to the mark. We sailed high in a freshening breeze and sawed off a huge corner to reach the next mark just behind Sabotage and well ahead of everyone else. Perfect. We rounded but didn’t dare try to hoist again — the kite was in a proper pretzel down below. It was a reach to the finish and we were making good headway, but could hear the sound of Top Gun and Perry Eh gaining from astern. We said aloud that we needed the wind to pick up and shift forward. Lo, and behold it did! We accelerated while the boats behind broached from their attempts to sail too hot in the growing breeze.
Yessiree Bobbo, this was the THIRD race in a row when we beat Top Gun!
FINAL RESULT: Third place for PERSPECTIVE, behind The Artful Dodger (Kirby 25), and Sabotage.
And afterwards we all enjoyed a great meal and lively band at the regatta dinner party. Nearly the whole crew turned out with their better halfs and we toasted a great day on the water and a summer full of memories.
I love the photographic evidence!!