Judy, Joey & I arrived in good time for the Green Island Regatta & Race this year. Dropped the boat off at PCYC Friday evening and headed for the campground.
The forecast for Saturday was intimidating (at least to me) 10 to 20 knots building to 30 knots.
Conditions are better than expected. It’s only blowing about 10 knots, out of the north east, and only 2 to 3 foot waves.
I head for the course determined to be on time. I have missed starts the last two years helping friends get their boats ready and get off the beach. Not this year. Sorry Bob, I can’t program your GPS for you this morning.
I check out the course and it is trapeze weather on the 4.3 but still looking for a little more power. The lighter crews (like every single other 4.3 sailor on the course) should have a slight advantage in the medium breeze and medium big chop.
I get a decent start at the committee end but don’t have the speed Mike Fahle does. I am pointing a little higher but not going as fast. I experiment with footing off but that doesn’t help either, I just crash the waves harder. So I keep a high line and keep headed out to the left side of the course on starboard tack. I figure to tack as soon as the first boat ahead and to leeward tacks so as to keep a clear air lane all the way out to the starboard layline.
We’re quickly getting pretty far to the left edge of the course. I’m behind and to windward of the fleet and feel like I’m at the port tack layline but the rest of the fleet is still headed out to the left on starboard…
I tack and head for the mark, I’m overstood just a little and footing in. Boats that were out in front of me look back, see me headed for the mark and begin to tack. Everyone has overstood a lot and I’m going to be first to the mark.
No I’m not. Steve and Kristin Attard on their Hobie 18 pass me on the way to the mark. They tack at the mark with me right behind them. We head down. I pop my chute and I’m off. Everybody else behind stays there. I follow the Attards around the course for a 2nd boat for boat finish correcting to a 1st.
Conditions are building. I get a good start but Mike Fahle blows over me with better speed. I jump out on the wire and 2 block the main. Now the weight on the wire and mast-rake starts to pay. I am pointing higher and going faster than all of the other 4.3s. I slowly roll Mike and then tack to port. I stand to the starboard layline and tack again. The only boat in front of me is the Hobie 18 of Steve and Kristin, significantly ahead, and coming in to “A” on port. They tack to starboard and blow the tack, right at the mark. I pinch up, roll over them, and raise the chute heading for C. Fahle rounds the mark and leaves the chute in the bag.
George Webb figures this is his chance to catch Mike so he pops his chute and bears down on Mike. Some number of capsizes later George regrets this decision.
I seem to have a boat speed edge so I back off the gas. My last leg to finish I take it easy, I stay on the hull, I finish a couple of minutes behind Steve & Kristin, 3rd boat for boat, right behind Casey & Brian on their Hobie 18. (Later on I find out I should have pushed it a little harder, the Attards corrected out 4 seconds ahead of me)
Now it’s really blowing. I get a good start and have a solid boatspeed advantage on everybody except Attard. I’m hanging close enough to him that I should be able to cover the handicap. Rounding the windward mark I decide to leave the spinnaker in the bag this time. So does everybody else. I sail fast but take all the corners, all the transitions, very conservatively. I finish 2nd boat for boat behind Steve & Kristin. I park out to the right of the course and wait for the other finishers. Mike Fahle is 3rd. Casey & Brian are 4th. The other 4 boats haven’t finished and are heading for the beach.
The wind is continuing to build. I decide that it’s getting to be a bit much so I head for the committee boat to tell them I am going in. As I approach they start waving me to the beach. We are all going in. It’s a smart decision. I monitored the weather for the rest of the afternoon from the PCYC bar. It built to 35 to 40 knots by later that afternoon.