Winter 6 Pac Wrapup

We raced this past Saturday in the sixth and final race of the Winter 6 Pac series hosted by Pacific Sailing. Thanks to our crew of Liz Roberts, David Harper, Larry and Bobbi Palmer and my darling co-captain Risa K Scott. It was an extremely close race with Mille taking second by a mere 9 seconds on corrected time. Congratulations to the team of Dave and Dan on winning another race and on winning the overall series. Additional congratulations to Jim Merk on taking second place overall and winning an additional award as the "Most Improved Sailor" given by Club Manager Dave Lyon. Way to go Jim - drinks on you next week?

Saturday morning saw the winds howling out of the east, not quite a Santa Ana Wind but close. As is usually the case, the winds made a mess of everyone's yard and then dropped to almost nothing for the start of the race. At the start the winds were coming almost out of the south at a measly 3-5 knots. The first leg was close hauled to the #2 Buoy (commonly referred to as the Seal Buoy as it is always home to several) with Mille rounding in second spot behind Sea Roy captained by Jack Lusby.

The second leg was a downwind run towards Island White which is not as exciting as being close hauled but we gained on Sea Roy as the wind started to come around to a bit more out of the west and build some to about 8-10 knots. We passed Sea Roy and rounded Island White (our second mark) in first place.

The third leg was a upwind leg back to the #2 Buoy which involved making a decision to either stay out in the middle of the harbor or to round Island Freeman, although it was not an official mark on the course. We chose to stay out in the middle of the harbor to stay away from the wind shadow of the island and the possible wind shadows of the various freighter and tankers that are parked near the breakwater. We had good wind and called the tacks right on the money as we didn't overstand the mark nor have to throw in any extra tacks. Sea Roy passed us which was not a surprise as it is a 46 foot boat and should pass us. Atsa Ma Boat also passed us and the drag race was on for the finish.

We followed both boats on the final beam reach to the finish. Mille was right on the stern of Atsa Ma Boat (captained but Dave and Dan) at the finish but couldn't squeeze by for the win - so close and yet so far.

Great series of races - some good calls, some missed calls but most of all good crew and good fun!

Next race - Saturday, April 3rd, Aprils Fools Race hosted by Shoreline Yacht Club.