It seems hard to believe that I am sitting here writing about the final race of the year while it seems only a few days ago we were putting the 2010 Race Calendar together for Mille Onde and wondering if we could find enough crew to be able to campaign the boat. All in all it has been a great year and Risa and I want to take this opportunity to thank all that raced with us.
As a befitting end to the season, we raced in the eighth race in the Carl Anderson Memorial Series hosted by Shoreline Yacht Club. In a word the wind was howling yesterday at least by Long Beach standards. Many thanks to the crew of David Harper, Larry Palmer, Warren Wolfe and of course my darling co-captain Risa K. Scott. We were first to cross the finish line and also took first on corrected time.
The wind was blowing about 10-15 knots (as predicted) as we were prepping Mille to leave the dock. We had both the number 2 and the number 3 jibs on deck so we could choose one for the start and also be ready to switch them if necessary. As we headed out to go through some race prep, the wind was picking up so we opted for the #3 for the start which for once proved to be a good decision. We got a good start hitting the line with King's Gambit and Prankster almost in a line of three boats. On the first upwind leg we decided to put the first reef in the main which was again a good decision (wow- two in a row) as it balanced the helm and made David Harper's work a bit easier. We were able to point a bit higher on the first leg and held our own against the other two boats and rounded the first mark in third place but within striking distance.
The second leg was downwind and was for the most part uneventful. All of these boats are designed to carry a spinnaker downwind and since none of us had opted to fly a chute, the downwind legs are usually "beer time". We shook the reef out of the main and headed for the second mark in a line with the competing two boats. Both rounded ahead of us but again we were all three in a competitive position.
On the next upwind leg things changed quite a bit. We had a good rounding and opted to tack immediately to head out to the breakwater partially to get away from the Laser regatta that was going on and also because we thought the wind would be better. We put the first reef back in the main and again were happy with the result. After a couple of tacks to dodge the vacant bait barges near the Alamitos Bay end of the harbor, we had moved ahead of the two competing boats. We were able to point higher and faster than both of them. Also, it is nice to call a tack perfectly so we were able to make the mark without pinching and yet not covering any additional distance. We rounded the third mark in first with a bit of breathing room.
The fourth leg was another downwind leg in which we shook out the reef (nice to actually get to use reefing to our advantage) and we were able to hold off the other two boats and round in first place.
A shorter upwind leg had us holding our position (after reefing the main a third time). We called the tack just right to slide between an anchored freighter and Island Freeman, which was our fifth mark. We had a short reach to the final mark and our turn for the finish line.
As is often the case with the finish in this series, when you round the final mark it looks like you will be able to make one close-hauled beat to the finish only to have the wind shift or to get headed as you near the finish. We tacked early to avoid the "Wind hole" behind Island Grissam and for the last time called the tack perfectly to make the finish without sailing a lot of extra distance.
The last time we raced with a reed in the main was the first race of the year with Shoreline Yacht Club, the Avalon and Return race. Interesting to start and finish the year with a reef in the main and not use it any other time.
All in all it has been an interesting year - filled with some success (we did win some races this year), some failures (we did have some DNF's for the year), some equipment issues (replacement of both the main and the #1 jib) but most of all it has been fun and we have made some great new friends along the way! 2011 is now in the planning process and we are looking forward to a second year of making the boat go fast, but most of all - Having Fun!
Happy Holidays to all - see you on the water
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