
Saturday, 1 February 2025
As I Saw It (and remembered it!)
It was nice to get back out racing after the Christmas break.
We had 5 boats hit the water this week. It was great to see Knot Easy there. With a forecast of 16-18 kts, Jason decided not to push his return from injury so Al stepped up to ensure they made the first race of the year. On Rapscallion, one Miller was swapped out for another as Ian was doing the surf to city race so Scotty admirably filled in in the middle while on The Saint, Scottie’s partner in crime Bradly, provide the 3rd in the absence of Fiona and Sophie. Rounding out the fleet was Waterloo Too with Patto back from injury and Athena.
Conditions were softer than expected with 14-15kts from the ESE for the first race. With no real advantage to either side of the course and negligible shifts, the first beat was very close with nothing between the boats at the top. Knot Easy snuck around just ahead of Waterloo Too and Rapscallion. Nipping on their heals were The Saint and Athena. It was 3 abreast on the run with Rapscallion rounding ahead of Waterloo Too and Knot Easy. With the beat not providing many passing lanes a loose cover on those right behind allowed them to hold the lead for the beat. At the top they had a handy 8-10 length lead or so over Waterloo Too who rounded a similar distance ahead of The Saint who had snuck past Knot Easy. The run didn’t offer up any passing opportunities so those places remained the same at the finish.
Between races Knot Easy broke their vang so that put paid to their second race and gave them a head start on the beers back at the hard stand.
Race 2 saw a small increase in pressure but flatter water as the ebbing tide started running. The first beat was tight with Rapscallion prevailing by the top with Waterloo Too just 2 lengths behind. A few lengths further back were The Saint and Athena. By the bottom Waterloo Too had forced the Rappers to gybe off to clear their air and take the starboard mark while Waterloo Too rounded the port one at the same time. It was nip and tuck between these two as they battled it up the final beat. Waterloo Too cemented the lead in the final port starboard cross just before the top after a big and late dip from Rapscallion during which there were a few heart palpitations as they nearly collected Waterloo’s backstay. The Saint had found an extra bit of pressure on the beat to close up to within ½ dozen lengths.
Rounding the final top mark Waterloo Too lead by 2 lengths from Rapscallion. The run was a cagey affair with Patto trying to protect the inside line for the reach from the final gate. Just before the bottom Rapscallion had one final roll of the dice crossing Waterloo’s transom on port and diving down the inside to just get control before the final harden up to the finish. A surprise 20kt squall hit the fleet just as the leaders rounded the mark to make for a few anxious moments as they worked to avoid broaching and bore away to get back down to the finish with Rapscallion holding on for their second bullet of the day. The Saint finished 3rd to grab the final podium spot.
Once again, it was a day of very close racing with nothing between the boats in boat speed.
Boat of the day goes to Rapscallion with Athena taking both races in the Season Championship point score.
See you all next week.
(The author accepts no responsibilities for any inaccuracies, distortions of the truth or outright lies.)
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