Saturday, 14 December 2024

As I Saw It (and remembered it!)

The last racing day of the year saw 6 boats hit the water. On Waterloo Too, with Patto out injured Commodore John took the helm while Patto Jnr filled in for Will who had cracked a rib in a fall on the boat last week, while over on The Saint, Bradley joined Marty, Fiona and Sophie.

The day looked promising until the cricket cancelling torrential rain filled in during our pre-race lunch period. The RC wisely postponed the start until the rain band cleared and we hit the water just 30 minutes behind schedule. Gusting to 18kts during the rain it eased on the way out and settled to 10-12 Nor’easter before the start.

Race one saw most of the fleet fighting for the boat end while Rapscallion started at full pace to leeward of the fleet. The first beat was tight with positions changing depending on being in phase with the shifts and who had to dip who. Waterloo Too managed to get their nose in front at the top and led by 3-4 lengths from Rapscallion who rounded with Bait and Switch on their transom just a length ahead of The Project. Right behind was The Saint and Athena.

Waterloo Too, Rapscallion and The Saint all put in an early gybe at the top and this paid dividends with these 3 extending on the rest of the fleet on the run. Bait and Switch had various kite issues which saw them slip to the back of the fleet.

On the second beat it was a case of protecting the right. Waterloo Too slapped a loose cover on Rapscallion while they did the same to The Saint. At the top Waterloo Too lead by 6-7 lengths from Rapscallion who had a slighter larger gap on the Saint. The Project further back was comfortably ahead of Athena by this stage.

Again, the early gybe at the top was the way to go with the first 3 making this call. Rapscallion slowly extended on The Saint and pulled alongside Waterloo Too but they held the inside line at the final gate mark and crossed the line 5 seconds ahead. The Saint claimed the final podium spot with The Project 4^th.

Race 2 saw an easing breeze and a 20 degree shift to the right. Again, there was a fight for the boat end.  After one skipper was heard to say “it won’t go any more right than this” the breeze continued to trend right after the start and slowly the fleet peeled off onto port as a lane opened up for each boat.  The last to tack right was Rapscallion who worked the shifts and crossed the fleet to lead Waterloo by 2 lengths at the top. They had a comfortable gap on The Saint. Further back were Athena, The Project and Bait and Switch. The top 3 again put in the early gybe and in the fading pressure worked their way down the left hand side of the course. Shortly before the bottom the RC called the bottom gate as the finish much to the relief of the fleet who didn’t relish trying to get up and back before daylight faded.

Rapscallion held off Waterloo Too to take the gun comfortably while The Saint who were further south decided that they were closer to the leads than the finish line pulled the pin on their race as the boats behind were in different pressure sailing direct to the finish line. Athena who had a handy lead over The Project at the top had a battle on the run to hold them off crossing the line in third just 1 second ahead of The Project.

As the fleet finished and headed home the breeze shifted further to the south west meaning a beat home crossing paths with the Finns and lasers who were tight reaching to their bottom mark. The rain had held off for most of the afternoon and we ended up with some great and close racing and all back in time for Splice the Mainbrace.

Boat of the day honours shared between Waterloo Too and Rapscallion.

See you all in the New Year!

(The author accepts no responsibilities for any inaccuracies, distortions of the truth or outright lies.)