Sailing Blog
Day 3 CRW – Race…Reset, Race »
April 17, 2011
After the RC cancelled racing on Saturday for what turned out to be 25-40 kt winds, the forecast for the final day of racing at Charleston Race Week 2011 was for a 10-13 kt NWesterly breeze that would be dying throughout the day and eventually giving way to a slow filling seabreeze from the SE. Our hope on M&M Racing was to get off 3 races in ideal conditions, but it did not take long for a quick reminder that we were in Charleston Harbor and that ideal racing conditions are about as probable as a sundress on a rainy day.
The first race of the day started after a brief postponement to adjust for a right phasing breeze that was teetering anywhere from 6 to 12 kts. During our pre-race sail, the conversation onboard involved observations about the dying breeze and setting up accordingly by taking tension off our diamond shrouds and preparing to keep our boat moving fast through the water by sailing fatter angles. Getting current relief on the left side was the main objective, and any boat caught right of the visible current line bisecting the course was like a married couple slow dancing to “Total Eclipse of the Heart”…it just didn’t work. A few boats were lucky enough to get left and had breeze to round the whether mark, but after the first 4 boats, the breeze dropped and the remainder of the fleet found it impossible to get around.
On M&M we did not give the current enough respect, and instead decided to play shifts and attempted to stay in the velocity which landed us squarely in the back of the pack. After a brief meltdown on my part, we were able to catch back the middle group of boats that were stuck at the windward mark like salmon swimming upstream. Just when we returned to a decent positions, the RC made the decision to abandon the race and our hour of running on a hamster wheel was over. After 2 hours waiting for breeze and fighting off “no see-ums” we hedged towards the marina assuming the regatta was going to finish with no racing on days 2 and 3.
The RC used the allotted time limit of 2 pm to allow the seabreeze to fill, and shortly after 1pm, the flag on Ft. Sumter started to show a nice easterly breeze and it wasnt long before we had decent racing conditions across the harbor. Around 130 out the starting signal sounded and our shot to crack the top 5 was still possible. Throughout the weekend, I had guessed several times at what the current was doing in conjunction with the wind and was batting below the Mendoza line for all of the races thus far, so instead of relying on my own intuition, I started looking at the local Charleston Melges 24 teams that started before us to get some sort of idea what side would pay up the first beat. In the final race, we focused on local David O’Reilly and his team which started at the boat, and b-lined it to the right side. While my gut said to start at the pin and go left to take advantage of the waning ebb tide, we decided to follow the locals and go with what worked. We managed a clean start at the boat, tacked right, and rounded the first top mark in 3rd, only behind 2 other boats that were able to get more right than we were.
In typical Charleston fashion, whatever worked on the first beat is not guaranteed to work on the next, so as we worked our way to the right side on the ensuing upwind, 2 boats from the left hooked into some nice pressure putting us in 6th place headed downwind towards the finish. The confidence I regained early in the race was gone and decisions were now being based on doing the exact opposite of what we thought would be correct. Again, my thought was gybing out early would be better for current and wind, but we decided to extend on starboard gybe as far as possible, and sure enough we were able to find nice pressure and what seemed to be favorable current to pick off 2 boats and take a 4th in the final race. This was good enough for 5th overall which was outside of our goal going into the weekend, but moving into the top 5 was a satisfying feeling after a hard fought event.
Michael Kiss was very tough all weekend and with the short track racing, carnage and tight quarters that we experienced, the team on Bacio clearly has an edge when it comes to just plain sailing their boat well. On the Melges 24 course, a woman is in the headlines as Kristen Lane and her team on Brickhouse 812 took the win in a highly competitive 47 boat fleet. This is a huge win for Kristen and her team as they have been at it for a few years, been close to several wins and it is great to see her final seal the deal. Congrats. Overall results here.
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