ARC Start - November 21st
Rapier 550 on tour
Mark Jarvis
Wed 24 Nov 2021 11:17
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28 06.17N 016 24.1W
Here we are, the preparation is all done, the tanks are
full and the latest weather information has been assessed and conclusions drawn,
it's time to go!
The day is bright and sunny, like most of the days since
we arrived. We left the dock at 11am
and motored out through the entrance with what seemed like all the other
boats in the marina to get ready for the start at 12:30, I was glad of the
outside engine remote control to allow me to negotiate through the amassed
boats..
Unusually, its an upwind start today with the wind
blowing at between 6 and 10 knots from the South. Our start is first and so we
take a long beat away from the lone and then turn back with 30 minutes to go.
The plan is not to be tussling for position at the start line but to be away
soon after the first few depart. The plan works and we are away about 10th in
our group. It's all upwind and so with jib and full main set the boat is making
great upwind performance. We are sailing a little slower than some
but higher and so by the time we are an hour out there are only 3 or 4
in our class still ahead. We are off the airport now and the wind is
starting to drop so we try to sail out a bit further on one tack to clear
the last headland and maybe use the assymetric spinnaker - not the for the
last time, the wind drops just as we get it set and we realise almost everyone
else is already motoring.
We sail for a while longer trying to get some
performance in the right direction but finally we too choose to motor.
Not a bad day all-in-all, good to see how well our boat
goes upwind compared to the other multihulls in our group. Now we need to see
which wind model is the one we want to follow - only 2750 miles to
go!
Mark |
