Reeling them in one by one...
A year afloat: to the Caribbean and back
Sam and Alex Fortescue
Wed 30 Mar 2011 13:42
|
Paul, the champion Hobie Cat sailor, gave us a
briefing the night before. For inexperienced racers, it was all quite technical:
when to tack, and how best to overtake other boats; when you have priority and
when you have to give way. Of course, when it came to it, and the starting
pistol was fired, we were still about a minute from the line. We crossed it
about 300 metres behind the leaders in the bareboat class. However, being one of
the largest beasts in the race, our 53-foot Jeanneau began reeling in the
smaller fry. A couple of tacks in, we'd caught up a fair amount of ground, but
the racers, who started ten minutes after us, were already beginning to breath
down our necks...
In the end, the most relevant briefing was along
the lines of 'everyone can have a go if they want to'. We had some good tacking
battles with other yachts; I say 'good' - because we were bigger than most of
the other competitors, it would have been scandalous if we hadn't reeled them in
one by one. still, hugely satisfying to be leave boats trailing in our wake. Me
and Alexis were manning one of the genoa sheet winches; Alex and Beatriz the
other. A rotating team took care of the mainsheet traveller, to get the optimum
angle on the wind. And between tacks, we all sat on the windward rail of the
boat, with our legs dangling over the side. Of course, today, the crew resembles
nothing more than a team of boiled lobsters, and is busy seeking the
shade.
The course took us east from Nanny Cay on tortola,
round a headland into the wind, heading for Gorda Sound - a large area of sea
protected by numerous little islets and reefs. We were outmanoeuvred on the
finish line by a couple of American boats and, when the results were posted
later, we saw we'd come in 11th. Out of 15. As we all agreed later over a couple
of Caribs, it's a solid base to work from for the return, downwind leg on
Thursday.
In the meantime, we're moored up off the Bitter End
Yacht Club, which provides a luxurious backdrop to the Sound. We went ashore for
drinks and an excellent buffet supper after the race...
   |