The forecast warm sunny day was true to forecast and alas so was the breeze. Luckily for us there was enough breeze to finish the race in Rose Bay before it dropped away to nothing.
Little breeze on Sea Breeze
The start was a classic starboard reaching one with all the pin end boats reaching up to the start boat where there was not enough room for all the yachts who went in below close hauled. We were one of those reaching in late due to a small yacht in a later fleet occupying our starting area. By the time she motored away there were just enough seconds left to broad reach for the line and hope the fleet would bear away on the gun. We were lucky to find a spot up near the start boat that was wide enough for Passion so we could start on time.
It was five knots for most of the run and reach to the top mark with occasional holes of no breeze to negotiate. The genoa poled out to leeward worked well for the broad reach and the long extendable pole worked well for the square runs so we arrived at the top mark ahead of Loco and Rainbow. We renamed L’Eau Co as Loco for the afternoon and that name might stick for the rest of the season.
The tracks for the work back are impressive even allowing for the incoming tide carrying us into the fading breeze. The tracks show the big header we took off Steel Point before tacking into the progressive shift into Rose Bay. At this stage we were the meat in the Northshore 38 sandwich of Rainbow and L’Eau Co with the progression of the breeze helping Rainbow to windward and helping us over the leeward L’Eau Co. On this lift we overtook Star Ferry who deserved better having been well ahead of us on the run and for most of the work back.
Incoming tide and big shifts make impressive tracks
In Rose Bay we finished eleventh in a fleet of nineteen. We were fifteen minutes behind the equal fastest times Luce Change and Allegro and fifteen minutes ahead of our mark boat Viva so in every respect we were mid fleet. After the race I commented to Kevin that I was happy with mid fleet as the old Passion would have struggled to complete the course in such light conditions. So the race was a shorter distance than usual and a longer time than normal but a most enjoyable contest all the same.
After the race we towed The Biz back to RSYS in very calm conditions. The Biz is an etchell who sails off a similar handicap to Passion but on the day finished six minutes in front but only two places on handicap.