Today in ideal, for us, conditions we clawed our way out of the trenches and made a few yards into enemy territory. The upside of the more competitive position was a win on handicap by a few seconds.
The breeze for today’s RANSA Winter Wednesday race was a six to ten knot from the North East and the excitement started right at the beginning. We lined up in almost perfect position on the wind angle aiming off the transom of the start boat and crossed the line powered up and in clear air. Blue Chip started too high and had no where to go but stall and go behind our stern which put then in dirty air from the start.
The tactics for working the long starboard boards and short port ones to the top mark was to sail into the headers and do short tacks back. As I was keen to test our boat speed against Blue Chip I tried to stay between her and the windward mark. Marloo broke ranks and took a long port tack out where they picked up stronger lifting wind so they appeared to be well ahead. We were however able to point up into the lifting breeze while they had to bear away so we arrived at the same time but ahead of Blue Chip and Sorcerer.
On the reach back to Steele Point we sailed alongside Marloo all the way to the Rose Bay mark.
Blue Chip went wider around Steele Point and made up a bit of ground and on the run to Point Piper they brought fresh wind down with them so that we were three wide at the turn at Point Piper to the shortened course finish line to windward.
We took their sterns and their dirty air and let them slip away from us at the finish. At this stage I think the wind was fresher and that accounted for their better performance to windward on the last short beat.
I was pleased with out windward working in the lighter breezes and need to work out how to remain competitive as the wind strength picks up. We were not overpowered on the beat to the finish but we seemed to be a bit slower and lower in that fresher breeze. It would have been nice to have had clear air and sail in the same breeze as we had on the first beat.
It was a close win on handicap but a win is a win and we take it graciously and hope the handicap gods are kind to us.
Post race I received two photos from a crew member who joined the ship in Walsh Bay. One shows how sensitive Passion X is to crew weight as with all the crew in the cockpit the bow is out of the water.
Thankfully this big yacht was just passing through and not joining the race
Long starboard beats and short port ones to the top mark.
Passion X with bow out of the water. We need to watch the crew weight distribution.
Passion X reversing in to pick up crew in Walsh Bay