With the winds forecast to be around 20 knots we set a conservative rig of the No 3 genoa and a full main for the RANSA Winter Wednesday race. The course suited Passion better than last week as we were able to pole out the genoa and follow the wind around the course. The breeze for the downwind leg had a lot of holes and we rarely saw the forecast 20 knots. We rounded the turn mark behind Viva and L Eau Co and were promptly rewarded with a large lift that made us look good as we lifted above these two. When the wind headed we were forced back into L Eau Co’s dirty air as they were determined to pinch out from under us. We tacked away to take advantage of the knock and that is the last I remember of L Eau Co on the course. Izzi was a little ahead and the Jeanneau SO409 Solange was just behind so we had plenty of company to race up the course. The shifts to windward were so great that we were forced to tack on the knocks and the smaller headsail helped to get the tacks done in an orderly fashion. Around Steel Point we were unlucky to get a knock that required us to tack away from the rocks while those a few metres ahead had already cleared the rocks and could take advantage of the slightly more free work into Rose Bay. We got a little of this back in the approach to Point Piper where we kept some room in reserve and just cleared the mark while Izzi and Larrikin had to tack back for the rounding. Around the island Larrikin cleared out but we kept in touch with Izzi and just ahead of Solange. The last beat to the finish was in two parts. The first was a quiet before the storm when the breeze dropped to seven knots and we struggled to keep Passion moving with the No 3 genoa. This is probably where Larrikin gained time on us and certainly when Solange with a larger genoa moved up alongside and to windward. As the breeze freshened it lifted giving Solange a free kick. We in turn lifted inside Izzi and as the lift progressed we made up some of the ground lost in the light airs. Now the breeze honked in at 30 knots accompanied by icy cold rain. Ron had the mainsail dumped and flogging in the slipstream of the air from the genoa. I had the backstay on hard to flatten the main as much as possible and we enjoyed the ride to the finish line.
Shifty conditions for the Wednesday race
Big temperature drop with the icy rain squall
In the finish we had Rainbow, L Eau Co and Enigma well behind and were within seconds of Solange and just a little behind Izzi so we were happy with the result. On Handicap we scored 7th out of the 14 starters which is a big improvement on last weeks second last. We benefited from a clean bottom but the divers said it was in good condition and there was nothing to explain last weeks performance. I will stick to my proposition from last week that Passion does not like the broad reaches where we cannot set the pole.