Well I got my mom and sister to come out with me to race. I also had Cary on board as crew… it started out as a great day. We got out on the ocean and the breeze was at about 10 knots. It was decided to do a leeward windward race to the sherman a wreck 6 miles away.. I got a great start and we poled out the 155 and just started shooting for the mark at about 4.5 knots… the only boats ahead of us were an S2 and Tarten 10 everyone else was falling behind 🙂
then disater… my sister started getting queasy….. 🙁 well she said she could tough it out so we kept going.. then my mom went below for a second to use the head… she enver made it that far.. she popped back into the cockpit saying that being below started to imeadiatly make her queasy to… then it went down hill till she was looking really grim…
what can you do? I went ahead and called in and resigned from the race with the committe boat and headed back.
About then Ben on Anago who was not doing to well in the race called me on the radio and insisted that I come and get his anti motion sickness oil that you dab behind your ears.. he swears by it.. anyway he was close to being on the way back to the inlet so we sailed over to him and then did a close pass to pick up the oil… making a close pass to another sailboat in 2 to 3 ft seas both under sail is not as easy as you would think. I tried coming up beside him starboard to port but was only slowly gaining on him. So he turns on his engine and puts it in reverse… so I start pulling up beside him.. I have to tell you I wasn’t that comfortable doing this. At one point I almost ran my bow into his stern. (which would have been funny considering that last year he hit sea puppy in the stern and bent the port push pit while we were racing)
Well alls well that ends well we got the oil and no dings or scratchs. unfortuanatly the oil didn’t work. So we continue on to the inlet. The wind has been picking up and gusting to where at the peak of the gusts the rigging is starting to moan. I figure at least 20 knots. also we are seeing rythmic wind shifts of about 30 degrees every couple minutes. fluky and shifty stuff. Sea Puppy with full main and a 155 jib up likes to round up when the wind gusts that high.. My sister and mom are nauseous.. sigh… ok I just went ahead and took a reef in.. ive got it down to a science now, it only took a couple minutes. I just left the jib powered up an holding us as high to windward as it would, and eased the mainsheet till the mainsail was luffing. The jib holds us on course.. I didn’t even need anyone at the tiller.. though Cary came back and manned it.. lol I think it kinda weirded him out to see the boat sailing itself. Stepping forward to the hatch into the cabin I stood on the ladder and popped the main halyard, leaning forward i could reach the luff of the sail and pulled it down till i could put the reefing point over the reefing hook at the gooseneck of the boom. (the topping lift keeps the boom from falling all the way down when doing this) I then tightened the main halyard again before taking the 1st reef line that leads back to the port clutches and putting it on the winch and tightening it. Not a bobble or problem start to finish…
It did slow stuff down and fixed the rounding up when the wind gusted. We finally beat our way to the inlet and sailed in past the jettys before pulling the jib down and starting the motor.. I tried sailing some in the flat inlet water and on the waterway but the wind started dying just before and as we entered the jetties… So down came the sails and we just motored back.. Though neither my mom or sister felt totally better they did feel a lot better once we were off the ocean and back on flat water.
None of the other racers that continued on out to the sherman ever saw wind gusts as high as we did after we turned back and headed to the inlet. The wind died for them about 3/4 of the way out and never came back. I hear it was a very long race.
Leave a Reply