Stead Bonnet Race 2006

I didn’t think we were going to get to race. The wind was blowing dead on our stern as we sat in our slip at a steady 25 kts with gusts into the low 30s. We had a pole dead behind us that we needed to slide sideways around (about 9 feet to starboard to clear it before we could then back out into the channel).

With only a 4 hp outboard I wasn’t sure it was up to controlling us in a sideways slide and then backing against the wind and fetch that was coming at our stern. With all of us on the boat (Jay and Miriam and Me) we did a couple of test runs while still tied to the dock. Each time I was able to take the slack out of the docklines from where we were being pushed into the slip by the wind and waves. So with just a few minutes before our start in the race I made the decision to give it a try. We used a line from the port stern cleat to the piling behind us on starboard for some extra security, just in case we had a problem. However it all went very smooth.. With the poor engine going full out we slowly moved sideways around the pole behind us and then out into the channel. 🙂 I almost didn’t give it enough room before going into forward. With the wind pushing us back at the docks I thought for a moment that it was going to push us into them before I got turned away. The nice thing about my outboard is that I can turn it as well as the tiller and it gives me an increadably tight turning radius. I used it 🙂
It continually amazes me how maneuverable Sea Puppy is and how little power she needs to move. She realistically weighs in with us on board with fuel, water, batteries, engine etc.. at about 4000lbs. Her dry weight just the boat with no stores, fuel etc.. on her is around 3300 lbs. a whopping 900 more than the factory specks show. Every 235 owner I have heard of that has weighed their boat has reported similar weights. I would like to move up to a 6hp engine though just to have a little more margin in power.

The race had each boat with its own starting time based on their handicaps. I’m not sure that they got the handicaps correct. We had a really good day sailing on the course but still came in very close to last by a really big margin. We were about the smallest boat on the course but usually we do much better… oh well we had a great day sailing. With winds in the low 20’s and flat water we really scooted. With Jay and Miriam as crew we shook down into a good team that was really getting the tacks right and handling the boat. Jay is good to have on board. He has good suggestions on handling and tactics and I learned a lot with him there.

The excitement for the day was not ours. Breck on Runaway a Cabo Rico 38 kissed another big boat when Marni got a bad rope burn from a jib sheet. Marni survived and there was no damage to the boats but you could hear the other boat owner hollering from a 1/4 mile away. 🙂

The next excitement was Angela on Valkyr (a Down East 38). She had a hell of a race. At one point they passed us as if we were standing still and we were doing 5.5 to 6.1 knots then. In 20+ knots of wind she had the full main up, the full jib out and the stay sail set. Talk about a beautiful sight; Valkyr is a gorgeous boat under full sail. About 100 yards from the finish they ran aground in some shallows that are not well marked. Most of us that have sailed up there much know about them but Angela and her crew didn’t. She was pushing it to get to the finish line quickest when they grounded. If it hadn’t been for that they would have placed somewhere between 6th and 8th out of a field of about 30 boats. Even having grounded and not finishing the race, Angela had a big grin on her face over how well her boat had done. Oh did I mention that this was the first time she had ever had Valkyr under sail! We were all impressed that’s for shure. 🙂

Sadly for Angela she did not get off with no damage to her boat. After Sea Tow pulled her off, her rudder quit responding normally and felt like it was jammed or bent. Hans went down and looked at it but couldn’t find anything obvious that was wrong. After working on it that afternoon and the next morning they conceded that the boat would have to be pulled. Orrin gave Valkyr a tow back to Little River on Sunday. (after waiting a week and a half to get Valkyr pulled, they got her out of the water to find out that the rudder and everything was fine.. Something had jammed in the auto pilot and that was what was holding the rudder from turning.)