Short Race Recap

[BarryL]

Hey,

Yesterday I crewed on my usual race ride - a mid 80's C&C 34, in the Mount Sinai Sailing Association American Cancer Society Regatta (Mount Sinai, NY Long Island Sound).

For a nice change we had WIND, more than enough wind, lots of wind. We got out early to do a little tuning, and the wind was 10-12. We raised the #1 and soon after the wind went to 15-20. So down with the #1 and up with the #2. Since the wind stayed below 20 true, we didn't reef the main but put on full outhaul, cunningham, backstay, etc.

I'll skip most of the usual stuff and list a few 'interesting' moments:
*About 200 yards from the first mark we tacked onto the layline, right in front of one of our competitors. There were a tense moments as both boats sailed alongside each other, about a foot or two apart. I did not enjoy that very much.
*After we rounded the mark and started heading downwind, the skipper called for the spinnaker to be raised. This was a surprise to me as we normally don't fly the chute when the wind is above 15 kts. It worked out great as we went flying downwind. The true wind was 18 - 20 and we were moving through the water at 8 kts most of the time, with a peak of 9.25! This was the most fun I've had sailing in a long time. I jokingly told the crew we should drop out of the race and sail to Block Island.
*The sight of 30+ boats flying downwind, with many colorful spinnakers flying, was very impressive
*Due to a communication mix up, we screwed up the spinnaker drop and sailed for a few minutes with the chute flying around like a crazy kite.
*The last leg was upwind, wet, and rough. Apparent wind was 22-25 kts most of the time. At one point the skipper called for the jib sheet to be tightened a little more. I was on the winch and cranked in about 1" when the sheet exploded with a loud bang. That really scared me. We immediately tacked over, tied on another sheet, tacked back, and sailed on. That probably cost us one position.
*We got off the water BEFORE some giant thunderstorms came through the area.

Even though we didn't place very well it was a lot of fun and a great experience.

Barry

[WanderingStar]

Great story Barry!
I brought WS home from Greenwich (Ct., not England) on Sunday. The day started calm, but a gentle south sprang up after an hour underway. At the same time dark clouds and thunder threatened astern, but noaa said it would go away east (it did). The wind continued to rise until it was pretty fresh when we were off Crane Neck. I took in the staysail and rolled on. We were touching 8 knots over the bottom against the flood, foam boiling along the lee side. It was a great end to a great weekend aboard. Nothing parted, and I was on the mooring at 3pm.