2011.07.18 Monday LO300

As we beated to the Niagara Mark, the winds were from the SW between 15 and 20 knots.  The waves were also getting bigger.  It was tough make any headway.

We came within a half mile of shore near Twelve Mile Creek.  Just as we were tacking a gust of wind hung the genoa on the spreaders as I was sheeting it in, poking a hole in the sail where the UV strip is.  The damage wasn't much, so we continued on with the ripped sail.

About a mile from the mark, a small squawl came through and pelted us with a litte rain.  The 2nd one came through, but was short lived.  The wind died completely.  Us and Prosseco were left to bounce around remant waves a little while.  The wind started filling in on the beam as we headed slowly NW to the mark.

6-8 knots of wind on the beam was not enough to overcome the movement of the boat in the waves.  I put big twists for power in the main and jib, and sheeted the headsail to the toe rail with snatchblocks.  This got us moving through the waves between 4 and 5 knots of speed.

We did a quick check on YellowBrick, and Kalona was stuck inland near the mark, and Wind Dancer was about 2 miles behind us.

The waves stated to die and wind picked up to over 12 knots on a close reach to the finish.

Very confortable sailing (could do this all day!)

As we got closer to shore, our speed increased:

Thats 7.11 knots bearing 300!

As we approached the finish, the wind was dying yet again.  We had the turning mark in our GPS, but we could not see it.  As the the wind further died, we got knocked east of the turning mark, and we sailed right into a hole.  In the meantime, Wind Dancer is calling on the radio that they are 5 miles out.

We could see a wind line about 100 yards north of us.  It took us a while to get to this wind, and we had to tack to the west to make the mark.  The wind hole we had once been in was now closing and Wind Dancer was getting bigger behind us.

THAT TURNING MARK IS A PAIN IN THE BUTT  - you can't see it until you are about 100 yards from it!

The wind filled in the from the North and we finished in FIRST!!!

Wind Dancer was 15 minutes behind us.

Kalona finshed 3rd a half hour behind them.

Full results:
http://www.yachtscoring.com/event_results_detail.cfm?Race_Number=1&eID=434

Trip Odometer: 235 miles
Moving Avg: 4.7 knots
Moving Time: 02:03:50:10

Google Earth track: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/12535935/Still%20Time/20110716.kmz