Winds were forecast to be VERY light at 3-4 knots from the SE. We didn't want to go 6 miles to the Ajax weather buoy and back because it would take 5 or 6 hours to complete in the light winds. The race committee set a temporary mark 2 miles upwind and all 14 boats started in one start.
Full racing main and #1.
Winds were 6-7 knots at the start, and with Melissa on the helm, we got the boat going over 5 knots most of the time upwind. I showed her a lot about sail trim and sailing the boat to the tell tales. She did really well.
Getting near the windward mark, the winds were dying, and I knew we would be out a LONG time coming back 2 1/2 miles with only 4 knots of wind, so, I decided to rig the spinnaker up for the DOWNWIND leg back home. We were last to the windward mark, not too far behind Aftica and a C&C 29 from Frenchman's Bay.
After rounding the mark, I dropped the #1 and hoisted the spinnaker. I taught Melissa how the fly it and she did well. We kept the boat moving between 3 and 4 knots the entire way back with the wind lightening near the finish. We passed the C&C 29 and almost Aftica at the finish.
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| AWESOME |
By flying the spinnaker, we scored an DNS in our division for purpose of overall season points, and placed last in the spinnaker division, but I was glad we got to fly it. Melissa thought it was kewl, and we would have been out there a LONG time.
When we finished, the committee boat gave us the gun for being the first (and only) boat to cross the finish line in division 1.
Thanks Melissa, I had a great Father's Day!
Trip Odometer: 11.1 miles
Moving Average: 3.3 knots
Moving Time: 03:24:00
Google Earth Track: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12535935/Still%20Time/2014/20140615.kmz
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