2014 Resin Regatta

Daisy and I met up with Ron, Oliver, and Matt to race on Express 27 Abigail Morgan #18394. We were filling in for a couple missing crew and taking the weekend for some new racing experience.

We sailed out of the Corinthian Yacht Club and began the run to the Berkeley circle area. We got out to the channel and hoisted the kite for some crew training on the way out. We sailed in the end of the flood tide and building wind. After several gibes we were in the race area and decided to put the # 1 up to test the upwind settings. We were a bit over powered and decided to turn back down and we dropped the #1 for the #3.

We got ready to start and got caught in a bad spot and came off the line mid pack. We drove the boat to wind and we were doing good and worked up to third going up. The downwind we leg we held the position and turned the gate. The second upwind leg we again held third but the fleet was tight. The downwind we were in a tight battle for the spot but lost the spot. We ended up fourth by less than a boat length.

The second race the wind was full and we set off on the upwind. We had a better start and were driving upwind in fourth. The crew work on the boat was much better and we were sailing more like a team. We managed to get to the upwind mark in good position. Downwind we stayed right and it payed in picking up a spot. The second lap saw us maintain position and coming to the finish in third.

The third race was late getting off due to a general recall. One of the boats didn't come back so they missed the heavy wind race. The wind was in the 20's and gusting into the mid to upper 20's on a regular basis. Upwind we were in a solid third and looking to take second. We missed our call at the lay line and had to put in 2 quick tacks near the mark. We rounded in third and set the kite. Running down was a quick run with the kite full and boat speed up. As we neared the gate we were forced up by another boat and rounded up. Daisy was knocked off the boat but managed to grab the life line. We fought to get her back on board then had to finish the gibe and hit the gate. We lost a spot in all the commotion but were still in the race.

The upwind leg we were closing on the other boats but had an incident when Daisy lost her footing in a tack went over the leeward rail. We got her back on board and got the boat back on the upwind drive. We had dropped to 3rd or 4th and the rest of the race was sailed in higher winds but no more problems. We finished in 4th and began the ride home. With a full day of racing in we headed back to CYC and put the boat away for the night. Tomorrow we set out again for another day of racing.

Sunday morning the wind was lighter and we sailed part way to the ace then had to motor through a dead area to get there. We got the motor put away and set the #1. We waited for the start and saw the race committee set a short race with a single upwind leg and a run to the finish. We set up and got a nice start which put us in a good spot. Our second tack we got an override on the winch it cost a couple boat lengths but we still had a shot at the leader. We were working up to the mark when there was an issue in front of us. There was a port / starboard crossing situation with contact made in front of us. One boat spun and was going to hit us so we had to tack off. This cost us 2 positions at the mark but we recovered one of them back. We set the kite and got downwind in the third spot.

The second race the wind was starting to build but we kept the #1 on the foil. We got a good start and were battling for the lead upwind. We hit the windward mark third and close to the lead. Downwind we were still in third and the wind was filling. We chose to make a headsail change and put the #1 down and the #3 on the foil. We drove upwind the second time and we made a gain on the front boats. Getting a good lift we were right on the second place boat at the mark. Downwind we sailed very well and picked up second position. We rounded in second and were making our way to the upwind finish. We got into a tacking duel with the third place boat and just at the last tack they were edging in front of us. At the line we were a couple feet behind them.

The regatta was done and we made our way back to the CYC. We put the boat at the dock and got ready to hoist out. Once the boat was ready we hoisted onto the trailer and rolled it back into the spot. We then went to the SFYC for the awards ceremony and drinks. We were third for the weekend and took home a nice trophy. Congratulations to all who sailed and thanks to the San Francisco Yacht Club for a great event. Thanks also to the Crew of Abigail Morgan for having us and putting up with our mistakes learning a new boat.