What a wild ride last night! It was the opening race for the Wednesday Night Series in Annapolis & the winds were pretty intense--gonna say at least 25 knots sustained, 35 knot gusts, with threats of thunderstorms & a tornado watch. Call me crazy--hells yeah--with about 60 other boats! Actually, that was what was so jaw-dropping to me. I had never been out for a Wednesday in Annapolis--only White Rocks with my grandfather & the West River. The West River has a lot of boats but holy crap, Batman! Annapolis was insane! Just getting ready for the first race & getting the watch set with the guns from the RC, I had an opportunity as did the rest of the crew to really take it all in--I think most of us hadn't realized how many folk were out there along with t2p.tv & Spinsheet taking pics & video--it is a big-ass deal. And here we were, up from Pirate's Cove, competing with the rest of the J-30 fleet--adrenaline rush!
We worked our asses off & didn't even fly the kite. At one point we dumped the main & were only using the number 3 jib & we still were able to clock 7 knots on the tacktik...crazy! And we didn't finish last--WOOHOO! I gotta say, it was a rush! And, as we were rounding a mark, up comes a J-105 who attempted to squeeze us out--my skipper is yelling at the other skipper to hold his course--at first I thought he was ignoring us, & then she got a bit more insistent--we all had to laugh--"Bump... comes to Annapolis!" Welcome! And fireworks too (a huge lightening storm overhead as we crossed the finish)! Great to be with my crew & back on my boat--I will miss them at NOODs, sailing instead on another J30--competition. But, as always, looking forward to the rest of the season, flying out of Annapolis.
Check out t2p.tv http://www.t2p.tv/index.php They usually broadcast the Wednesday Night Races & there may be a glimpse of us there or on Spin Sheet http://www.spinsheet.com/ I am posting a picture taken by Spin Sheet last year during the Miles River Race. Very light air--NOT like last night.
What a gorgeous sailing evening--another fantastic race! This time we took second which was awesome. Pretty gusty out there yesterday & I was flying the kite again--pretty shifty winds, & I needed to really focus but we we were able to overtake quite a few boats in our class and managed to pull out that second with adjusted time. When we were on the windward tack, I was riding the rail at that time, I watched the boat Xing Fu was on on its 2nd down wind leg.
I knew he was flying too so I wanted to see how he was doing...took him a while to get that chute filled so I didn't feel so badly at my not quite getting shape to mine right away on the first down wind leg. I was thinking, "get that kite filled, come on!" I also struggled a bit on the jibe because I needed to free-fly & I didn't get aft enough to see the edges of the sail--next time--new boat & need to practice more & as I said, heavier wind & shifty. But an exhilarating experience nonetheless...what's cool is that I have an opportunity to really learn more--get a chance to do a little foredeck work this season, some mast & hopefully some main--great experiences all around the positions on the boat. What's even better is that I have a place to call home--not flitting between 7 different boats. I don't mind because I learn on every single one, but it is nice to be part of a steady crew.
Can't wait for the Miles River Race in a few weeks--I wrote about it last year--this year I plan on NOT getting as wasted as I was last year--looking forward to a great race & then a great party but plan on having far fewer Dark 'n' Stormies this year.
Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo & Pirate's Cove had the taco buffet after racing & also some very nice drink specials. The skipper of my boat was so happy with our result that she bought us rounds of tequila shots--fun, but as I needed to drive home, so I limited myself--but I am having a great time--super fun folk out there--I think we got the rowdiest table award last night.
***I've been informed that the times were off & we came in third after all--ah well--still a great race!
