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Trip Report    

Sail - Esther, Port of Edmonds Marina

Veni Vidi Vici. It ain't a party until something gets broken.

  • Road suitable for all vehicles
  • Light to moderate winds, stronger near shore.  Lots of fishing boats near Point Wells, had to short tack a bit.

A great trip overall.  First time racing in the CYC Edmond's Summer Series.  Only 2 races are left including today's, but we gave it the "old college try".  Two crew had been aboard and raced before, and one new person to the boat, though they already had some racing experience.  We made a good run at the start, but had the jib hang on the spreader on the gybe and ended up almost in the second start.  Got it clear and headed to the first mark with all possible haste.  That's when we noticed the aft end of the starboard jib track had pulled out of the gunnel, bending the track right at the edge of the jib car.  Oh well, add that to the repair list.  After tacking, the crew adeptly removed the now-lazy car from the back and rethreaded it to the front of the track, keeping us in the race.  Rounding the windward mark on the port, we then got the chute up.  At this point we were still ahead of most of the second (faster) start, I think.  They then quickly pulled ahead as we got the chute up and drawing.  Even still, we sizzled down to the leeward mark, staying ahead of a boat or two without spinnakers.  By the leeward mark, we were still ahead of one boat (come on, there are only about 7 boats in this whole race anyway).  We rounded and doused the chute, rolled out the head sail, and began the beat to the finish.  We found the inshore bit of wind stronger then heading out to the open water.  However, there was a large fleet of fishing boats around Point Wells, so we had to zip around those a little.  By now the larger boat that had been behind us caught up and passed.  We still worked the tacks and watched the dystopian red sun sink to the horizon.   I'm not sure if we beat the 2-hour time limit, or 2 1/2-hour time limit if I read the Race Instructions correctly, but since the Committee Boat was still there, I think we did complete the course in time.  They cheered us as we approached, then "dove for the line" with a pinch.  We congratulated ourselves on cheating death once again.  Motoring back, we flaked the main and repacked the chute for next week.  A few beverages and snacks were shared as we headed in and tied up with a near perfect docking (for once).  We had a good time, and the whole crew is already signed up for next week's race.  As skipper, I thank everyone for coming out and enjoying the spirit of racing, even if we were unlikely to win.  It was good experience/practice, and we'll probably do even better next time (assuming we don't get over confident and blow it).