Just Don't Hit Anybody

A fast boat. A new boat. A big regatta. A typically windy Summer day on the Bay. Sounds like a recipe to break something or somebody. Order of the day, then, was sail smart (get around the course efficiently) and don't hit anybody. I'm the noob in this class with just one week of experience in the boat prior to the start of race one on Saturday. Yes, the tacking and gybing practice was very helpful, and the "training floats" would provide a margin of error against capsize. Trouble is these dinghies are twice as wide and nearly twice as fast as what I'm used to racing. And those floats? It's not obvious how forgiving they are. Everything feels fine, but what if I stuff one into the back of a wave or something or somebody?

Well, everything turned out just fine. We had a bit more wind than I might have asked for in a first regatta, but I managed to keep the shiny side down and the pointy ends ding free. The Sailing World sponsors like my hat and had me posted in the gallery. Of that shot, Dean said, "You look way too relaxed. You ought to be hiking out or something." Of course, I was relaxed--I was sailing from a hammock! Actually, though, it was kinda scary. I was reminded of that popular '70s t-shirt, "Keep your tips up!" Several times downwind, I stuffed three bows into the back of a wave. At full speed, this was quite a dramatic experience as the entire boat was covered in white foam and the skipper's momentum nearly launched him over the bow. Before the weekend was over, I would learn to make the bottom turn a bit earlier and/or blow off some kite pressure.

These Wetas smoke both upwind and downwind as long as you keep them powered up. That means on the edge. We started six minutes or so behind the Melges 20s and usually caught and passed them before the race was done. The poor Melges crews were on their edge, too. We had to be careful not to setup to windward of them on the downwind legs as they had a propensity to wipe-out. As Bob put it, those Melges guys were probably thinking "they should have bought four Wetas instead--one for each crew. Be a lot more fun than hiking all day."

By the end of day one, I'd be at the front of the back half, 6th place. On day two, I'd start to learn some new tricks . . .