260726 Golden Regatta Day 2 of 2

Creation: 260727 0507 Last Modified: 260727 0507

This Report is Accompanied by the Day 1 Report here 260725 Golden Regatta Day 1 of 2

William Benjamin Ellwood, took some drone footage and stills of the race on both Saturday and Sunday. Please find the Google Photo Album here https://photos.app.goo.gl/vM719NfYK2wp4rSTA

I picture is worth a thousand words, videos more so. Thanks Will!

Crew

Position	Person
Helm	Lynn Ellwood
Main	Steve Ellwood
Middle 1	Anik Karimjee
Middle 2	Max Tootle
Mast
Bow

Course

Prinyers back to the start line off MacFarlane Dock in Picton Bay ~12nm

Weather

It didn’t rain, or snow for that matter.

Aside from those exceptions we had most other conditions.

The forecast was 1 gusting to 7 at the start. We got 0 gusting to 1. As time passed breeze was forecast to come in from the south-west ranging from 5 to 12.

We got 1-3, by hugging the shore, then we hopped around the course looking for patches of wind.

We got that south-west, but of course we got some east, some south, and for a little bit in the vortex that is the Glenora Ferry crossing some north.

The breeze filled in as the day progressed which gave the slower boats a serious advantage. That’s PHRF, Que Sera, Sera.

Race Result

Did we win? Yes and no. A THREE way tie for first was broken using the RRS tied breaking rules.

Sadly Muren D Pickering driver of Valkery wasn’t familiar with the Racing Rules of Sailing 2025-2028, and so he entertained the group in the clubhouse with shouting and complaining that only a very spoiled 8-year-old could provide. Our years at RCYC gave us many comparatives - he was right up there.

We came in at the tail end, I’m sorry I missed the whole show.

But in the end, hate it as we all do, PHRF was shown to be working. Folks can show up in their boats, whatever they are, from Nonsuchs to Thomsons and Olsons, and compete, however imperfectly, together. This is much better than everyone buying Alberg 22’s.

Mike Bowland in his Ranger 33 with a rating of 198 won the tie break. We were second and sadly Muren on Valkery was 3rd.

The analysis of R2 from Sunday shows the weather gap. The Ranger 33 corrected to 3:03:38 with an elapsed of 3:14:22, we were 12 corrected minutes behind him. Roll the music and queue Doris…

Race Review

The start was a rabbit. https://alsargent.medium.com/how-to-do-rabbit-starts-in-sailing-65e653ab17f2

As you read the above how to carefully you will see references to the rabbit sailing - the implication is obvious - there needs to be wind to sail in. But apparently not.

Craig Mills on Lorielli graciously agreed to be our rabbit. He attempted to get positioned near the white and red balls Mike Bowland has set in the water to serve as our finish line on Saturday but without wind that was hard. Instead, he got within 3-4 boat lengths when the start gun sounds and opened the start line - At that time his transom sweep the fleet as he tacked from stbd on to port - thus ‘starting’ everyone in the fleet. (The rule being you must pass you boat behind the transom of the rabbit). Oh well.

We were down at the pin with Lickety on stbd tack. Lickety was below us by stopped. We hardened up in the breezy 2 knots of air and headed for the southern shore a mere 20 boat lengths away.

Lickety didn’t get rolling for a while and when she did, she opt’d to go tot the middle of the reach.

The rest of the fleet were bobbing. John Vincent told me it took him many long minutes to get Salem moving to even cross the start line.

We were light in crew and light in boat, so we could use the puff-ettes that came in. We found some breeze on the shore. Until it disappeared. Then it returned but forcing a tack, bit that lasted 10 seconds and forced a tack back. We eventually came to a ‘Memo of Understanding’ with the wind. We would let it try to trick us bit we waited to react much longer than normal. This allowed us to not flop back and forth with every wind change. It was a little nerve-wracking.

Some breeze is better than no breeze. We quickly pulled ahead of the whole fleet. Perhaps 300-400 meters? They, all of them, were in nothing.

We stuck to the southern shore. Hopping like frogs from one lilly pad of wind to another.

Moving our weight slowly, carefully. Trimming constantly.

We enjoyed periodic boats of 5-6 knots of breeze, it was like manna from heaven, 3-4 knots of boat speed never felt so good.

But those moments didn’t last. Again and again.

The fleet was starting to see wind fill in as were we. We kept our lead, but it wasn’t building much anymore. Now we were in 7-8 knots moving at 5-6 knots close reaching.

On a sunny and warm Sunday afternoon, sailing with people that were focused and knowledgeable - it doesn’t get much better than that.

Because of the course dog leg shape we didn’t want to stay on the south shore and the breeze looked good to cross over to the north, ‘inside’, heading to the light house. The faster boats enjoyed their greater pressure, Lickety, the G37 and Valkery were all marching along, chipping away at our lead. It was such a huge lead, seeing it diminish was more stressful that sailing within 10 feet of them. We had it and we were losing it, arrgh. Classic ‘attachment’ syndrome.

So, we got the lighthouse and we got over it on the one stbd tack, the wind was lightening toward shutting off - again. The three followers tacked to make the lighthouse. We regained a big portion of our huge lead.

At this point with the race half done and the lead back to 400 meters or more one our, foolishly, start feeling good. Ya, no.

The Glenora Ferry vortex is notorious - where sailor’s dreams go to die.

We saw and had a line of pressure that took us right past the ferries. Close-hauled, truckin’

But the vortex has its own plans.

After the ferry path, we found the wind swinging around aft, ok fine. We flip the main over and pole out the gennie. Dead down wind., move a little by the lee and the boat is still moving, 4 knots or so.

The wind moves more, we gybe everything to the opposite side. Still moving.

Then from somewhere we hear the theme music to the movie Dead Calm and … the … wind … dies.

Gone.

The fleet sees us dealing with this crazy, they stay high, they hug the north shore. And they continue moving, they continue chewing up our lead.

We are now at the Glenora Marina. Drifting. We drift and the breeze tempts us to tack or at least try to.

Mark Graham from Lickety told me a story after the race. Long ago PEYC would race the Mowat from PEYC out around Main Duck and back to PEYC. A long long race. Mark said he was sailing a Viking 28 and he was so far ahead coming back that he could NOT SEE any of the competitors. - Perhaps an hour or more ahead. Awesome.

But then right at the Glenora Marina - right where he saw us sitting stopped - his Viking 28 came to a stop with zero wind. And they sat there stopped for 4!! hours. 4 hours.

Needless to say the breeze filled in bringing the fleet and the lead disappeared. He didn’t tell me how they finished.

We lost 10-15 minutes. After Mark’s story I felt better - not great - but better.

The wind did eventually come in, but it was patchy and light, light. We pieced together the patches as best we could. We could now see the whites of Beth’s eyes on Lickety - we were all together again.

All through that horror, no one gave up, no one lost focus. No one committed ritual suicide. It was awesome.

The breeze in Picton Bay was uncharacteristically excellent. 10-12 knots. We were inside boat on a port tack lift and so we got to the finish line first. But we didn’t correct out ahead of Valkery.

As the strong breeze filled in the other boats didn’t have the pain of the vortex, and so they moved right along. So the folks that won that race were the Ranger 33 PHRF 198, then a Tanzer 22 PHRF 222 , then a Ranger 22, PHRF 214 - ya well PHRF.

Then the faster boats.

Lessons Learned

Focus is King - We had focus all weekend. I told Max, as we passed our son’s Adolphus Reach property, where the property was - one sentence. Lynn called for maintaining focus! It paid - despite the results.

We had a great start, we built a great lead. We judge the wind as best we could. Man plans and god laughs. But we never lost focus - attention to the wind, the sail trim, the balance of the boat, the situation around us. Focus.

Another wonderful weekend of sailing. Thank you Oh! crew for a memorable event and some great sailing.