Wednesday Nite Race 30th October 2013

Late October, one would expect warmer conditions but the day presented NW and W breeze.. Just before the start it started raining and was cold.. with squalls on the water reaching 30knots... Yolo only had 5 aboard so there was concern about being too light on the rail, so the decision was finally taken for the J4.. Good start was had which had Yolo ahead of the faster boats at the first two marks, sailing a beat type angle and a fetch. Thereafter the downwind from NO:2 to Milnerton has Yolo with Poled out J4 messing about with a Spinnaker Class boat... hanging in there as we were taking their breeze and the were pushing us up... this cost us(and them) eventually we saw the gap and gybed away.. rounding a bit behind where we should have been. In the meantime the winds had lightened and there was a sloppy sea.. so after the rounding Yolo struggled for height/speed and power. Suffering for the remainder of the race except in the puffs. The rest of the fleet had opted for larger sails.. so we had made the wrong call and it cost us. Yolo came 4th on corrected time. Everyone enjoyed the race and the different conditions we sailed in. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Sieger, Sarel and newbie Jason. It was Ian's birthday aboard.