Monday, July 31, 2017

Double Handed Race -31 July 2017

With a Strange SE on the water, with lots of gusts and if it were not chilly could easily have been considered summer conditions. The course set was not of the conventional type.. The bridge trying to reduce the upwind sailing on the course in the strong winds... but reality is that it is easy for a boat to depower when going upwind, the when fetching.. which creates more flogging and hard helm.. But sailing is sailing.. Yolo got a cracker start... and settled down doing the first leg from Number ten to Milnerton.. The wind was gusting in the upper twenties.. and the lows early twenties... a quick leg rouding Milnerton first and in a quandary of whether to set the kite, so opted conservative and poled out the jib.. The rest of the fleet did the same... a nice downwind leg to a laid mark followed by a gybe and a beat upto the next laid mark. At this point the larger J11.1 started to pull though being able to point higher.. and the JPK 10.10 slowly started closing the gap, also pointing higher with a touch more speed. the J11.1 was first at the next mark soon after by Yolo and the JPK a few boat lengths behind.. Next mark was Milnerton, Yolo was holding her gap off, but at Milnerton did a bad tack with a mainsheet tangle and stalled the boat in irons, which closed the gap.. the next leg was another fetch to Milnerton, the JPK 10.10 took a slightly higher angle while Yolo went direct. slowly the JPK inched forward with a bit more speed and eventually bore away for the final drag to the finish which gave them a turn of speed allowing her to pass to weather of Yolo and finish just ahead. All in all, great to be out on the water and a first place in the race.. Aboard: Dale and Ian.

Monday, July 24, 2017

SOCIAL SAIL -22 July 2017

With very few crew available and a dirty bottom on the boat.. Yolo did not take part in the racing but still managed a sail on the bay.. with a crisp SE on the bay gusting to 18knots... with flat water, gave for some nice sailing conditions, putting in a few legs up and down the bay enjoying the conditions.. and watching the racing going on. Eventually returning to port.. Aboard: Dale, Ian and Sieger.