Every year the Port Dover Yacht Club Racing Division holds a practice race the week prior to the racing season start. This is an opportunity for the boats to initiate new crew, remind crew and skippers of the intricacies of sailboat racing and get the Committee Boat "up to speed". This year I am on the Committee Boat, Enigma, on Monday nights, for the Spinnaker races and we acted as Committee boat for the practice night.
Some boats have just been launched and the "kinks" are not yet worked out or work during the off season needs to be "fine tuned". Some missed the race due to work discovered during the launching. A quote: "A boat is a hole in the water you throw money into".
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| A crew member up Legacy's mast. One of the preseason chores. |
The off season is a time of rest and relaxation for a boat owner - NOT. Starting in April and picking up in May, the boatyard has owners working on their boats whenever the weather is co-operative ( and sometimes when it's not). Things need fixing; that broke last year, that have never really worked well, that could be improved. Things need installing; gear that was taken off last year to be fixed during the winter, new electronics or other equipment that's been added. Things need cleaning; that didn't get cleaned last fall, that have never been cleaned, that got dirty over the winter. And then there is always the stuff that worked fine last year and for some reason doesn't work fine this year.
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| Sails waiting to get loaded on to Legacy. Winter storage (basements, garages etc) are now freed up for summer use. |
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| Motoring out under the 6 o'clock bridge. |
Practice night consists of 3 starts for each fleet (Jib and Main, Spinnaker). the last start is actually a race out to a marker and back. The wind on Wednesday night was out of the North East and over 10 knots so there was good wind and the waves were not too bad. Excellent conditions though sometimes the wind gusted and made spinnaker flying more of a challenge than some "rusty" crew wanted.
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Kayley, lounging on the Tetrahedron, on our way out to Happy Face
(the central race marker has a happy face painted on it) |
As Committee boat, first we head out to Happy Face and determine the wind direction. We then "set the start line" at right angles to the wind and drop the Tetrahedron at the other end. This determines which race marker the boats will head to first. We head back to Happy Face and moor there as the other end of the line. We post this course on large boards over the back of the boat. Next we raise the "come within hale" flag and all the boats sail by announcing their names, sail numbers and which division they are sailing in. Makes for good picture taking opportunities.
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| Come within hale flag |
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| Cyclone |
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| Flashdancer and Taz |
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| Sequence |
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| Kestrel |
Once we have registered all the boats the flag sequence begins to start the race. Put up the fleet flag, 1 minute later put up the preparatory flag, 3 minutes later take down the prep flag, 1 minute later take down the fleet flag and put up the next fleet's flag. Then do it all again. 6 times that night.
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| The start line can get quite crowded |
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| and starts can be very entertaining to watch. |
The fleets sailed to a race marker and back, some flying their spinnaker.
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| Ritual |
We recorded the times as they crossed the finish line and then calculated their ranked finish based on each boats handicap (PHRF rating).
It was lovely to be out on the water again and ended with a beautiful sky, followed by food and drinks at the Yacht Club.
And now for the obligatory cat pictures:
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This is how much Rasta has grown. He used to curl up inside that coloured square.
He is about 6 months old. |
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| Colour co-ordinated with the rug I am currently working on. |
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| Walking along the door? |
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