Red and Moon battled for the victories and bragging rights in two match races. The wind for the first course 314 came from 198° with 17 knots (V2 G4). Both tacked to port right after the start, and Moon – after Red had crossed the line first – soon took the lead after the second tack somewhere on Blake Sea Lanyard. Until Mark 3 it looked as if he would sail to a certain win, but after rounding that buoy Red could position herself on Moon’s windward side, shadow him and that way managed not only to overtake but also defend one last try of Moon to get overlapped inside for Mark 4. Red did not let him. Beautiful to watch!
NYC Course Chart 314Red overtaking Moon on the second last leg …
Lap Times: RedHeadJO Resident BS5d9b – Start: 0:00:05 – Last lap: 0:16:20 moonglownight Resident BSbf2e – Start: 0:00:12 – Last lap: 0:16:16
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NYC Course Chart 328-R
For the second race the wind changed to 185° with 16 knots (V2 G3). The situation was rather clear from the beginning, as Moon soon took the lead, and did not let go anymore.
A friendly pirate keeping clear …Tropical Flair at the edge of Blake Sea – China …
Sirius became a grandfather just a couple of hours earlier that day. Thank you, Hanna, for being my opener. And hey, your grandpa is a sailor, but believe me, there are worse professions!
And there they sailed, in order of the ranking, Justin (crewed by Gin), Viv, Sirius and Red. This has been right after the start of 331-A, with wind from 200° at 16 knots (V2 G4). Giulia watched both races.
From left to right: Red, Justin, Viv, Sirius
Justin had the best start, Viv, who tightened sails to raise speed late, almost closed the gap for Sirius by heading up sharp into the wind Though, at that time they were already overlapped and Sirius had nowhere to go anymore. I think it is rule 16.1 (“When a right-of-way boat changes course, she shall give the other boat room to keep clear.“) which overrules that part in Section C about mark room (“Section C rules do not apply at a starting mark surrounded by navigable water or at its anchor line from the time boats are approaching them to start until they have passed them.”) as well as rule 11 (same tack, leeward ROW). However, too complicated to get into details here … it all came out without broken pieces. Oh, the chart … here it is:
NYC Course Chart 331-A
There happened so much of action in both races, that I once again use my quick notes I made during the races to give at least a rough overview:
Justin best start .. Viv along with Sirius, then Red …Viv to port at Crows Nest … Justin, Sirius on next sim, Red longer on same tack, then directly … Justin still first at mark1 … Viv, Sirius, Red … Red wrong side, but noticed and repeated on the right side … Viv takes lead on the first downwind leg … after mark4 Viv sailed longer starboard tack than Justin to approach mark5 … Justin through channel, Sirius north of Fastnet, Viv south … Justin back in the lead at mark5 … f****** motorboat, Justin avoided contact, Viv slipped through the gap …
The motorboat was too fast for me to keep it on hold, and Justin definitely would have been first around this last mark without this situation. I would send him a hug here, but he’s married now, and I am careful. He really sailed a great first race today!
Red passing the mark on the wrong side … Viv leading after Mark 2
Lap Times: vivipezz Resident BS42d3 – Start: 0:00:10 – Last lap: 0:18:40 Sirius Rosca BS6b75 – Start: 0:00:10 – Last lap: 0:18:55 SteveLL Resident BS7263 – Start: 0:00:00 – Last lap: 0:19:09 RedHeadJO Resident BS5d9b – Start: 0:00:15 – Last lap: 0:20:23
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NYC Course Chart 312-A
The second race, 312-A, showed even more of action, and right after the races I already knew, that I never ever would be able to put all of it into words without writing a novel. So, meanwhile you already know it, here come the quick notes:
Close start of all … close action between Viv and Sirius first (lee/windward), then Sirius Justin (starboard/port) … order first mark Justin, Sirius, Viv … Red behind … next mark same order, Viv problem after mark, but then back again … after mark3 Justin more and more off the wind … Justin Sirius close starboard/port meeting … Sirius tacked early enough, Justin still tacked once again … Viv meanwhile different route and out of trouble … first at mark4 … Justin second, Sirius third … Red fourth …
Only two details to add: Viv had contact with the buoy at Mark 2, though her problems after rounding it were not a voluntary penalty by lowering sails, but simply the wrong gesture at the wrong time.
After the start …First leg after the first tack …Viv shortly before the kiss with the buoy … Viv, Justin and Sirius on the last downwind leg, Red yet on her way to the last mark
Close race until mark 3 where Emilio and Ester approached, and rounded it, from different directions, with Ester going around it the wrong way and getting a DSQ for the race. Moon was able to pull away and keep the lead for the win.
Lap Times: moonglownight Resident BSbf2e – Start: 0:00:03 – Last lap: 0:16:31 citacg Resident BSdca5 – DSQ emiliopc7 Resident BS4c32 – Start: 0:00:05 – Last lap: 0:18:19
Race 2 – NYC 318
Ester was in the lead on the first leg, followed by Moon and Emilio. Moon was able to gain some speed, overlapping and shadowing Ester which put him in the lead after round the first mark.
“Speak, I’m listening Baby, I’m your sweet thing Believe, what I’m saying God’s truth, I ‘m not lying”
Habits, you know. Shiny boxes and such. Ok, so the first line is something we all want at times, don’t we? The second line sounds nice, doesn’t it? The third line is what you have to accept. And then the fourth line … that’s one for Heather, after she got some Sunday School lessons elsewhere. No, not from me. Aside of these lame interpretations I only can offer the naked truth, which is that I listen a lot to PJ Harvey lately. And this is the first verse of Rub ‘Til It Bleeds.
And some rubbing the sailors did indeed at the start of the first race, luckily without spilling blood though. Aside of Moon, Red, Sirius and Viv, Giulia had come to watch and eventually joined the second race.
Close, closer, racing … Sirius, Viv, Moon
309-R, the reversed version of 309 (who would have thought, huh?), was sailed for the first time with wind from 190° at 16 knots (V2 G4). After the start itself, the first leg brought another close action when Sirius – at that time the most leeward boat – tacked to port for Mark 1. Moon – the most windward boat – was still on starboard tack, and Viv, next to him, therefore had to wait as well. Sirius realized that he had to keep clear and did his best to do so, but it did not work out perfectly. Still no one had a crucial advantage or disadvantage, and there was no protest. It’s been part of some talking afterwards though.
NYC Course Chart 309-R
Viv at this point took the lead, always followed closely by Moon. A bit behind the leading duo, Red, after a late start, had come close to Sirius, who had sailed some sort of wider bow than needed after his almost-infringement (a bit like a penalty, or maybe he only had a tough time to decide if he should pass Fastnet south or north), and the two of them battled for third and fourth rank for a while. The next image shows the four racers on the third leg towards the small island on Blake Sea – Brigantine. The order remained like this for the rest of the race.
Lap Times: vivipezz Resident BS42d3 – Start: 0:00:04 – Last lap: 0:17:08 moonglownight Resident BSbf2e – Start: 0:00:07 – Last lap: 0:17:09 Sirius Rosca BS6b75 – Start: 0:00:03 – Last lap: 0:17:57 RedHeadJO Resident BS5d9b – Start: 0:00:23 – Last lap: 0:17:53
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NYC Course Chart 336Viv on port tack, Moon and Giulia, and by the line Sirius and Red
For 336 the wind changed to 180°. We had Viv starting on port tack, and as you can see on the image, she succeeded gracefully. Red crashed soon on the first leg. Giulia after the race said that she found it amazing how much rust her boat had gotten, which meant that she sailed behind the rest of the fleet. Viv lead for the longest part of this race and it looked like she would carry it to the finish. But – Viv’s words – Moon was relentless, and I only can agree. My observation was that Viv, on the second last leg, tacked later than needed, which gave Moon the chance to come close enough again until the last mark. Close enough to start a thrilling shadowing battle for the long downwind leg, and he won it by one second. B e a u t i f u l !!
Moon about three boat lengths behind Viv after the last markThis time at the finish – close, closer, racing!
Lap Times: moonglownight Resident BSbf2e – Start: 0:00:08 – Lap 1: 0:10:41 – Last lap: 0:06:45 vivipezz Resident BS42d3 – Start: 0:00:03 – Lap 1: 0:10:34 – Last lap: 0:06:58 Sirius Rosca BS6b75 – Start: 0:00:17 – Lap 1: 0:11:06 – Last lap: 0:07:00 Sandra Absent BS1f26 – Start: 0:00:07 – Lap 1: 0:12:55 – Last lap: 0:07:49 RedHeadJO Resident BS5d9b – Start: 0:00:20 – Lap 1: Not Finished
Btw … Emilio got excited by watching the second race, and was seen on a demo for the Star Class right after the races. We hope to see him joining us sooner or later.
Thank you all for coming and showing some excellent sailing. Congratulations to Viv and Moon for their wins!
Tonight’s regatta started with four yachts but Emilio dropped out early leaving a field of three. Conditions on the Blake were good and there was minimal tourist traffic resulting in no incidents. Wind was a brisk 21 kts. from 190 degrees.
Lap Times: vivipezz Resident _>i> – Start: 0:00:01 – Last lap: 0:12:20 moonglownight Resident moon – Start: 0:00:00 – Last lap: 0:12:48 GinPhx Resident 18AI S – Start: 0:00:05 – Last lap: 0:13:16 emiliopc7 Resident EM69 – Start: 0:00:06 – Last lap: Not Finished
Viv took the lead on the start with a tack earlier than the others followed by Moon and Gin with Emilio crashing on the way to mark two. The order held for the entire course giving Viv the victory.
Lap Times: GinPhx Resident 18AI S – Start: 0:00:02 – Last lap: 0:13:48 moonglownight Resident moon – Start: 0:00:08 – Last lap: 0:13:53 vivipezz Resident _>i> – Start: 0:00:12 – Last lap: 0:13:51
On the start for race two Moon and Gin approached the line from the West while Viv chose a port tack start in from the East. Arriving a little early she sailed along the line but was forced to turn away by the arrival of Moon and Gin. Rounding mark one Gin took the lead while Viv and Moon fought for second place. On the way to the gate at mark two it appears Viv was able to shadow Moon and take a lead over him. Gin continued on in the lead.
On the leg to mark three Gin still held a comfortable lead and Viv was able to extend her lead over Moon slightly. Rounding mark three Viv was able to close on Gin, momentarily overlapped but Gin was able to slowly pull away. However at mark four Viv was able to overlap Gin and at the same time Moon overlapped Viv.
Approaching mark 5 they separated some with Gin holding a boat’s length lead on Viv and Viv a boat’s length on Moon. After clearing mark 5 Moon was able to overlap Viv while Gin extended her lead. Viv and Moon sailed side by side until just before the line where Moon was able to gain enough room to cross the line ahead of Viv.
NYC 322 Race Results: 1: moonglownight Resident moon – Race Time: 0:12:19 2: GinPhx Resident 18AI S – Not Finished 3: vivipezz Resident _>i> – Not Finished
Lap Times: moonglownight Resident moon – Start: 0:00:11 – Last lap: 0:12:08 GinPhx Resident 18AI S – Start: 0:00:02 – Last lap: Not Finished vivipezz Resident _>i> – Start: 0:00:19 – Last lap: Not Finished
For the start of race three Viv again used a port start while Gin and Moon came in on starboard tack. Gin crossed the line first followed by Moon and then Viv. Gin tacked right after crossing the line with Viv close behind and Moon continuing on a SE course and later tacking.
Rounding mark 1 Gin held the lead closely followed by Viv with Moon some distance behind. At mark 2 Gin still held the lead with Viv closing to within a boat’s length. Moon was trailing at some distance. On the way to mark 3 Viv was able to catch up to and overlap Gin. As they arrived at mark 3 Viv was on the inside but before they could round the mark Viv lost control or perhaps became unseated and carried her and Gin’s boats out of the race. An unfortunate end to a close and exciting race.
Tonight’s regatta featured five boats. The Blake Sea wasn’t bad but it was one of the worst nights for tourist activity that I’ve seen in a long time. So much so Gin decided to not race the last course in order to help keep them from interfering. Wind was from 195 degrees at 18 kts with variations of 2 and gusts at 3.
Congratulations to Gemma, Ester and Moon for their victories.