Yesterday was another Wednesday night Rum Race with the Lake Monroe Sailing Association (check out their new web site). I was holding off installing tell tails thinking I would be buying new sails soon but that hasn't happened yet so I went ahead and installed them on my old yellow sails. I put 3 on each sail about 10" off of the luff and spread out evenly. Then two about 2/3 out on the sail for when I reef.
I also picked up a Forespar 27" - 48" adjustable tiller extension. I was tired of steering with my foot as I hiked out further on the rail. The tiller extension would hopefully mean that I could move forward and further out on the rail when sailing in heavier winds.
I have been recently tracking wind speed and direction with windalert.com. Great web site and iPhone app. The data seems to be more accurate than other wind sites I have been monitoring. The winds on Lake Monroe were brisk but favorable today. Around 14 MPH out of the NE.
The Rum Race begins between 6:00 and 6:30 PM and you record your own time. I started at 6:00 PM reefed with two turns on the main and one on the mizzen but as I crossed the line I felt I could carry the whole mizzen sail so I unreefed it. The start of the race is usually a down wind leg and last night was no exception. Only slightly more out of the north so no one (that I noticed) flew a spinnaker or went wing on wing. I was the first one to the mark but a Flying Scot was closing in on me. I made a decision to unreef the main before the mark. Sailing solo this is no small task. I wanted to get the sail out before I rounded the mark because I thought I would continue with some downwind speed as I fiddled with the main mast. As you can guess that didn't go as planned. As I went forward the boat rounded up. I stayed committed and unfurreled the mast with a few hang ups trying to unhook the down hull. I raced back to the tiller. I then realized that the out hull had released and the main sail was not deployed properly. It took two more attempts going forward and rounding up (not on purpose) to get the main set. I drifted off course during the mishap and the Flying Scot was next to me by the time I rounded the mark. When I finally got back into position and started sailing I noticed I bent my tiller extension about 5 - 10 degrees right where it connects to the tiller. It must have gotten stuck somewhere flopping around as I rounded up. Luckily it was still working with the slight bend because it was extremely valuable when reaching.
On the return leg I was able to point high enough to head back to the start/finish. The Flying Scott stayed above me and at the time I though he was to high but he was on the correct line and I got pinched when I arrived at the start/finish with a time of 40:01. After time correction I finished 7th out of 8 boats but I was only 5 min 15 sec off of the leader which was an improvement for me over past races.
Because the race went quickly most of the boats competed in an unofficial second race. This time I started with the sails fully deployed. I felt like my downwind leg was a little slower but the tail tells were flying properly so I was confident that I made decent time. When I tacked at the mark I was caught off guard by my sails catching the breeze a little to well and the boat started to roll over. It was so bad that I had to try and release the sails, abandon the sheet lines and start climbing over the rail to try and get the boat to right itself. As I looked over the rail I saw two thirds of the centerboard out of the water. I was sure I was going over but the boat somehow came back upright. I didn't dwell on that mishap too long. When the boat came back up I immediately began trimming the sails and was off. The wind direction stayed favorable out of the NE and I was able to sail strait back to the start/finish again. This time I tried to follow the better course used by the Flying Scot in the previous race. The Sea Pearl was over powered but I was able to control it fairly well since I was sitting way out on the rail and slightly forward of the mizzen mast. I was very happy with my right foot on the mizzen mast and my left foot hooked under the rim of the hatch. Several times I was able to lay all the way out to keep the boat from healing over any further than I wanted.
I crossed the finish line in a time of 34:23. A new personal best that shattered what I had done in any previous race. Show Me, a Precision 23, sailed by Andy Forest came in with a 32:45. My corrected time was 35:35. His was 34:06. I was only 1:29 off of the leader and fished a respectable 3rd. Another personal best and reason to celebrate last night. I finally feel competitive. (At least when I don't have to try and point with the sloops).
Could I have done better? Probably. I defiantly could have improved my overall time with an additional person. With experienced crew I could have unreefed and trimmed sails much better. I also would have benefited from extra weight on the rail and not been so over powered at times. But crew is a difficult thing. I am overly competitive. I can be ornery when things don't go my way. Not many many people want to deal with that. (Ok, nobody that I know) Who knows maybe one day I will get someone else on the boat. Until then I am sailing solo and continue to test my skills.
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