The wind had dropped, was coming more from the North-West, and there was a threat of rain. The sea was calm - almost like being back at the home club !
Simon & I worked out the transit for the gate start, as before, then sailed back to the comittee boat, to discover that it was a conventional line start instead.
We managed to get a reasonable position at approx. 15 seconds before the start, when there was a hoot, and the "race delayed" pendant came up. Pity. It appeared that the wind had shifted, so the mark had to be moved.
At the restart, we again positioned ourselves and started out, only to hear a "general recall", since there were too many boats over the favoured pin end of the line.
The third attempt at a start was a "black flag" - immediate disqualification for boats over the line. We were under (well under..), but we counted eleven boats who were recorded by the committee as over the line. That black-flag start was also a "general recall". So we started again.
By this time, it was 12:30, so we had something to eat before the fourth attempt (also a black flag start). This time everyone got away cleanly.
The actual race itself was fairly uneventful - we were kept it track with friends from the 'Harp on the first beat, but gradually fell back. In the end, we were 2nd or 3rd from the back of the fleet. Not a very encouraging state of play. The only hope was that the score would not be too bad, because a number of good boats had been disqualified.
We spied some very dark clouds on the horizon as we prepared for the next race.
We waited and waited. The drizzle was cold.
Since the wind had shifted, the committee re-set the marks before starting the second race (the third race in the series).
The wind began to drop as we proceeded through the course.
Spinnaker gybes were easier, and we managed to fly the kite through the gybe a couple of times.
Coming off the final leeward mark, we decided to "go left" to the finishing line. It seemed that most of the fleet had gone the other way. This would be a bit of a gamble, although we were confident.
At the final line, we had Maciej from the Welsh Harp sneak in above us. Disappointing, but we had had a good overall race.
We had to paddle back to Looe. As we packed away the boats, the threatened rain arrived.
It had been a good day, but it was time to get into the warm.
The disappointment of the previous race had forced us to review what we were doing wrong. So we had a strategy in place for the next race. Again, it was a line start instead of a "gate". We had a reasonable position at the time of the start, only to hear yet another "general recall". This was followed by yet another "black flag" start. This time we had a very reasonable start and headed upwind.
This time we were more focused. We had a number of Welsh Harp boat numbers around us, as we tried to keep with the "pack".
This time we were more focused. We had a number of Welsh Harp boat numbers around us, as we tried to keep with the "pack".
The wind began to drop as we proceeded through the course.
Spinnaker gybes were easier, and we managed to fly the kite through the gybe a couple of times.
Coming off the final leeward mark, we decided to "go left" to the finishing line. It seemed that most of the fleet had gone the other way. This would be a bit of a gamble, although we were confident.
At the final line, we had Maciej from the Welsh Harp sneak in above us. Disappointing, but we had had a good overall race.
We had to paddle back to Looe. As we packed away the boats, the threatened rain arrived.
It had been a good day, but it was time to get into the warm.
Results:
ReplyDelete44th in Race 2
42nd in Race 3
Overall position at end of day 2: 53rd.