This is a bitter-sweet time for Thursday's Child and her crew as the 2012/2013 VRC Polar Bear series has come to an end. Sad because it was a really fun and challenging series, and happy because it means that spring is coming and warmer weather and warmer regattas are on the way! This year we saw loads of new boats out racing who at the beginning were having a tough time sailing out of their own shadow, but by the end were a force to be reckoned with. The last race of the series this was evident as Alfy on his C&C34 Moonbeam came ripping past us donning a set of new sails and a skipper with a smile you couldn't wipe off of his face with a 2X4. His boat was fast and he and his crew were sailing very well.
On Thursday's Child we struggled a bit after another botched start (an issue with a loose-nut on the end of the tiller). We focused on recovering and took the most direct route to the mark. This was really trying on us as it was dead down wind and, while it was the fastest way to get there, it felt painfully slow. We managed to catch up most of the fleet by the time we were half way to the mark and were very happy when we converged at the down wind mark with everyone we were trying to beat.
On Thursday's Child we struggled a bit after another botched start (an issue with a loose-nut on the end of the tiller). We focused on recovering and took the most direct route to the mark. This was really trying on us as it was dead down wind and, while it was the fastest way to get there, it felt painfully slow. We managed to catch up most of the fleet by the time we were half way to the mark and were very happy when we converged at the down wind mark with everyone we were trying to beat.
We all traded tacks on an upwind leg that was almost entirely a gamble - there was no proper way to do it best, it was all guesswork and B.S. The wind was abating as we neared the windward mark and, with the exception of a couple of the faster boats, we once again converged with the rest of our fleet and this time with the Div 2 boats joined us. On Thursday's Child we luckily managed to sneak around the mark just before the mass of 25+ boats joined each other in an impromptu raft-up at the windward mark. Bumping gunnels and laughter could be heard as we sailed away from everyone. For the boats we left at the mark there was no way to get out of the messy mass and many of them were stuck for quite a while. On the last leg we struggled to fly our spinnaker in the no-wind conditions as we sailed towards the finish-line and fought very hard to fend off Moonbeam. Unfortunately Alfy and his crew aboard the mighty "beam" managed to sneak past us and finished ahead of us... Rats!
We very happily finished in 9th place for the day which put us in 8th place of 19 boats for the series. We may have done better but unfortunately we missed three races as we had to cover for the race committee who weren't available. The most important thing is that everyone had loads of fun and it looks like we've got an awesome crew for the rest of the season and for the 2013/14 Polar Bear Series - I can't wait!
Once again we strapped the camera to the back of the boat. As always this is intended to help us review how we sailed and see what we can do better. There are loads of mistakes and the footage certainly isn't edited in any exciting way. If you're crewing aboard the boat this might be really interesting... if you're not it might be as exciting as doing your income taxes. As is with the other videos there isn't really any sound so I'd turn the volume down! | |