Prairie Schooner
Jeff & Donna, E35-3 purchased 7/21
Last year we did our first race with our 35-3, described in this post:
- https://ericsonyachts.org/ie/threads/our-first-race-with-kismet.20960/
We did the same race this year with a crew of six. Basically, there are seven start options around Narragansett Bay. One finish line. The goal is to sail the most miles between 9am and 3:30pm. Highlights of the rules: You can sail any one leg no more than twice. You can use your engine for a total of 30 minutes. There is an increasing penalty the later you finish after 3:30. After 4pm you’re DSQ.
Sailing Instructions: https://twentyhundredclub.org/blog/...24/08/2024_20HC_Prince_Henry_SI_v1.1.docx.pdf
There’s a complex formula which modifies the actual distance sailed with Time On Distance adjusted by PHRF, with VMG thrown in there somehow. It makes my head hurt to think about it.
Six boats sailed in spinnaker class. We took Second Place.
We beat a J/109, a J/92s, an Express 34, and a Farr 30 Evo (who DSQed for finishing too late). We lost massively to a JS 9000 skippered by six time J/24 world champion and former Americas Cup crew, Moose McClintock. Overall, we’re pretty jazzed by the result. Our miles sailed, mark to mark, were 22.88. This was modified up to 25.84.
The start time was about halfway into flood tide. For days the prediction had been for a westerly 2-4 kts strengthening with the day to SW at 8-10. Instead it started SE at 0-2 kts. We struggled to the first turning mark, but when we headed north the wind freshened and we had the tide with us. We carried the spinnaker the entire way. Deciding not to try for miles further north, we turned south, bucking the nearly depleted flood to a point where we had a number of different options. The wind moved to SW, 8-12 with gusts to 15. We took two different legs east and west then north to the finish. This was against the ebb and downwind in a dying breeze. With plenty of engine time left, we rolled up the jib and kicked Kismet's old Universal into service.
Our friend Gary was our tactician again this year. I’ve sailed this race many times on his C&Cs where we won a few times and placed others. It was his tactics and navigation that I credit for us doing so well in this running. Notice his red hat hunched over the charts in the second photo. I encourage crew to take a turn at the wheel during the race, so 5 of us had a stint at the helm.
Another feature of all Twenty Hundred Club races is that if you get a podium place, you carry a penalty the next year. First place, 15 seconds per mile; Second, 10; Third, 5. Those burn off in 5 second increments in subsequent years you compete in the same race, IF you don’t place again. Overall, I like this feature. It keeps hot boats/skippers from dominating the events. We’ll carry a 10 sec/mile penalty the next time we do this race.
The weather was spectacular, sunny, 75º-80º. Good times had by all.
- https://ericsonyachts.org/ie/threads/our-first-race-with-kismet.20960/
We did the same race this year with a crew of six. Basically, there are seven start options around Narragansett Bay. One finish line. The goal is to sail the most miles between 9am and 3:30pm. Highlights of the rules: You can sail any one leg no more than twice. You can use your engine for a total of 30 minutes. There is an increasing penalty the later you finish after 3:30. After 4pm you’re DSQ.
Sailing Instructions: https://twentyhundredclub.org/blog/...24/08/2024_20HC_Prince_Henry_SI_v1.1.docx.pdf
There’s a complex formula which modifies the actual distance sailed with Time On Distance adjusted by PHRF, with VMG thrown in there somehow. It makes my head hurt to think about it.
Six boats sailed in spinnaker class. We took Second Place.
We beat a J/109, a J/92s, an Express 34, and a Farr 30 Evo (who DSQed for finishing too late). We lost massively to a JS 9000 skippered by six time J/24 world champion and former Americas Cup crew, Moose McClintock. Overall, we’re pretty jazzed by the result. Our miles sailed, mark to mark, were 22.88. This was modified up to 25.84.
The start time was about halfway into flood tide. For days the prediction had been for a westerly 2-4 kts strengthening with the day to SW at 8-10. Instead it started SE at 0-2 kts. We struggled to the first turning mark, but when we headed north the wind freshened and we had the tide with us. We carried the spinnaker the entire way. Deciding not to try for miles further north, we turned south, bucking the nearly depleted flood to a point where we had a number of different options. The wind moved to SW, 8-12 with gusts to 15. We took two different legs east and west then north to the finish. This was against the ebb and downwind in a dying breeze. With plenty of engine time left, we rolled up the jib and kicked Kismet's old Universal into service.
Our friend Gary was our tactician again this year. I’ve sailed this race many times on his C&Cs where we won a few times and placed others. It was his tactics and navigation that I credit for us doing so well in this running. Notice his red hat hunched over the charts in the second photo. I encourage crew to take a turn at the wheel during the race, so 5 of us had a stint at the helm.
Another feature of all Twenty Hundred Club races is that if you get a podium place, you carry a penalty the next year. First place, 15 seconds per mile; Second, 10; Third, 5. Those burn off in 5 second increments in subsequent years you compete in the same race, IF you don’t place again. Overall, I like this feature. It keeps hot boats/skippers from dominating the events. We’ll carry a 10 sec/mile penalty the next time we do this race.
The weather was spectacular, sunny, 75º-80º. Good times had by all.
