Every year, one of my sailing highlights is participating in the freshwater Goosebumps race on Lake Union here in Seattle. It's six weeks and six races, giving you that crucial something to look forward to during the darkest parts of January and February. Last year we did well and got 2nd place in the series, and this year, we did even better!
The first three races were 0-wind drifters. We managed to finish while a lot of other boats didn't, but we understandably didn't fare well against a bunch of well-sailed dinghies, and two much lighter, racier boats in my class - a Laser 28 and a J30. However, our usual competition is a well-sailed Catalina 30 named Necessary Evil, and I think the results speak for themselves on our rivalry:
We had one week where we beat Necessary Evil by literally one second in a photo finish, and they kept us on our toes every week otherwise. It's super fun to have such a closely matched boat.
The final race yesterday was wild - super gusty, with the winds frequently puffing into the high 20s and low 30s. Maybe 12-15 sustained most of the time. Here's a good example of why cracking off on the main is important, and this was with one reef in already. Behind me you can see Tipsy Gipsy, a Soverel 33, whose previously splinted mast came off the boat yesterday. Everyone on board was OK.
(might have to click it to see it animated)
And here was the finish against Necessary Evil - they were right on top of us, with their mast over my deck, but a fatal puff rounded them up and they autotacked away from the finish. I bet there was some profanity.
(might have to click it to see it animated)
Ultimately, yesterday's conditions being what they were forced the Laser 28 to retire early, the J30 broke their tiller, and the 505 couldn't get off the dock and out to the race (probably a good thing, ultimately) so that clinched 1st place for me. I'll take it!
At the end of the day, I love racing this thing in beer cans. It's such a good time.
The first three races were 0-wind drifters. We managed to finish while a lot of other boats didn't, but we understandably didn't fare well against a bunch of well-sailed dinghies, and two much lighter, racier boats in my class - a Laser 28 and a J30. However, our usual competition is a well-sailed Catalina 30 named Necessary Evil, and I think the results speak for themselves on our rivalry:
We had one week where we beat Necessary Evil by literally one second in a photo finish, and they kept us on our toes every week otherwise. It's super fun to have such a closely matched boat.
The final race yesterday was wild - super gusty, with the winds frequently puffing into the high 20s and low 30s. Maybe 12-15 sustained most of the time. Here's a good example of why cracking off on the main is important, and this was with one reef in already. Behind me you can see Tipsy Gipsy, a Soverel 33, whose previously splinted mast came off the boat yesterday. Everyone on board was OK.
(might have to click it to see it animated)
And here was the finish against Necessary Evil - they were right on top of us, with their mast over my deck, but a fatal puff rounded them up and they autotacked away from the finish. I bet there was some profanity.
(might have to click it to see it animated)
Ultimately, yesterday's conditions being what they were forced the Laser 28 to retire early, the J30 broke their tiller, and the 505 couldn't get off the dock and out to the race (probably a good thing, ultimately) so that clinched 1st place for me. I'll take it!
At the end of the day, I love racing this thing in beer cans. It's such a good time.
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