Big Boat New Year Race Report

Our Big Boat corespondent reports..... 

 Two boats (Time & Tide and Corinna) presented on cloudy afternoon, with winds of 10-15knots predicted, from the southeast.

We planned two or three windward returns, with tight turns and spinnakers up and down. So we sailed out to the channel marker off Bradley’s Head, to begin the windward leg, to Point Piper. The Harbour was empty except for fleets of 29er and 40er skiffs, their nationals, sailing off Watson’s Bay

As we sailed out,a squall hit us - winds gusting towards 25 knots and heavy rain. We scrambled into our wet weather gear but basically we all quickly became soaked. The squall persisted and we headed for a lee off Clarke Island.

We conferred after the squall had passed and agreed - what the ….., we’re here to sail. So we raced from Clarke Island back to the channel marker, and tacked for Point Piper, upwind.MAnd for a while we raced downwind and then upwind, in gusty conditions; it was fun, very close racing and for once T&T did well, avoiding aheader late in the leg.

We were conferring again to plan the next race, when another squall hit us, again with gusts up to 25 knots and lashings of rain.

We headed for home, taking down our headsails; only to find ourselves drifting in a calm after the squall. As we closed on our moorings a third squall hit us; we really had sailed into the worst of the afternoon.

So, not much to report; except that the rest of the afternoon seemed, from the clubhouse, to be quiet and sailable.

But we were too soaked and cold. Warming up in the clubhouse seemed …. essential.

One short race, lots of exercise in managing squalls; good fun, in retrospect.

We race next on February 6
 

Jonathan