Cancelled Race? Not for the sharks!

I am lucky enough to have an office by the water and within walking distance to several marinas and my yacht club. On days like today, it also means I can predict when races will be cancelled due to stormy conditions or dangerous winds.

Earlier in the day, a coworker and I went for a walk, and the waves were crashing over Meyer's Pier (an unusual thing in these protected waters). With winds this strong, I was certain that the evening "round the buoys" race would be cancelled. The wind did die down in the later afternoon, but not by enough.

The sharks, being smaller and easier to handle than the larger boats, decided to go out for some match racing. Conditions were challenging, but not dangerous. After 90 minutes or so, we headed back in.

I often feel disappointed when a race gets cancelled, particularly when I don't feel like the conditions merit it... but I realize that a lot of the boats are more difficult to handle in a blow, are considerably more valuable (and expensive to repair), and frankly, many of the owners are older. Cancelling the race was the smart thing to do. Most of the people racing (myself included) are there for the fun of sailing more than the competition and winning races... so most of us would rather keep it fun and safe. The only conflict is between what different people consider safe. :-)

A New Purpose

Between work, family, sailing, and my other hobbies, I haven't had the time I wanted to work on this sailing blog. To remedy that, I am going to add sailing advice for people who are worse sailors than I am. ha ha

Seriously, I'm going to try to write about the hardware of sailing, handling the boat, tactics, even rules (particularly ones that I have trouble with). Even if no one finds any of this useful, it is probably a good exercise for me to go through writing about it.

I will still post about my own personal experiences, as well. This is a personal blog after all... not a school!

First Race of 2011!

We did fairly well, taking our time with the spinnaker and managed a respectable third place. Not bad for our first race, ever! To be honest, we are still not entirely sure where the buoys are, so some amount of guesswork probably slows our times.

I did manage to take a few photos while out, as there is some downtime as foredeck crew.

Two sailboats under spinnaker, the far one is another Shark 24.

View of the sunset, looking forward under our spinnaker.

Three sailboats following us on a long, downwind leg of the race.

There were a few issues on board, mainly in regards to the "ropes" being too narrow. I ended up with painful rope burns, and had to untangle lines more than once. Eric will be changing some of the lines to make them easier to handle before the next race.

Sore hands, from rope burn.

Coming in third was a great way to start the season, and as we get to know the boat things can only get better.

First Sail of the Year

Yesterday I went for my first sail in 2011, on a Shark 24. I went out on this particular Shark one evening in 2010, and ended my sailing season by falling overboard and getting pulled under the keel! Not a good way to end an otherwise successful season. By any measurement, the second sail was much improved over the first one.

Not only am I changing boats (I was on Kraken, a Viking 28 for the last three years), but I am taking up a new position as foredeck crew. This will be the first time I have done this on a regular basis, as I have spent most of my time grinding away on jib sheets or tending the main from the safety of the cockpit. If nothing else, I definitely am going to need good, grippy shoes as the foredeck is slippery when wet and our boat has no safety lines.

Today, after a few hours of practice sailing, I am quite sore. Definitely, a big part of that is being out of shape, but I also had to throw myself around quite a bit during tacks/gybes, and a combination of sharp corners and getting to know the boat has given me more than a few bruises and cuts.

Tonight is our first race of the season! Should be great weather for it, cool and sunny with a fresh breeze around 10 knots at the moment. I'll try to take some photographs tonight, before the race.

Bay of Quinte Yacht Club

I went to the yacht club this evening, and I was amazed at how much I had missed it! Socializing with people who have the same interests is something that everyone should do. After a long winter, I am finally excited to talk to people about sailing... and I cannot wait until the boat is in the water!

Sailing

I've been sailing for a few years, but I haven't been keeping up this blog (obviously). So.. for this season, I am going to write about our race preparations, work on the sailboat (I'm sailing on a friend's Shark 24 this year), and every race we attend!

I have a decent, waterproof point-and-shoot camera that I will be taking photos with on every sail. Racing is pretty hectic, but I should have time on the odd long tack to get it out.

Eric, the boat's owner, wants us to meet every Wednesday to discuss the boat, tactics, and most importantly the 2011 rules for club racing.