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.