Twilight Race 8

The end of the twilight racing season saw the most exciting and best race yet.  Nineteen boats started the race in a brisk southerly breeze. We did not have the best of starts - we just seemed to loose the wind.  Being in the middle of the fleet did not help with lots of disturbed air.  We made up ground however and were in the middle of the fleet at the first mark. No coach on board tonight which made our ability to move about the cockpit far easier. The reach across to the second mark was true exhilaration with yachts like Shiraz and Bianco left behind us! How exciting to actually be ahead of some of the more noted yachts in the fleet.  Gibing around the second mark saw a slowing of the fleet as again the eastern side of the course had much flukier breezes.  The run back to the apex of the triangle was fair and we were able to maintain a lead on about half the fleet.  With the headsail and mainsail "goose winged" we made steady progress. Having tacked around the third mark we had a fairly stiff beat to windward. A decision to put in an extra tack was prudent but put us on the back foot a little and Shiraz managed to get past us.  The  final mark was rounded brilliantly and we set ourselves up well for a fast run back to the finish line.   We were ahead of about 6 yachts at the last mark including Bianco and the run home went brilliantly.  We pulled away from the yachts behind us and were closing quickly on Shiraz.  Had the run been just a little longer we would have comfortably passed her.   

The improvement this week was outstanding and probably due to the great job of hull cleaning that my husband and Stan did on Sunday morning!  Pathfinder was a different boat this week. She was just so well balanced, responsive and was moving at least 1 knot faster than last week. We all really enjoyed the race and were able to do what we thought was the best yet and the results proved it. We were 3rd out of 19 yachts! The excitement exhibited by both coaches Harry and Phil and the congratulations from so many of the male competitors really made us glow with pride. Not bad from a group of middle aged women with an average age of 54! Girl Power - yah!  The only down side is that there will not be anymore twilight races until January 2009.  I hope that we will get together and do a few of the Sunday races and I am still looking for a crew to do the long distance Regatta race in two weeks time. I will get a few more races in before the season is over,  sailing with Stan and my husband. Anne now goes on to focus on the Tasmanian Laser Dinghy  Championships in two weeks time and Janet will no doubt spend time on her motor cruiser before the winter sees us all keeping warm and comfortable at home. So till next time ... Good sailing!