Twilight Race 7

Frustration was the name of the game last night. As a crew things went smoothly with good sail changes and generally good tactics. The weather was very warm and the wind was light to gusty. A good start saw us well in with the fleet. The usual traffic jam at the first mark saw us close on the heals of the top guns and aiming to overtake Shiraz and others.  A decision by coach Phil to tack up to the north of the bay on the way to the next mark did not pay off however.  Almost all of the fleet went south and made far better use of what wind there was.  It was all down hill from there!  At every turn we seemed to get further behind.  Pathfinder was definitely more sluggish this week and when there were some strong gusts she was heavy on the helm. There was little we could do but watch the rest as they drew away from us.  We were able to still come in 12th out of 18 yachts on handicap but the frustration of making such slow progress was palpable.  A decision was made to take the boat out of the water on Monday of next week and give her bottom a clean.  She has definitely got some growth there and we should have been more rigorous in cleaning her on a regular basis.  We enjoyed the evening sail and the camaraderie was great but we are now getting a more competitive urge - at the end of the season of course - so with only one more race to go we will be going all out to give our best performance yet.  

I am hoping to sail Pathfinder in the big Regatta coming up if I can find women keen enough to come along as crew.  Anne and Janet have other commitments so it means other willing volunteers will be needed.  I can always find a berth on another yacht but the urge to sail my fat lady is strong. Will keep you posted.  'Til next time ....good sailing