June was busy! I’ve been busy. We did both the 3rd of the SYC Round Island series, Round Blake Island and the crazy 3 Buoy Fiasco. Both races had something in common. A real lack of wind. At least with the RBI we finished and placed 3rd in class thanks in part to a boat or two that called it quits after what was a long, long day of super slow sailing. Whether by luck or skill we managed to sail from puff to puff from Shilshole to Restoration Point while a lot of the fleet ahead of us in the Racer-Cruiser fleet was dead in the water. We felt smart. Thankfully a fellow racer clarified the “shortened course” instructions which we were totally confused by or we would have rounded Blakely Rock instead! The current was ripping around the buoy at Restoration and we were sailing backwards for a bit but cleared and headed back to West Point which by now was another upwind leg as the wind had clocked around to the north. It was still very slow going though. The wind finally started to fill as we neared the bluffs and a couple of good legs put us right in there. Not bad for big bruiser like the Nordic 44. Some good gybes back down to Elliott Bay and we were happy to make it into the finish before the cut off. We had no idea we placed until the next day.
The 3 Buoy Fiasco was just that for us. We started well and I think we picked the best course but Murphy got us. The A2 kite’s leech line managed to get snagged on the jib halyard shackle during the drop at Spring Beach (Bouy #2 for us) we lost 15 minutes at least getting it unstuck. We were toast at that point. By the time we got to Jeff’s Head the wind had completely died. We spent an amusing 90 minutes drifting around that buoy snacking and drinking until it was clear we wouldn’t make the 5pm cut off. Too bad as we might have actually finished another race not really suited to the boat. Crew work was good but sometimes that just isn’t enough. We had a great time all the same. The Pig Roast at PMYC on Bainbridge was good fun. They put on a nice event.