Brad and Al did the delivery down on Friday and had the boat tied up next to OYC by 1700 after a 6.5 hr motor down from Shilshole. Not much wind and a little rain but not bad and the forecast was good for the next day.
The morning dawned clear and cold with a northwesterly breeze. The decks particularly on the shady side of the boat were icy and many lines were frozen. A little bucketing of salt water helped thaw things along with the rising temps. The rest of the crew arrived early and ready to go with a car staged at TYC just in case... With the fearless leader absent along with a number of other regulars we had to sort out some new roles for almost everyone. Heading out for the start the assumption was 1 Heavy and it was teed up by the new foredeck crew of Matt, Katie and Kenyon. While hanging around the starting area it became apparent the wind was rising as gusts were in the low 20's After watching the cruising class start we decided to switch to the 3 and boy are we glad we did. Start was definitely average with being late at the favored boat end but with clear air. It didn't take long for Kotuku to assert herself sailing higher and faster than the competition we assumed the lead before reaching Boston Harbor. With the ebb tide working against with the wind, now steady 20 knots a real steep chop built along Dana Passage but progress was good. Rounding Johnson Point we were up into the class ahead of us and settled into a beam reach to the Nisqually daymark. We stuck with the 3, although the A3 would have been better for sure. We decided with the somewhat green bow hands not to test our luck or the sails trying a sail change. Rounding the daymark set up a long beat to the Toliva Shoal mark. This was the windiest and roughest part of the race with lots of lumps, bumps and spray. The crew did well though and we arrived at the mark with none of our class in sight. The tide just started flooding at the mark and we misjudged our layline and had to throw a couple more tacks in. We took our time setting up the Rainbow kite and carried it down towards Eagle Island and the first wind convergence area. Switching to the 1 carried us through to the other side passing a couple more boats by sticking very close to the Eagle Island shore. We went to the A3 for the next run to the end of Drayton Passage. Then it was back to the 1 for the close reach back to Johnson Point, before setting the Russian for the run home. One jibe near Hartstene Island and then harden up for the beam reach after Dofflemyer Point to the finish and the gun for our class. Crew worked well particularly Brad tending the main up hill working in sync with Al driving. Stu kept us in good lanes with the tide and wind and then took over for the drive home. The new kids on the bow did well with only a few glitches on one set and the gybe but pretty damn good for no practice. Scott did his usual good job in the pit and Eli did most of the trimming up and down. Eli also provided tons of good grub and OYC were great hosts for Brad and Al Friday night and Sat morning.
After finishing just after 1600 and a favorable tide setting up for a return, we scrambled first to find a fuel dock open and the nearest was Boston Harbor about 8 miles from Olympia. A call confirmed they were open until 1800 we diecided to quickly drop the crew at the dock and have Eli and Al head off on a return trip. They made it to the fuel dock and got 10 gallons to assure they had enough for the return. 15 minutes later they were off and made it to Shilshole at 2300 hitting nearly 12 knots at the Narrows and not hitting any flotsam on the trip. It was a beautiful but cold trip with a nearly full moon.
Thanks Boss and crew for a memorable Saturday, Al
Editorial Comment: Good boat, great crew, nice conservative tactics. Sounds like a winning formula to me!
