Breezy conditions made it tough for the 70+ crowd and the 7- crowd that populated our rail on the upwind bash, but the kids were smiling big time when we turned to corner and blasted off south wing and wing with a poled out jib. Grandma and Grandpa did their best to stay aboard, as did guest crew Leif (age 7) Katie (also 7) Talia (7) and Savai (4 going on 14.) We were ably assisted by Leif's parents (Peter and Keturah), and Katie's dad Alan.
Wind was puffy, maybe 25 knots + so we were well up into the wind range where Kotuku shines, but the forecasted rain was no where to be seen. So for most of the race it was just us, in the sunshine, out for a sail with friends and family.
We had a decent, but not spectacular start. We luffed up a boat trying to squeeze in at the pin and bullied them into spinning, so we had a clear lane and were the only boat close to the line when the gun went off. Before long we tacked onto the long port tack to West Point, crossing our fleet easily. We took one hitch in a bit before the point, then carried across to the far shore in a progressive header.
By this point we were ahead of all the boats in the NFS fleets that started ahead of us, and the spinnaker boats and the rest of our fleet were way back too.
It was probably best that no one was watching too closely because our tacks went something like this:
Ok, all kids down Below. You too Grandma! Dad, hold on the the hand rail!
Helm is down. Release. Grind. No the other way!
Ok, all set. all kids on the rail. One hand for your juice box, one for the boat.
Hard work for everybody!
Still, it was fun to have 4 kids and a couple of grand parents on the rail. And Kotuku is safe and dry even in a blow. Meanwhile, we were so lifted once we flopped over that we were basically pointed at the Rock. It only took one or two tacks on the west side, one of which was more about staying clear of the ferry coming out of Eagle Harbor than anything else and it was time for our only manuever, the jib change.
Rounding Blakely Rock is always fun, and I joked that the last time we did this race I let Janna's dad drive, so this time I was going to have Janna drive instead. She took the helm at the top of the beat and I went forward to rig the pole with Peter's help. Down came the #3. Grandpa sat on it, and then up went the #1 (we are required to sail bare headed during sail changes in NFS racing). Normally we use a shorter pole if we aren't flying the spinnaker because it is easier to manage, but I didn't bring it. So Peter and I clipped on the big beast, and away we went, wing and wing. Not bad for a bunch of dads who don't do foredeck.
And Wing and Wing is Fast! Apparently dad saw speeds to 12 knots, but Talia says that the fastest she saw was 11.2. Regardless of which generation was right, it seems pretty darned fast to me without a kite up.
We kept looking over our shoulders, waiting for the fleet to overtake us. No one did, the closest boat was Eye Candy, but we had put them behind us at the start and they didn't have the horsepower to run us down.
Gradually, it dawned on us. We were looking pretty good...we'd be first to finish out of 104 boats, and winner of the class and the NFS division. You should have heard the cheering when our little bunch crossed the line and got the gun. The fleets behind us never caught up, so we did a long beer tack out enjoying the sunshine and waving at friends as they came blasting back. Dos looked great planing off, as did Little Blue Dune Buggy and More Uff Da with their bows up and new kites pulling.
Fun ride! Thanks to friends and family, and to the Sloop for putting on such an epic race, with all proceeds going to support kids sailing programs at Sail Sand Point.
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