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Larry's LogThe day the regatta started was March 2, a Friday and a busy one for both of us. While I went racing, Diane stayed on the boat to get a diver to clean the bottom and replace some of the zincs, get more water and go shopping. The first race was great. Although we were new to each other, the crew got along and worked well together. Carson was responsible for most of this as he set the tone of being pretty easygoing but we are still in a race. The crew were all other cruisers except for a Dutch girl Carson met who wanted to go to see what it was like and to be able to take some pictures (she was a freelance photographer). The only misadventure was getting out of the lagoon. I was at the wheel (naturally) when we went aground! Understand that there were boats anchored all around us but I had to find the one shallow spot. Well, after the crew went on one side to heel the boat a bit, we managed to back off and proceeded out with the 9am bridge. We went out to the start line and watched the other classes start and analyzed where we wanted to be for our start. We also sized up the competition. We were in the Open Class, meaning liveaboards and cruisers. No spinnakers but you couold use a pole downwind or even twin jibs if you got rated for it. There were 6 other boats in our class but the main competition was a beautiful Swan 58, Skye, and a custom 45 named Hakuna Matata. Carson made it clear that we would race but that it wouldn't interfere with beer drinking! We divided up crew positions and responsibilities. I was to do the mainsheet and traveler since this required the most strength. Carson's mainsheet was not easy!! He later told me that the last guy who crewed in that position during a race had a heart attack - thanks for telling me! Finally, because the boat was very sensitive to gusts, I would have to play the sheet a lot to be able to have the helmsman steer properly and not cause to the boat to round up. OK, I needed some exercise anyway. Our start was at around 11:30 so after watching the other boats start for an hour, we practiced a few tacks, a few gybes, setting the pole and then beers all around! We do have to stay hydrated!! We got back to the starting area and could see our competition very clearly. When we first went out, there were over 150 boats milling around waiting to start, and that was after several classes had started already. One of the competition had Ed and Julie from Free Radical aboard. Well, we had to beat them. At ten minutes, we started jockeying for position. We had decided on a starboard tack start but we wanted to tack onto port shortly after crossing the line. After some exciting moments we won the start, meaning we were the first across the line without being over before the gun. Unfortunately, Skye was just to windward of us, and being much bigger and faster, just "rolled" over us to windward. Of course, they would have to give us time in the final standings. Sailboat races are typically done on a handicap system with larger boats giving so much time per mile of race to the smaller boats, since theoretically, larger boats are faster just by the fact of their size. There are some very arcane rules and regulations, of course, but in general, that is the system. After the first leg upwind, in which I certainly did get a good workout on the mainsheet, the second leg was downwind and it was time for more beer. Generally speaking, we had another beer after rounding each leg's mark, unless the next leg was upwind in which case we were working the sails a bit. Actually, the beer did take second place to working the boat. All the crew really got into the spirit and we wanted to give a good accounting of ourselves. But the beer did flow pretty freely. In the end, we did very well. Although the boat hadn't been officially rated yet, we thought that we would come in second, after all handicaps were taken. Our over the line place was fifth. Not bad and there were still 2 races to go over the next 2 days. The race ended in Marigot Bay but Destiny was in Simpson Bay Lagoon on the Dutch side. Diane and I had made arrangements to meet in Marigot since she was scheduled to sell t-shirts from 7pm to 11pm that night in Marigot during the second of the "official" Heineken Regatta parties. Since we finished around 4pm, we stayed on Mistral for a while and then took a little water taxi to shore. We made arrangements to meet back on Mistral at 10am the next morning. Dave, from Little Gidding and also one of Mistral's crew, waited for our wives on shore until about 6. Diane managed to get a ride, via dinghy, from one of the sponsors who was hanging out at the SMYC. Eileen got a ride, via car, from some friends they knew. Diane arrived first. The traffic on that little island is amazing. They get real, New York style traffic, except it is just a single lane in each direction and the sun is shining and its warm and there's a nice breeze. Well, maybe its not New York style traffic after all. For the party that night, Heineken basically took over the town of Marigot. Streets were closed and there were tents set up all over selling beer and a HUGE platform for the bands. Diane went to the tent where she was to sell the shirts and I wandered around and saw a monster screen where they were showing a video from last year's regatta. Some really nice footage. During some of her time off, Diane had met some of the people from Cambridge Technology Partners, one of the principal sponsors and was fortunate enough to be invited on their boat, a large chartered catamaran for the last day's race. Very nice, and maybe she'll get some pictures of us on the racecourse. After I saw the video I had gone back to the merchandise tent and saw Ken and Vesta who had also volunteered. They were just finishing and I asked if they would drop me off at the boat when they left. They said sure so I told Diane I would catch a ride with them; she wouldn't be finished until 11 but would get a ride back to the SMYC by one of the organizers. So she would be OK, and I was tired from racing. So I went back around 8pm, but I did wait up for her to get home around midnight. The next day, Diane and I took the dinghy over to Marigot so I could get aboard Mistral for the next day's race. She was going to do some more shopping in Marigot anyway and it was nice to get there easily. The second day's race saw an addition to the crew. A friend of Carson's from Trinidad came up for a brief vacation. He used to live on St. Martin and was a yacht charter manager and racer; he knew the local waters well. We also had 2 more girls Carson had met - didn't know racing or sailboats, but were very nice, rather pretty too! Unfortunately, the freelance photographer couldn't make it. We headed out to the starting line and had another very good start. I couldn't tell if we had the best start but it was good enough. This race was about the same length as yesterdays and finished in Philipsburgh, so there was a lot more upwind work. That meant more work for me. There was also a bit more wind than the day before, which also meant harder work for me. Oh well, Carson kept the beer flowing, so I felt OK, although my arms were a bit sore the following day. Carson's friend from Trinidad, Graham, really knew the local conditions and this helped tremendously. Things like "tack when you're 3 feet from shore and we'll get a good lift," gave us a good edge. A combination of good sailing, local knowledge and a fun time gave us enough to win this race. OK!! |