Never Wish III Upon Others

21 juli 2015 - Met een historie van meer dan 100 jaar was de jaarlijkse 150 Mijl Race van Cowes naar St. Malo weer druk bezet met meer dan 170 deelnemers en als qualifier voor de Fastnet Race 2015. Toeschouwers waren weer massaal toegestroomd om de start van de race mee te maken en deelnemers toe te juichen.

Befitting its over 100 year history, the start of the annual 150 mile race from Cowes to St. Malo combines tradition and pageantry. It is a minor classic, but a true gem of a race with a stunning and hospitable destination on the French coast, and as a qualifying event for the biennial Fastnet Race the starting area was busy with over 170 entries. Spectators lining the promenade on the Cowes waterfront enjoyed a warm and bright summer morning, each class start signalled with a shot from an antique bronze cannon on the ‘Castle’ end of the start line. The classes left in waves 10 minutes apart, sailing slowing away down the west Solent under their multi-colored spinnakers.

 

The start order began with the two smaller classes, and soon the bigger IRC 2 class crossed behind the line in the lead-up to the gun. Maverick is somewhat mature and at 40 feet on the smaller side of the IRC 2 class, with a correspondingly lower rating, and best to stay above or clear of bigger boats on the start. Following the Solent adage ‘wind in the south, start in the south’, and to take potential advantage of a tidal race closer to the south shore, most of the boats gathered along the first 100 yards of the line. Our strategy was to concede the initial tide advantage but avoid getting boxed in and sailing in the foul air of the bigger boats, and in the minutes before the start we tacked back into the Solent and found a wonderfully clear stretch several hundred meters further up the line.

 

The gentle 10 knot wind was very slightly aft, and the earlier classes opted to either sail deeper under spinnaker, or in some cases to use a flat reaching sail called an A0 or ‘Code 0’. We hoisted our A0 just before the start, and a minute before the start we turned up toward the line and unfurled this terrific creation from John Parker and OneSails. Maverick quickly picked up speed and we trimmed for a direct line down to the end of the Solent. Several of the boats selected bigger running spinnakers and while slightly faster, were forced to sail a course slightly off line toward the north.

 

Benefitting from a well timed start , the right sail for the conditions and somewhat obsessive trim, Maverick maintained pace with many of the ostensibly faster boats in the class. Ken Parsons and I reminisced about the Cherbourg Race the previous year, when we also pulled off a strong run down the western Solent, and we again worked to sail in the swiftest part of the tide in the deeper shipping channel. In the Cherbourg Race our tactics and navigation were validated when the perennial top Dutch boat ‘Tonniere de Breskens’ followed the same line and overtook us mid-way to the Needles, and in a déjà vu moment this seasons bigger and better Tonnere overtook at nearly the same location. This year only three Dutch boats entered, and spotting Mav and her Dutch sail numbers, several of her crew waved sportingly as they slipped quickly by.

 

The wind built to the low teens and a few hours after the start we came to the iconic view of the Solent, a line of white chalk cliffs and pinnacles called ‘The Needles’. The pinnacles fall off to small lighthouse marking the western edge of the Isle of Wight, with an old wreck to be skirted just past the light. The southwest wind gusted and fell as it passed around and through the Needles, but Maverick kept her footing and continued to catch up to and pass boats from the earlier starting classes. Our confidence grew further as we worked past fellow TwoHanded boats Malice and Eujet, as they are well-sailed and top finishers. Just past the Needles the wind shifted further, and the fleet hoisted jibs and doused their downwind sails.

 

Maverick’s strength is upwind, preferably in much wind and messy seas. From a comfort perspective we appreciated the smooth seas and modest breeze, but lighter winds were forecast overnight that could be more advantageous for the smaller boats. We concentrated to maintain speed and ‘bank’ time for later, and also each took short breaks to try to save energy for later in the race. The welcome upwind segment was all too brief, and after 90 minutes the wind shifted further behind and we raised our big blue light spinnaker.

 

The course took us just south of the mid-channel shipping lanes and past the ‘Les Hanois’ lighthouse marking shallows off the western end of Guernsey (Channel Islands). Through the day we steadily built a several mile cushion over most of our smaller doublehanded bretheren (and sisteren), but closing to within 9 miles of Les Hanois the wind began to drop; I commented to Ken that “I hope this holds up until we are past Les Hanois, we can round it before the tide turns and the little guys behind wil be F*ed”. The moment I finished the sentence I wished I could take it back. Murphy was no doubt listening, and this time he devised a tortuous and painfull way to punish our hubris.

 

Within minutes of the offhand remark the wind dropped to a virtual whisper. A swift current brought us toward Hanois, at times faster than the speed of the wind behind us. The wind shifted dramatically, at one time rotating completely around within a minute and forcing us to follow it a full 360 degrees. Sails sagged and we sat idle among a few other boats, but we could make out a line of boats far behind us with full spinnakers, still a few miles away but with more wind. We spotted a familiar deep blue spinnaker with a white stripe down the middle – it was So What (now ‘Pincer Movement’), our beloved JPK from the previous two seasons, carried on a breeze while we sat glumly in the lull.

 

For the next hour the armada of trailing boats drew closer, erasing much of our earlier gains. As we approached within 2 miles of Hanois the wind suddenly picked up, and we strained to hold a shallow line with the big kite to maintain a safe distance from the rocks. One of our competitors rounded up in the freshening wind and crossed uncontrolled a few feet behind our transom, another bore off deeper toward the light, while yet another realized they could not make the mark and were forced to hastily drop their spinnaker and sail out of danger under white sails.

 

In prior years we ghosted past Hanois in a lighter conditions, and could hear the faint strain of music and parties as the offshore investment bankers celebrated their weekly gains. This year the wind continued to rise and drown out the revelry from the island, and Mav hit double-digit speeds on the way toward the finish.

We took short breaks and hand steered, and when the wind held steadily above 20 knots Ken called me topside and suggested we get the light kite down. It was amazingly prescient, and just as we finished getting the last part of the gennaker safely down the forward hatch the wind shifted and rose quickly. Within a minute we saw 23-24 kts, with a few boats still under spinnaker planning past, but several others around us struggled to hold their course. With a further rise to 26-28 kts all hell broke loose on a few nearby boats, with loud flapping spinnakers, much shouting, and erratic maneuvering. For a second time we avoided a competitor coming at us out of control, and under main and number 3 jib we thundered along 30 miles from the finish.

 

Our tactics over the last few hours were shaped by the sudden onset of high winds, collective memory of earlier spinnaker handling issues (and repairs), as well as a desire to preserve sails, rig and gear for the more important Fastnet Race in a month’s time. No doubt conceding a few places we continued under white sails until the winds remained under 20 kts, and then conservatively set the smaller heavy gennaker. At daybreak the citadel-city of St. Malo came into view, buildings and spires rising up above its massive grey walls, and the fleet converged on the final course mark and finish ship.

 

The combination of smooth seas and light winds during the night generally benefitted the smaller boats, and the overall results (and doublehanded class) reflected strong performances by the IRC 3 and 4 fleet at the expense of the bigger IRC 1 and 2 boats. We crossed the line as the 8th out of 28 finishers in the doublehanded class but on corrected time dropped to 16th; we took some solace by finishing ahead of the other J-120 and the two other bigger boats in the class. Overall Mav placed in the top third, and managed a respectable 14th of 39 in the competitive IRC 2 class with crewed boats. We also finished ahead of Tonniere and fellow IJspegel competitor Westwind on corrected time, with bragging rights as the top Dutch finisher.

 

A few hours rest were welcome after a long race, but one of the special rewards of this gem of a race came a few hours later. We sat in a restaurant terrace in this lovely historic city, enjoying a warm summer day and an impressive ‘fruits de mer’ platter. In addition to the superb food and perfect weather, the prospect of hours of uninterrupted sleep lay ahead. We picked up a few more points in the season standings, but importantly we completed our second and final Fastnet qualifying race. Later in the afternoon we joined the other crews for the prize giving, outside the St. Malo yacht club at the foot of the city walls. No silverware for Maverick this time, but much reward in spending the afternoon and evening with sailing friends in this stunning medieval citadel.

IRC 2H

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