Today I enjoyed an invitation to Taikata Sailing Club in Te Atatu, where I was sorted out with a very tidy frostbite to sail, thanks to Keith and Doug.
The one race took around 92 minutes for the fastest boat, and the spread was around 15 minutes.
I'd like to report that I had cleaned up, however this was not to be the case, and I was struggling mid-fleet.
The race started off with a long beat in very light conditions, and although I was close to the front off the start, I couldn't really come to grips with the layout and tuning of the boat, and slowly slipped back from the leaders, unable to point as high, or foot as fast. At one point, I found myself very near the back of the fleet.
Fortunately the wind started to build as we approached the top mark for the first time, and I was able to settle into a routine for tacking, and get some performance happening. At the top, I was battling to avoid being tail-end charlie.
The next leg was a long run, and I was able to make up a lot of ground, opening up a healthy gap on the other back markers, and closing up on the bunch ahead. Rounding the bottom, there was open water between the front bunch, which I was almost up with, and the chasing bunch.
Sailing back upwind, I was again struggling for pace, and although I was hanging on, I again lost ground to the boats nearby.
Another short run and beat, and I had lost a little more ground. As we turned to head for home, I was safely in 7th place, well behind the front bunch and safely clear of the trailing group. With a long run back to the finish, Sub-Zero once again showed very good downwind pace, and I was able to close up to the four boats ahead, gradually gaining little by little.
Sadly for me, however, there was simply not enough race-course to get ahead, and although it was fairly close, I had to settle for 7th at the finish.
All in all, it was great to be out on the water, and I'm hoping to be invited back fairly soon. I'd like to drop a few more inches of rake in, to suit my sailing style, and wish for a little more breeze.
Thanks again to Keith, Doug, and Taikata SC for a great day on the water!
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