2007 Parhelion Spring Series
The Parhelion spring yacht racing series is run by the Portsmouth Sailing Club, with races in the Eastern Solent, off Portsmouth and in Hayling bay.
Race 7 report, from Saturday 21st April 2007
Crew : Phil, Phil B, Joe, Darrell, Barry
From Rhapsody
The forecast is for light south-easterly winds and plenty of sunshine. Today we are going to have just one long race and after the drive down from Hertfordshire in which we see not a breath of wind, we find there is actually quite a decent breeze and lots of sunshine. We hear over the VHF that Condor is somewhere near the Mary Rose and so when the crew is all present we set off. The main goes up in Haslar creek and we motor out to the start. The apparent wind when close-hauled is up to 16-17 knots and fairly steady, so after a little thought we decide to use the #2 Genoa.
One More Knot leaves the berth at 9:00am and sails out through the entrance. The wind is at the top end of the F2-4 forecast. We locate Condor. She is sitting in a strong easterly tide near Gleeds and Mary Rose. Phil decides to have a go at some practice starts. We figure out an angle that we can comfortably beat at and then sail past the bouy on the recipricol. After doing a U'y, we get back to the bouy a full 30 seconds faster than expected (due to the tide). So the target timings are adjusted and we do it again. Just as we are getting back to the bouy, the VHF kicks off with a reading of the IRC course. Phil takes his mind off the practice start to jot down the course. Surprise surprise, we are back at the bouy bang on our timing mark, without even trying! We'll try that in this mornings race then.
Race 7
A long race!
From Rhapsody
The course is announced over the radio and it is a beat to Dean Elbow, about 4nm, followed by a downwind leg back to Horse Elbow, about 1.5nm, then a reach of about 1.5nm to a laid mark east of the submerged barrier gap. This is followed by twice round a windward-leeward course to DERA 6, each leg being about 1nm, finishing back at the laid mark. This gives a total course length of about 11nm. We will have the tide going to the east until around 1pm.
On One More Knot, we have the numbers written down for the laid mark, but we don't have the sense to punch them into the GPS. Fatally, we assume that the mark will be somewhere near the startline. This was to lead to a whole bunch of confusion later.
From Rhapsody
We watch the IRC start and then check the line; there is perhaps a slight advantage in starting at the pin end but nothing too significant. We decide on a starboard tack committee boat end start. At the one minute gun we are sailing along and in front of the line towards Condor and see Total Obsession and Scallywag coming in towards us on starboard. There is room to gybe round between them and Condor and so we do. The timing is good and we cross the line within seconds of the start signal.
Phil saw the start for the IRC boats and was surprised to see how many were late to the line because of the tide. Our start tactics were to stay close to the line in the middle of the line. We were well clear of the other boats who were all at the Committee boat end. With 2 minutes to go, we start our planned startline antics, broad reaching into the tide, as practiced earlier. After executing our U turn, it seems quite easy to aim at the line near the pin to get the timing pretty much bang on. Looking down the line only Rhapsody was anywhere near, with the rest of the fleet struggling to round the Condor (like the IRC fleet). We were pleased. The GPS plots tells the real story, not quite as clean as the practice starts but the timing was good.
One More Knot's race track in red
OMK's practice starts in green
Rhapsody's track in yellow
From Rhapsody
After around two minutes we tack onto port in order to get into deeper water and so take advantage of the east going tide. We have good boat speed and are pleased with the choice of headsail; apparent wind is occasionally to up to 18 knots, ideal for the #2. Total Obsession is upwind of us, as is Concerto, they are both steadily overhauling us. We see a green buoy ahead; is that the windward mark? No, the IRC boats carry on. We eventually put in a tack and head towards the green buoy which is going to be our leeward mark on the leg after this one. This turns out to be a good move as we keep in the best tide and gain a lot back on Total Obsession. Three more tacks and we are approaching Dean Elbow.
OMK pleased with her start trims the sails our speed is good. However, because our heading seems good we are the last to tack. This puts us slightly later into the deeper water and better tide, but non-the-less we think we could claim to be well out in front at this stage (on the water at least). We try to keep it simple, with a long beat in glorious sunshine. Fantastic sailing conditions. And all this with the GPS showing about high 7 and flicking into 8 knots over the ground to windward! (Tide assisted) The GPS shows that Rhapsody first crosses our track over a minute behind. However, by the time we make the mark, they have closed to to just under a minute.
One More Knot's race track in red
Rhapsody's track in yellow
As we approach the windward mark, Concerto crosses just ahead of OMK, however she misjudges her tack and needs to put in another to get around the mark, to let OMK in. OMK rounds the windward mark, Dean Elbow, at the head of the fleet, but Concerto is in close proximity. Arrow is just behind. We gybe and attempt to run for slacker tide towards the shallower water, but on second thoughts, we end up diverging form the fleet. We have postponed putting the kite up because of the late decision to gybe, so we gybe back. The kite goes up. We haven't really talked things through, or got organised with respect to the navigation. Down wind, we attempt a gybe, but it all goes horribly wrong. We have the lazy sheet underneath the guy. Somehow, we manage to get the pole across and everything sorted out. There were some raised voices, but this was only the beginning. We have become complacent about navigation, and without someone running the nav, we lost the plot. We end nearly sailing inside the next mark, Horse Elbow. At the last minute, we realise the error and its too late to gybe the kite. We ended throwing the helm acorss and gybing the main but not the kite. After 2 minutes, we scrabble our way around the mark. We are no longer in front, with Concerto, Total Obsession Too and Rhapsody just sneaking through. Just to compound the confusion, we still don't know where the next mark is. Skipper Phil, got a bit red faced yelling and driving (badly). Meanwhile bowman Phil B calls up Condor to ask for clarification. Three times, we get a lat and long, followed by "in the proximity of ssshhhhsshhshsh". Damned VHF! Of course, by now the race officals a pretty peeved to. Eventually we twig the the mark is east of the barrier, so we set off in that direction. What a mess!
From Rhapsody
We get to the windward mark together with Total Obsession and both hoist spinnakers with a bear-away set. We now are along side each other. Ahead we have Concerto, OMK and Arrow. We gybe onto starboard and Total Obsession carries on. It turns out we have gybed too early and have to run dead down wind and occasionally by the lee, to make the mark. We overtake Arrow and get to Horse Elbow just ahead of OMK but behind Total Obsession and Concerto who round with spinnakers still up and start the reach to the laid mark. We drop the spinnaker as we know that Rhapsody will have trouble trying to reach in that amount of breeze with the spinnaker that we using. We don't lose out too much to the boats in front but are passed by OMK still carrying spinnaker and by Arrow without. We harden up round the mark whilst Scallywag brings up the rear, some distance behind.
One More Knot attempted to carry the spinnaker on the reach. Its a bit too close, and its all a handful. Barry is struggling to sheet in, we could have used someone on the winch. The shame of it is that we had dropped a few degrees in the confusion at the last mark and we may have got away with it.
We were struggling, so eventually we elect to drop the kite. It was going to be fun in this wind. Phil instructed Darrell and Joe to grab the lazy guy in preparation, and then to anchor it on the winch. If we didn't do this, the kite would fly from the port quarter. Bowman Phil tripped the kite .... oh no .... not the guy! The sheet was still attached. Phil became pinned to the spinnaker pole by the lazy sheet. One end of which was still on the kite, the other on a winch. Phil's screaming to let the sheet go, and eventually we realise whats happened and release Phil B from his predicament. The sheet whips out through the block and around the bow like a rat up a drainpipe. Ahh, so that why you never tie a knot in a spinnaker sheet! We fly the kite like and overgrown burgee for a bit while there is a battle to get it under control. After much pulling, sweating and cursing, the crew get the kite back on board. Amazingly, only the strings got wet.
One More Knot's race track in red
Rhapsody's track in yellow
As we make it to the mark, we harden up of the jib before rounding. A slick rounding and we start off back upwind, chasing Concerto and Total Obsession Too. We have a good beat upto the next windward mark, DERA 6. As we round the mark, we realise that we've all been lazy gits and not prepared the kite. After the struggle to get it back on board, we mistakenly thought everything was done. We didn't even have sheets and guys rigged properly. Phil B pops down below to repack the kite. Meanwhile the strings are setup again. However, by the time we could even contemplate putting it up, we are 2/3rds of the way down the leg. We don't bother with the kite, which allows us the opportunity to round the mark without confusion and start our final beat.
From Rhapsody
Then follows the first beat to DERA6 and the run back, the beat goes well and we put in two gybes on the run.
Rounding the leeward laid mark for the final time, Total Obsession was now only a few boat lengths in front. And with her spinnaker halyard swinging sweetly (to our eyes anyway) a good few feet above the deck, we thought our luck was changing. We continue to chase TOT, with Concerto still in the running. We have a good beat and take extra boat lengths out Total Obsession Too and overtake Concerto as they struggle to read the new tide at the windward mark.
As we round the mark, we pop the kite up again. We find ourselves almost neck and neck with Total Obsession Too. Could we rescue line honours from this fiasco? The tide has turned, the apparent wind has eased, however we recognised we were having a bad kite day. Instead of our usual reaching, we ran dead downwind. OMK was on starboard, and on her port side was TOT, on port. It was a dead run to the finish. Both boats aimed at their respective ends of the lines to make the most of the angles. It was touch and go all the way. One More Knot was gaining, were we level? Oh no, Total Obsession were sneaking out in front again. Eventually, TOT got the upper hand and claimed line honours by 33 seconds after over 2 1/4 hours racing. Well done guys.
From Rhapsody
By the time of the second beat the tide has turned and we watch Concerto swept down so that they put an extra tack in near the mark. Thinking we will allow for that, we leave extra space but find we have the same problem! A couple of quick last minute tacks to avoid hitting DERA6 and then we are round and gybe as planned. Why isn't the spinnaker going up? Ooops, it's still below; in the excitement of mark rounding we had forgotten to get it ready. After what seems like an age the kite is up and we are on the last leg to the finish. We started this leg on port and then gybe onto starboard about halfway down. We finish a few minutes behind the boats ahead, close enough to beat OMK, Total Obsession and Arrow on handicap but obviously behind Concerto to whom we have to give time. Now we have to wait and see how far behind Scallywag is. As it turns out, we are far enough ahead to claim 2nd place behind Concerto, while Scallywag takes 3rd.
With the smaller boats not that far behind, we were doomed on handicap, but at least we had some great sailing. We sailed with the kite up, straight back through the gap in the barrier on on towards the harbour with Total Obsession Too.
Many thanks to the officials, it was a great race. It's a shame we didn't prepare ourselves better. It felt like there were opportunities that got away. Some valuable lessons in this one I think.
From Total Obsession Too
After much debate the crew of Total Obsession Too have decided that Mr. Phil Duff is a better whiskey drinker than he is an international yacht racer. (Hic)
Sadly, it doesn't say much about my whiskey drinking either.