Nov 17 2007
Renton Sog-fest
The final San Juan 21 Fleet 1 Race of the 2007 season was at Coulon Park in Renton WA, on a day which would have made penguins look for a nice dry place to get out of the rain. A hard rain is a rare occurance in Seattle where we prefer our precipitation accumulations to be slowly drawn out over weeks if not months. But for this race the skies opened up and dumped almost ½ inch of rain between 11AM and 2PM. I was soaked by the time I got my mast up, and found myself thinking of Noah… “Hmm I wonder if the Arc had an adjustable backstay?” Six boats were willing to brave the risk of drowning while still sitting in the cockpit: Habagat, Rascal, Compass Rose, Charmed Juan, PGS Juan (sporting a shiny new mast) and of course Limpet. Chris Popich left Wooglin at home but crewed aboard Rascal. On board Limpet I had my Father John along as brave and experienced crew.
As for the racing it was once again competitive, with all the boats flying working sails. The day started out with very light and fluky winds from the North-East and ended with 20kt gusts from the South-West. Habagat was very fast when the wind came up and 2 races with 1st place overall. Limpet, and Charmed Juan also claimed a first across the line. However, if all the boats were scoring in the same class (which they essentially were since no spinnakers came out) the day was won by Gene & PGS Juan, who was very consistent; placing 4th in the first race and 2nd in ever race after that. If you ask me, that is not to shabby for a boat which had a mast resembling a flexi-straw just 2 weeks before. GO GENE!
The first race was like something out of the Twilight Zone. As the first race started the winds were from the NNE and very light and fluky. The starboard pin was again heavily favored and there was tight competition between 5 boats for that end of the line. I decided early to take Limpet for a flyer and head out into the lake so I chose the port pin and had it to myself. I knew I would be sailing farther, but I hoped I would find more wind out away from the wind shadow of the ridge. Luck was with me and about half the way to the windward mark I caught a breeze all to myself and sailed away from the fleet. Being the nice guy I am, I shared my discovery by calling across the water to the rest of the fleet “Hey Guys, there is a lot more wind over here!” I think I heard some responses of “Cheating” and “We never did make you go swimming after your first win… maybe today we will give you a belated dunking!” I rounded the mark with enough of a lead to take out the camera and snap some pictures. The wind shifted 180 degrees shortly after than and we all found ourselves beating to the “Leeward” mark. Then the wind shifted again and we found ourselves beating to the finish. Our normal course is Start, Upwind, Downwind, Upwind, Finish. This race was Start, Upwind, Upwind, Upwind, Finish. Limpet crossed the finish line before most boats had rounded the 2nd mark. Charmed Juan, Rascal, PGS Juan, Compass Rose, & Habagat followed.
For the second race Stephen moved the northern mark to make sense for the new (and building) wind from the WSW. We turned the course around and again the Starboard pin was heavily favored. This time I fought for the pin with the rest of the fleet. Unfortunately my timer died with a minute to go and rather than cross early I held back and waited for the horn. This gave Compass rose room to barge in and win the start. Gene and Stephen battled back and forth for first place, with the victory going to Stephen on the last leg of the race. PGS Juan, & Compass Rose, followed. I had my first true mental breakdown in this race and forgot that we had switched the course around. After rounding the leeward mark I thought we were headed back to the windward mark, when I should have been heading for the finish. This allowed Habagat to run past me into 4th place. Limpet was 5th and Rascal 6th. Habagat was nice enough to thank me for being a bonehead after the race.
Impressed with Compass Rose’s start I attempted the same type of barging start on the third race. Unfortunately, Charmed Juan timed it perfectly and came rushing in on my leeward side and left me no room to cross the line. I am pretty sure this made Stephen’s day. His maniacal laughter (more of a cackle really) rang out for a good minute after the start. I considered fouling him, and taking turns later, but decide that would be a little unsportsmanlike for our little league. I came about and found myself starting dead last, but with lots of race left to go. I am not sure about the rest of the fleet, but I found myself locked in a battle with Rascal all the way round the course. It was nip and tuck on the downwind leg as first I passed Rascal then Rascal caught back up. We found ourselves overlapped and to leeward at the mark. We gave room, and swung wide to make a fast rounding. Unfortunately for Rascal they hit the mark on rounding and had to go around again. The final results in order were Habagat, PGS Juan, Compass Rose, Charmed Juan, Limpet, and Rascal.
After a vote we decided to hold a 4th and final race. I was late to the start again and found myself chasing everyone but Compass Rose. Again I found myself locked in a downwind battle only this time it was with Charmed Juan with Jorgen on the helm. I tried the same maneuver to run up and blanket, but ever time I tried Charmed Juan matched me move for move. I was able to pull even, but not claim an overlap, so I opted to swing wide again. The wind had really built on the downwind and things were gusting over 20, so as we rounded we both got knocked over. On my boat it was pandemonium with my dad John falling down as he attempted to pull down the whisker pole. Managed to avoid hitting Charmed Juan’s transom by mere inches. I looked over and saw that Charmed Juan hadn’t just hit the mark, they were dragging it with them. I rounded up and headed for the finish, excited that I had managed to pass at least one boat in each race. Just as we neared the finish Rascal did a 360 which they owed to PGS Juan. I lunged for the finish but Rascal was able to cross just ahead.