I had good and honest plans to do my laundry today but my neighbors, Ace and Suze, came over and asked me if I wanted to be in the Hope Town Sailing Club race today. I said "sure, what's the deal?" They planned on entering the race for the first time and were looking for crew. They are on a large motor sailer (Aces Wild) and their main objective was to be able to go the the awards party Friday evening.
The race started at 10 AM and we followed the Hope Town race boat "Rage" out of the harbor to the race starting point. All sailboats over 18 ft are welcome to race and cruisers are encouraged to participate in this "fun race". This particular race is not only their regular Wednesday race but also the first part of a two day race event in which the winner has their name inscribed on the Hope Town Cup. We had no expectations that this huge motor sailer could compete with the cruiser-racer sailboats or the pure race boats but just planned on having a fun day.
We came up to the start line in very good shape only to have another boat (we named the captain of that boat Captain "Bleep") jammed us off the line and we had to tack around and start late. Ace said "I thought they said this was to be a 'fun' race". He and Suze have a lot of experience having owned many sailboats and participated and won many races but assumed that this was to be a "just for fun race" as advertised. Unfortunately Captain "Bleep" didn't get that memo. We did have fun and Suze made us a great lunch during the race. One of the highlights was when Ace used great timing and tactics to force Captain "Bleep" into an extra tack just as he was trying to round one of the markers. We had a fun day and may enter the second leg on Friday and will definitely go to the Friday awards party.
Hi Jerry,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the navigation posts. They will be handy soon. I have caught a ride with my friend,George Harris, on his Beneteau 411 ,Sophia.
I will meet on Feb. 23rd in Palm Beach and then head for Marsh Harbor as weather allows. This puts our week of March 6th. in doubt so if you get another offer, take it. I will try to contact you when we get close. It will be fun to get together...we will bring beer.
Sounds good, I'm sure George has "The Cruising Guide to Abaco Bahams 2010" by Steve Dodge. If not you can get it in any West Marine in Florida and it is the best cruising guide for this area. You can email me at jerry@sailingsummersnow.us or Skype me at jerrynoland when you get close or ready to cross. The "long timers" here say this is some of the best winter weather they have seen in 30 years.
ReplyDelete