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56 Seconds

Posted 8 months, 15 days ago

56 Seconds
Sunday the 10th of March saw the staging of the double handed challenge. Seven boats sailed the Harbour - Jaheel - Harbour course; Duette, Skybird, Shady Lady, Cooking, Umbaleki, Jouster and Tikalox. Josef, on Skybird, sailed solo. Along for the ride were Struan, who graciously acted as start boat in the harbour, and Mystic Lady. Phil's representation to be included as a participating boat as "we are four people and promise to only use one hand each" had to be denied, unfortunately. The start, in line with the normal Wednesday Evening start and the stern of Struan, was in a North Easter of around 8 knots. First out of the start block and in front on one tack the entire way to Jaheel was Cooking reveling in the light conditions. At one stage Cooking was sailing at 7.5 knots in the steady wind of 10 knots which increased to around 14 on the way around Jaheel. The conditions for the trip back were ideal for Umbaleki carrying an asymmetric and we kept on remarking that Wild Thing, a Pacer 27, would have flown if taking part. Going around Jaheel demanded a bit of thought and cautious sailing for this relatively unfamiliar mark and the site of the new Coega Harbour on the starboard side brought the reality of this immense project closer to home for many of the sailors. The battle royale between Jouster and Cooking began on the trip back - a tight reach and with the wind predicted to swing more to the South, no chance for either boat to carry a spinnaker. One third of the way back Jouster went below Cooking and took the lead. No amount of sail tweaking, bailing, 'sail placement adjustment down below' or barber hauler tactics were good enough for Cooking to close the gap. Back towards Jaheel, Umbaleki were making their bid on beating wily campaigner, Rob Smith on Tikalox, and the assymetric made it's appearance as they tried to reel Cooking and Jouster in. With no shipping for the entire day the finish was across the normal Wednesday Evening finish line and Jouster was the first over the line in an elapsed time of 3 hours 8 minutes and 6 seconds, then Cooking in 3 hours 11 minutes and 45 seconds followed by Umbaleki in 3 hours 18 minutes and 50 seconds. The corrected times show a very close race with 56 seconds separating first and second place, 2 minutes and 2 seconds between second and third places and 2 minutes and 15 seconds separating third and fourth places. Warren and the Longhair (Sorry Kitty, couldn't resist!) on Shady Lady did themselves proud with Kitty's first double handed. AND, they were talking to each other when they got back ........... Often this type of sailing can make or break a relationship, so; "Good on yer, guys, well done" Now about those 56 seconds separating first and second place: Based on past performance, isn't it time that we had a long hard look at the handicaps? Full Results: CLICK HERE for Double Handed 2008 Full Story »

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