Arlene Ocean Race

The first valmadre attracted a big fleet of 50 odd yachts. The weather was fine with a light 10 knot North Easterly.

Not a bad start taking the starboard end and staying out of trouble, 10 secs or so late for the line but the Port end favoured the shifts leaving the port boats with the advantage. Light and shifty winds to the day mark behind OP but we had speed on them making up some lost ground, letting OP, NF go through before us. The marten breaker let go twice during the kite hoist (there goes another version out the window-back to the idea cabinet) causing a complete stuff up having to drop the 1 and letting a few boats through us, Alfresco, Knee deep. Up with no2 and off to hallbank.

Around Hall bank well behind and on the beat to cambell managed to get back in the race a couple of times with a fair bit of cat and mouse in the light and shifty winds. A couple of boats including us looking like legends before sailing into oblivion and out the back door. Ended up second around cambell and chasing OP with light kite run to 11 m iso beacon.

Syrenka came steaming down behind us and went high over the top of us with that roachy main but then tried to take a short cut before realizing they had missed a mark and had to turn back, putting us again with just OP to tackle Stanton and on the beat back to Hall bank.

All well making lost ground disappear to be 50 meters behind OP before going for breeze on the shore and parking up in the only hole around. Time for lunch while the sails hung off the boat and 0 knots of breeze for 20 minutes or so. Boats behind us had more north and sailed straight around hallbank and to cambell again. The breeze came back in and again we sailed back into the race but too many boats too close for any handicap visions of grandeur. After sailing back out of the race again we were about 5th behind synrenka, next factor, op, alfresco at cambell again. At one stage Southern star only 100m behind us with 2 marks to go.

Up went the kite again and we sailed past them in yet again in a very light westerly as yachts sailed in the opposite direction also with their kites up. The winds were that light that we created our own apparent. We were running blind with wind instruments calling it quits and saying the wind was in front of us while the kite was up. Think we have an loose connection somewhere. Mind you it could be the navigators brain.

So back to just OP in front again but they now had enough distance to be in a different breeze and pulled away. Gybed around hall bank and yet another kite run to burnell. Nav trying to do a radio sched but couldn’t work out why no one could hear him until he realized that he had the HF handset not the VHF (Doh!!).

We seemed to have the kite up all day in all directions with the wind circling around us. Gybed around burnell with a bit of a breeze line taking us to south mole and the final kite run home, but not before the wind died again and let alfresco sneak up and finish just behind. So OP by 30 minutes but could be anyones race but ours.

Still a great day to be on the water and a few cobwebs blown out.