Thursday race pics

It was a lovely, warm evening with a light and fitful NW breeze as 26 W's - many of them guests for the DM starting the next morning - set a club race record for FAS. Despite our beautiful boat and sails and crew, and a fine start, Anders and I had our troubles as we seemed to be very slow off the wind with boats passing us on both sides. A weed check produced no weeds (rats!) so we could only hope that others were getting better wind! On the third leg broad reach, Al decided to haul out the camera and got several nice shots of ...

... Steen Schubert and Keld Forchhammer who had just passed us in their lovely new Abbott Mark III.
..

In the setting sun, it was a lovely spinnaker run back to the club from the finish line. Fortunately
we had finished well behind these boats and were perfectly positioned to use the (extreme) zoom ...
..

... for these nicely ...
..

... backlit shots of Søren Jensen (10212) and Steen Madsen.
I just now notice the boat still sailing upwind. I guess our finish could have been worse!
..

Steen and Keld once more.
..

A Trapez dinghy - some of my crew Anders' cronies - on the left, while race winner, Anders Friis' blue spinnaker is just visible off the bow of W239 Woodie where Poul Ammentorp is enjoying the quiet sail back while Irene is either talking on the cell phone or lighting up like Anders and me.

(left to right) Anders Friis (222), Steen Madsen behind Poul Ammentorp's mainsail, and Joel Bøgh
who is now sailing his crew, Jon Kjartansson's beautiful Porter-built woodie, 8278.
..

"Just one more shot, " said Al to Anders, "This is too good to miss!"
..

"No, wait a minute! Here's an even better angle!"
..

"One more for luck!"
..

"Hang onto that cigarette just a few seconds longer, Anders, there's a shot here that Bill Abbott will love!"
..

More of the evening's race fleet heads in for their refreshments.
..

"Would you take the tiller just once more, Anders? I want to try the digital camera in something a bit more extreme."
..

Meanwhile, DM Protest Committee Chairman, Henrik Rasmussen, had his digital out to greet the returning fleet. Anders Friis (left) leads the parade while Al and Anders Pjetursson in 9355 Whistle are (possibly) that little speck of blue and white behind the tree branch. How depressing! Remember the size of this harbour when I tell you (now or later) that in 10 knots of wind from a similar direction, we tested Anders' legendary spinnaker dousing speed by spinnakering into the harbour at hull speed and starting our douse just off inner dock on the right. Anders is fast! While he got the last of the spi tucked away, Uncle Al backed the main and we stopped just a few cm. from the dock where our support team (Aida) was there to grab the forestay. On the Sunday, still high from our great race with Anders Friis, we went one better. We spinnakered into the harbour on starboard and gybed about where the rowboat is in the photo above, flew the spi without its pole on port until we were almost into the weeds half-way between the inner dock and the ramp. Anders did another 2-second douse, and we luffed up smartly, and only had to be fended off slightly. Harbours like this are really fun!!

Aha! That was us on the far right!
..

The new Jyske Bro (centre) gets a workout.
..

For some, a buoyancy test stood between them and a beer. If you've ever done a buoyancy test, you'll probably recognize that "oopsy" feeling as you sit back to rest your tushie on a topside that is angled more downward than you'd expect. I remember myself a few times in poses very similar to that assumed above by the master of Perlen!!