 |
| Marc holds port tack and
runs down with a nice puff before ... ... |
 |
| ... shaving the
committee boat to avoid the "closed" start-finish line, and Bill ... ... |
 |
| ... will follow suit. ... |
 |
| A gybe is
in ... ... |
 |
| ... the
offing for SHADES. ... |
 |
|
Defending
the left which
gives him starboard
if the boats ever converge, and inside position at the leeward mark,
Marc has waited for Bill to gybe before doing likewise. Inside position
at
the upcoming mark will be much more important than last time, since
after this rounding, there will be only a very short beat to the finish.
... |
 |
| Marc tries to fill the
spinny while ... ... |
 |
| ... Al fiddles with the
pole. ... |
 |
| Al is not as fast as Frank (above), but
only Marc is!!! And he is otherwise engaged at this time!! ... |
 |
| (l to r) Andrew,
Dave and Lori pursue Al, Bill and Jamie who lie 1-2-3. ... |
 |
| A very
deliberate gybe is ... ... |
 |
| ... at last
... ... |
 |
| ...
completed! ... |
 |
| Bill and
Frank pursue at top speed but ... ... |
 |
| ... can't
catch Marc who kindly orders an ... ... |
 |
|
... early douse so that poor old Uncle Al - who has turned
65 just a week before - will not have to rush. This is another example
of the Stuart Walker dictum, "Spend your lead", being put into
practice. The early douse may give away a few feet to Bill, but is a
great insurance policy against the major loss potential inherent in a
rushed douse.
... |
 |
| A
scintillating rounding sees Al help by cranking the mainsheet in for
Marc. ... |
 |
| Note how Al
did not get carried away with the rapid hand-over-hand mainsheet trim
and has left a bit of twist in the main to make sure we get up to max
upwind speed before we crank in a bit more. A nice ... ... |
 |
| ...
port-tack lift won't hurt, either, on this mini-beat to the finish. ... |
 |
| A bit of
excitement in ... ... |
 |
| ... Bill
and Frank's rounding as they pulled out all the stops and left the
douse to the last possible second - and perhaps even a bit later? ... |
 |
| A number of
incidents have ingrained into Uncle Al, the need to keep a good
lookout, and he does so, even though there can't be any Wayfarers where
he's looking. ... |
 |
| Hard-working
lad that he is, Al now locates the finish line for Marc. ... |
 |
| Marc has
told Al he wants to tack and now waits while ... ... |
 |
| ... his
crew makes sure his feet are inside the triangle formed by the
continuous jib sheet, uncleats the "old" jib sheet with his forward
hand, and takes up the slack in the "new" jib sheet with his aft hand.
As soon as Al tells Marc he is ready ... ... |
 |
| ... Marc
uncleats the mainsheet, eases it about a foot, and puts the helm down.
We then remain in position until ... ... |
 |
|
... the
boat has turned far enough that the main starts to fill and heel the
boat. Marc - still learning the helm's role in the roll tack -
should now straighten the tiller and take a step straight across the
boat. A freeze frame at that moment would show Marc's body facing
straight out the windward side of the boat with the tiller in his aft
hand and the mainsheet in his forward hand, ready for any necessary
adjustment (like easing the main should the boat start to heel too
far). At this point, the helm turns 90° towards the bow and
transfers the tiller to his mainsheet hand which will briefly hold both tiller and sheet. The
helm then turns another 90°, grabs the
mainsheet with his free (forward) hand and sits down (when there's
enough wind to allow sitting on the windward deck!) When I do this I leave the mainsheet undersheeted until
this process is complete, at which point I can crank the main in a
suitable amount and give the boat's speed a nice shot in the arm, just
when she needs it the most!
As the
crew, I learned a neat trick that morning: At the moment shown
above, I just tilt my body forward until I can grab the windward side
bench with my forward hand which leaves me in a nice stable position to
shove my aft arm that is holding "new" jib sheet across towards the
high side until I feel a reasonable amount of pressure from the sheet.
With a bit of practice, I can always ensure that I am somewhat
undersheeted at this point, since oversheeting is always a speed
killer, and would be especially costly during a tack! I then take my
step across the boat, turn to face aft and complete my 180° turn. Once I sit back down, I fine tune
the jib sheet tension if necessary!
...
|
 |
| Marc and Al
smile with pleasure at a manoeuvre well done! And so near the
finish line where people will be watching, too!! ... |
 |
| On their
way to a fine 3rd, Jamie and Ben look justifiably pleased. ... |
 |
| Beyond 3rd place, things
are still ... ... |
 |
| ... very close and ... ... |
 |
| ... exciting. ... |
 |
| If Jamie (4594) and Tim (r)
should be on a collision course, who would have right of way? Right! Jamie is on starboard, Tim is on port and so has to keep clear! ... |
 |
| Which he does!! ... |
 |
| A tack towards the finish
line for ... ... |
 |
| ... a happy Team Abbott. ... |
 |
| Dave and Carol (r)
cross Andrew and Penny who shortly thereafter ... ... |
 |
| ... tack to starboard. |
| next photo page return to 06 Onts index |