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| Some of us get to make our
mistakes
in relative anonymity but ... ... |
 |
| ... the prime candidate for the
2006 Lansdown-O'Brien Spittoon was
captured in full by not one but two cameras. It starts with a bit of
spinnaker fishing. ... |
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| Alas, the net comes up empty.
Alas squared, Bill was so busy admiring Frank's trawling technique that
... ... |
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| ... he's about to pass the mark
on the wrong side. Alas cubed, at the same time Frank goes on deck to
retrieve a spi sheet that is about ... ... |
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| ... to go under the boat. But of
course, Bill has no time for such niceties since an instant and ... ... |
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| ... abrupt course change is de
rigueur if Buttercup is to
avoid passing the mark on the wrong side. Full marks to Wayfarer Man
(Frank) who gets off the deck and ... ... |
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| ... out from under the boom vang
before the gybe ... ... |
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| ... traps him. ... |
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| The worst has been avoided but
the spinnaker and jib are indeed a mess, and ... ... |
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| ... Frank will once more have to
go on deck in order to ... ... |
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| ... fish the spinnaker sheets
out from under the boat. ... |
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| Of course, by now Buttercup is regaining speed, and
will ... ... |
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| ... need to resume her proper
course. Meanwhile, Marc and Al (3854) are busy putting some of their
lead on each tack and remain oblivious to the drama unfolding to
leeward of them. ... |
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| At last, everything seems under
control aboard Buttercup.
What more could go wrong!!?? Well ... ... |
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|
... couple more things: 1. the
spi sheet is under the boat again and Frank has to go right up onto the
bow to retrieve it. I suppose, in retrospect, Frank should have got the
spi into the boat, started the boat up the beat, untied the offending
sheet, and fixed it after the final short beat to the finish. But that
is hindsight which is, as we all know, 20-20.
... |
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| Frank does an admirably speedy
job and even ... ... |
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| ... smells an unannounced gybe
coming right up. ... |
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| Gybe ho! And to complete the
debacle, the gybe is accompanied by a ... ... |
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| ... healthy gust that would have
capsized the rest of us. ... |
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| Who but Wayfarer Man could have
... ... |
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| ... escaped this predicament
without capsizing or ... ... |
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| ... at least going for a swim??!! ... |
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| And full marks to Bill (l), who does a Wayfarer Man move
of his own, gimpy knee and all! ... |
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| Phew! This calls for a rest! ... |
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| Clean-up ... ... |
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| ... #2 ... ... |
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| ... is underway. |
| next photo page return to 06 Onts index |