Friday 9th December, the prospect of getting a race away were looking slim as the rain bucketed down most of the afternoon and the breeze was disappearing. Northerly 1-5 knots and rain, not a great forecast. I made it finally after a slow trip in through the traffic. Steve, Angela and my fellow crew mates had ZIGZAG ready to go. The crew included two recent Grads Brett & Joanne (Jo) as well as regulars Joe and Paul. A couple of boats were out early, including Zimmerframe trying out their innovative jury boom set up – good on them. The breeze came and went, with the rain showers often shutting it down. It was a simple course, Start -25P – Finish.
Zimmer with their jury rig buffaloed the fleet along with Sasquatch. We managed to sneak around the corner with Saucy following close behind in two-handed mode. We had to go wide to keep the kite flying, but with every passing shower it hung lifeless like a wet tea towel. First Lizzie, then Saucy withdrew, followed by Floating Free and Sea Beagle parked back at Jerningham. The hour clicked by and Zimmer was in the distance – another heavy shower or two? Zimmer were round Mark 25, and as it cleared slightly we jibed on a breeze and got max boat speed 4.4 knots! We jibed back around Mark 25. A bit of a tangle up but no one would have seen it as another shower came through. Sasquatch were still putting on a determined effort but time was ticking on – 8.05pm and less than an hour to finish. Will we make it?
The breeze was now constant as we dawdled back up the bay. Was Zimmer getting closer? A trick of the light maybe. We tacked for Jerningham, Zimmer had disappeared around the corner, Sasquatch did the sums and called it a night, leaving it a battle of the Z boats. It would be our luck they would finish in a flourish and we would run out of time. We were doing okay – with 35 minutes left we were doing 3.3 knots. Then another shower, and Angela called from the leeward rail “Zimmer haven’t finished they’ve stopped.” We ghosted on past the anchored super yacht, Zimmer was getting bigger. We were close enough to see Zimmer get the light and it took us another 7 minutes to cross the line with 5 minutes to spare.
Innovation and tenacity were the order of the day. Congrats to Zimmer for making the best of a bad situation and daring to compete without their regular boom. A soggy intro for our grads, we hope to see them again soon. It’s usually dryer and quicker than Friday’s conditions! A willingness to show up is what keeps club racing alive. A big thanks to the start box crew for hanging around for our finish.
Sailing was the winner on the day.