Race Report - 30-31 August (Roddy Carritt Cup)

In windy conditions, a reduced turnout of boats competed for the Roddy Carritt cup over six "sprint" races. The format was a beat to windward and a run to leeward, finishing downwind. Races were less than 20 minutes each.

Every three races would constitute a "mini-series", providing one result for season's points.

Saturday 30 August

Keeping a keen eye on the weather forecast in the preceding days, Richard Palmer (ISC) called an early start time on Saturday to get some racing in before the wind built too much in the afternoon. While the baseline wind strength wasn't too bad, significant gusts of +10kts were forecast, which would challenge everybody's boat handling and preparedness.

When heading out to the boats, it became apparent that the forecast had put off some sailors - at least two crews said afterwards that their absence was weather-related. Nonetheless Dancer, Dauntless, Defender, Doublet, Debutante and Dynamite all headed out to link in with Zenobia up on the Brambles bank.

Tactics

On the opening day, the SSW wind led to significant pin-end bias on the start, which was taken by Dauntless on three of the races and Doublet on the other. Getting a good start meant that boats could cross the modest fleet and get out to the right which, behind the relief of the Brambles bank and out of the ebb, was favoured.

It was important on the beat to manage the worst of the chop, which we chose to do by twisting the mainsail a little more than normal and footing off by a few degrees when the bowman called that there were some larger waves imminent. Better to lose a few yards of height than to stop the boat with a slammer.

Then, with such short races, it was crucial not to over-stand as the fleet was typically separated by only a few lengths by the weather mark. There was a lot of pressure to get the port/starboard tactics right on the way in, and as the races wore on it seemed to pay to stay deliberately short of the starboard layline until much closer to the mark. Races were won and lost here.

On the downwind leg, there were three priorities.

1. Spinnaker handling. In the gusty, rolly conditions it was crucial to handle the spinnaker right. We on Dauntless, with a scratch crew, did at one point gift-wrap the bows with the kite, and gybes left much to be desired. At least one windward roll and crash-gybe was seen, courtesy of Debutante.

2. Timing the gybe. In the heavy conditions, there was only a small angle of safety for the spinnaker and leaving the gybe too late could lead to a too-hot angle and not being able to carry the kite home.

3. Hitting the pin end. Same as when starting, with perhaps 20 degrees of bias on the line there were several lengths to be made by getting the right end of the line.

Outcome

The first attempted start sequence caught a few boats unawares downtide of the line, and the race committee kindly put the pin back in it and waited for teams to regroup before starting four short races.

In the first "mini-series" of three races, Doublet put in a strong performance with two wins and a third. Dancer completed one race and then decided to head for home, while Defender was seen to lose the clew of their mainsail in some manner partway through the third race, which they didn't finish. Dynamite, with a scoreline of 1,2,5, got second place and Debutante, with 2,3,5, came third.

In the fourth race, Dauntless chalked up her first win of the weekend. However, by this point the race committee were seeing the competitors starting to flag and the risks increasing and wisely called it off for the day.

Sunday 31 August

A threatening colour palette on Sunday, as Giles on Destroyer sees the unfamiliar sight of his own boat's transom

Fewer boats appeared on Sunday, with Defender retiring damaged; Debutante returning to London; and Dancer opting to sit out. However Chris Preston appeared with Destroyer - with Giles Peckham on the foredeck (after having told Josh he would be away cruising!). Four boats lined up in what appeared, at times, to be even windier conditions.

White sails only were generally the order of the day, with only two spinnakers being seen at any point. On the first race, Dynamite tore off downwind on starboard, but thought better of the gybe and, having instead dropped, came into the line high from the right with white sails. In sailing the longer distance, they lost out to Doublet who had tried to hoist but struggled, and ended up sailing a straighter line.

On the second race, Doublet pulled a different tactic which seemed productive. She went some way under white sails and then gybed, hoisting on Port for the gybe to the line. It seemed more controlled and less pressured, and won them a place back at Dynamite's expense.

Between races, Dauntless and Destroyer (who had enjoyed a close battle in the second, running in close proximity with white sails) had taken note, and were mid-gear-spin for a similar tactic when flag November was hoisted as gusts had exceeded 30 kts.

Only two races were completed on Sunday, with Dauntless winning both. This gave her the second "mini-series" with her three wins, as well as the regatta overall with a scoreline of 1,1,1,2,4,(4). Doublet was second, and Dynamite third.