Myth Of Malam

What could have beed quite a challenging race, torned out to be quite easy.  Four Tacks and One Gybe in a race of 150 Miles. We made one big mistake, not identyfying  which Buoy marked the outer end of the start land. This resulted in us giving all the yachts a fifteen minute start..

Once we got going we started tweeking the sails and using a barber hauler on the genoe sheets were able to point higher and at the same time maintain a good upwind speed.. We made two tacks in the solent just by the Needles Lighthouse and a further two tacks further into the channel to be upwind of the fleet hoping to make best use of a predicted wind shift. Footing fast caught nad passed a number of boats,

I went off watch at 2100 feeling happy that our plan would work, however discovered that the wind shift came early, resulting in the vessels down wind, managing to round the Casqets Lighthouse without having to tack. downwinf we flew an isometric spinnaker for the first time which provided an extra 2 knots of speed and we could see other yachts behind us as we reached for the finish line. We crossed the line at 10:10. With No Injuries, No damage and Not last

We then turned for home and switched on the motor, inorder to make best use of the favourable tides to get us home for Runday Monrning.

Race results  154 out !70 overall and   44 out of 47 in class.

Our 15 minutes we gave away at the start cost three places overall and would have resulted us beating a Famous Yacht Lutine owned by Lloyds of London Yachtclub.

I went up Troubadour's mast twice during my trip down south, On the Thurday afternoon to lubricate the the mainsail track and fix the Hawk wind indicator at the mast head. the second time was to untangle our courtesy flag/club flag hailyards and Lazy jacks.

Sunset off Alderney On the way home

The Needles at Dawn on the way home.

I have also been confimed as a crew member for  the classic Fastnet Race in three weeks time  600 Miles from Cowes past Lands Ends, to the Fastnet rock of Souther Irleland, returning via the Scilly Isles, Bishops Rock Lighthouse to Plymouth.   Watch This Space