Channel Islands #2 race

What a great race!

This year's Channel Island race on June 3 was the "best ever" (at least for me - it's my second). The skipper's meeting was over in 1 minute, as only one skipper, (me), showed up. However, Fandango's crew was at least partially there to receive instructions, Philip having gone for a walk, or some such thing. The low turnout was a result of many things, including Roger Kibble participating in the one meter regatta, and Bob Jones and David Wood going in the single-handed race between Vancouver and Nanaimo.

Anyway, FANDANGO and IMP started at 1030 in a modest south east wind, perhaps 6 knots. IMP was leading at first, which prompted Art on FANDANGO to challenge us to a "match race", handicap be damned. IMP rose to the bait (mainly because we were in the lead) and the race was on. Of course, Suzanne, Larry, Art, John and Philip immediately started to sail properly, and caught up to IMP. IMP took the match racing bit to heart, and we lee bowed Fandango. After sailing along for a minute or two so close that, quite literally, we could have walked from one boat to the other, Fandango realised that they would not be able to pass us, and they tacked away. This proved to be only a moral victory for IMP, because after we split tacks for a while, Fandango took the clear lead just past the last Sister, heading to Batt Rock. We split tacks again, IMP going left and FANDANGO going right, and either IMP got better ebb tide coming from Captain Pasage, or FANDANGO lost the wind heading to the Saltspring side of the course, because IMP was leading at Batt Rock.

A close spinnaker reach to Welbury spar followed, and then we beat up towards Prevost. We continued like this to the Channel Is with FANDANGO taking a reef in the main. Greg, Cookie and Craig merely dropped the traveller and continued on. At the Channel Islands, IMP overstood and FANDANGO passed on the inside as the spinnakers went up and we bore off for home. The tide was still ebbing but IMP none-the-less managed 6 to 7 knots on the GPS. IMP rounded Welburry spar first and even got to Batt Rock in the lead, but our wind died at Batt Rock (blanketed by FANDANGO?) and we were passed yet again. Now it was a downwind run all the way home. FANDANGO kept in the lead as we gybed back and forth. After racing for 3 hours, 11 minutes and 9 seconds, IMP crossed the line 3 seconds in front of FANDANGO. IMP's crew credits heating up in the lulls and bearing off in the puffs for their last minute comeback, but no doubt FANDANGO's crew are sure that it was dumb, blind luck. Perhaps it was a bit of both.

In any case, we all enjoyed a beer or two on one of the brilliant picnic benches on the breakwater after the race. Here's to Summer!

For those of us who are engineers or otherwise inclined to mathematical trivia, IMP's average speed was 4.583 knots, and FANDANGO's was 4.582 over this 14.6 mile race.

"Greg Slakov on IMP"