Bas Cobanli April 5, 2009

A beautiful sunny spring day drew ten skippers and crew out for the annual Bas Cobanli memorial race. As custodians of the race, Roger Kibble and Stuart Farson are tasked with deciding a suitable course for the day and over dinner and a few glasses of wine, many permutations were discussed - all to be thrown out the window when greeted with minimal wind as start time approached on race day. Last minute improvisation and an optimistic course around the Channel Islands, Deep Buoy, Horda Shoals and Welbury Spar was set and we waited!

After a half hour delay the boats drifted across the start line with spinnakers barely filled. Patches of light wind and an ebb tide slowly moved the fleet out of the harbour with Boomer surprisingly left stranded at the start line. By the light at the end of the sisters, the fleet was spread out across the harbour with Imp leading the way, followed closely by Caliente, Electra and Fandango and Impossible creeping up along the Saltspring shore. Once out in to the channel, Imp found some wind and began to steadily pull away. Caliente also slowly began to move away from the rest of the fleet and by the time the boats rounded Deep Buoy on the backside of the Channel Isles the wind had picked up to 10 knots and there was about a twenty minute gap between Imp and Caliente and between Caliente and Fandango; Electra. Many of the other boats, frustrated by the lack lack of progress or a dwindling supply of beer, had began to drop out.

As the wind filled in out of Captain Passage the remaining boats enjoyed the best sailing of the day as the boats beat their way to Horda Shoals only for the wind to go light again as they crossed Captain Passage to round Welbury Spar. Fandango and Electra were well enough behind the lead boats to get caught in a strengthening ebb and a dying wind and dropped out leaving Imp and Caliente to fight the time limit. Imp crossed the line with minutes to spare at 5.13 pm, extending the allowable finish time by two hours. Caliente crossed the line after a long day on the water at 5.43 pm. Not one of our more exciting races but a great day to be on the water. 

Pete McGovern. Fleet Captain Racing.