Captain Passage Race October 18, 2009

Under clearing skies after a day of downpour, six club boats and a guest gathered for the Captain Passage Race. The big boats, Caliente, Soul Thyme, Oasis and the guest Dufour 34, Arnica, with skipper brothers Ian and Liam in charge, squared off against the small boats, Empezar, Kay D and Impossible. The course was to Batt Rock - U62 - Welbury spar - Batt rock and then home which resulted in all boats beating out of the harbour but able to fly spinnakers or sail broad or dead down wind after the first mark. Light 5 knot southerly winds at the start became ghostings of air by the finish. This favoured the taller masted boats which became impossible to catch by the time the breeze really died no matter how many lines the crew trimmed on the pursuing boats.

Caliente took the lead from the start and line honours, followed by Arnica, Oasis and Soul Thyme, with Impossible, Kay D and Empezar following.  Less than 20 minutes separated the fleet on unconfirmed corrected time with Caliente the overall victor followed by Arnica and Impossible. A summer-like afternoon at the picnic tables on the breakwater encouraged animated post race discussions - not bad for a late October day when parts of the country are already shoveling snow.

Philippe Erdmer