Long Harbour Race

Sunday November 7, 2010

Variable is the best word to describe the conditions that challenged nine racers for the last event in the 2010 SISC racing series on a beautiful sunny fall Sunday. Nine boats crept along the start line and were almost becalmed when just a few seconds before the gun some wisps of ESE breeze got everyone going onto a port tack. We could see a SE wind line approaching and soon the fleet was doing 4 knots in the ebbing tide. CALIENTE , IMP, ELECTRA and YOLANDA led the closely packed fleet as we all tacked in the slightly building breeze towards the Sisters and then in a straight line to the Horda Shoals Buoy. That was the order at the Buoy with KAY D, VELICA, PARAMOUR, DERYN MOR and EMPERZAR not far behind.

The long spinnaker run down Long Harbour to Clamshell Island was an exercise in frustration as the breeze became light and variable and shifted in great 120 degree arcs playing havoc with spinnaker settings. They didn’t bother Martin in KAY D who could jibe his chute in a flash while CALIENTE, and ELECTRA opted for the NFS simplicity. YOLANDA choose the left side and did a better job flying her chute and passed ELECTRA just before the Island. IMP and CALIENTE got around the little Island and somehow found enough wind to keep moving leaving YOLANDA, ELECTRA and KAY D in a moving hole of windless wonder. The trip back to Captain’s Passage demanded endless tacks anticipating a gyrating wind that suddenly would appear out of nowhere.

YOLANDA and ELECTRA were side by side on the way to the SISTERS but were now far behind IMP and CALIENTE who had escaped from the Long Harbour jaws of variable wind death and were now almost home . The wind vanished again just beyond the Sisters and the predominant ESE breeze backed a bit allowing spinnakers to be flown albeit with constant pole adjustments in the still variable wind. Soon however the wind veered yet again and jibs were run up for the finish. KAY D had moved up well and a slightly stronger breeze behind also propelled DERYN MOR, PARAMOUR and VELICA to finish in a tight pack, the latter suffering a little from having no chute in the light air. EMPERZAR had no such problem and used his spinnaker well and the fleet had closed up at the finish.

It was a fitting end to a variable season that has brought surprises, exhilaration, quite a few short courses and some race barnstormers. Thanks to all SISC racers, the racing Committee and to Pete McGovern our Fleet captain and others like us …damn few.

Roger Kibble