This past weekend my husband and I went down to Newport, RI and sailed in the Coastal Living Sail Newport Regatta. We raced on a Swan 42-meaning 42 feet long, which is not my usual boat to race on. Anyway, their bow person was racing on another boat so I had the opportunity to do the position on a new boat.
The Swan 42 has a totally different bow set up than I am used to so there was a lot of learning involved in the weekend-but everyone was patient with me. Luckily the breeze was pretty light-good learning weather.
The hardest thing about the Swan 42 was that it has an asymmetrical spinnaker, which involves pulling it around by hand when you gybe, this was something I didn't have much experience in. The sail was enormous and it took at least three of us to pull it around to the new side of the boat. When I say pull I mean pull like crazy and then run the rest toward the back of the boat ducking at the end to snap the clew (corner of the sail) down and avoid getting smashed in the head with the boom. Even in the light breeze from the weekend my arms were sore and bruised.
Saturday was a super hot day, I found myself wishing for rain early on, but unlike other New England areas-it never came. We races three races with an attempt at a 4th but the wind shifted so Race Committee sent us in-giving us time to hit the tent party, have some cocktails, and enjoy a nice dinner out.
The second day of racing had even less wind but was a least less humid. We sailed one race that ended up being shortened because the wind totally died. As we waited around for the wind to pick back up, a few of the crew decided to go for a dip. I have to say this was the highlight of my weekend. The water was beautiful as a bunch of us clung on to a rope and were towed by the boat around the bay. After a bunch of waiting and drying off, the Race Committee finally called racing for the day and sent us in. We worked together in the heat to put the boat away and headed to the tent to see how we placed, 4th but one point from third.
It was a fun, sunny weekend but we were definitely happy to get home without too much traffic and get some rest.
To learn more about the Coastal Living Sail Newport Regatta visit http://www.coastalliving.com/marketplace/coastallivingregatta-00400000040811/
ReplyDeleteWow! I didn't realize how much there was to this sport! How many people were on the boat with you? Also, how many races usually make up a typical competition? I look forward to reading more of your sailing adventures!
ReplyDeleteHey Jeannie, This boat had 11 people on the crew. 5 girls and 6 guys. The regatta only got in 4 races but usually if there is enough wind you can get up to 7 or more. Smaller boats get in more races usually.
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