Crew: Geoff, Murray, Anastasia, Louise, Jason, Vivien.
Forecast: Variable 5 knots. Southerly 10 knots developing in the morning, rising to southeast 15 knots about the south coast in the afternoon.
Vivien, Anastasia and Jason joined me on Halo at Chaffers and we cast off at 1030 hrs to head around to Evans Bay. The southerly was around 7-10 kts and we rigged up the No. 1 Light Genoa and full main and did some practise sailing in the harbour. We tied up at the EB wharf at 1121 hrs where Murray and Louise were waiting for us. I signed Halo on for the race and we got the course, Start – No. 4 Ngaranga (p) – Finish.
With our maxi spinnaker rigged up we cast off from the wharf at 1150 hrs with Murray on helm, Jason on mainsheet, Anastasia and Vivien on sail trim, Louise on keys and me on foredeck. The wind was very light for the start so we hovered close to the line, ready for the gun at 1215 hrs. We hoisted the kite just before the start and somehow managed to get ahead of most of the fleet of 13 boats. A great start for Halo!
By the time we got to the top of the bay the faster boats Slingshot, Jesse James After Midnight, Usurper and Incantare had now passed us.
We continued up the harbour towards Ngauranga veering off to the right before dropping the kite and gybing to go round the mark. Coriander took a more direct run and managed to beat us to the mark although we still had a decent lead over Grenadier.
After rounding the mark we continued on the port tack following the leaders towards the container terminal before tacking south. The wind had increased to 12-15 kts with some light rain at times.
By the time we entered Evans Bay we had caught up with Coriander and Grenadier had caught up with us. The three of us then had a very close race, tacking down to the finish. Grenadier just beat us over the line by 5 seconds.
RaceQs Replay: http://raceqs.com/event/1579480
After dropping Murray and Louise off at the wharf we had a nice sail back home, docking at Chaffers Marina at 1450 hrs.
After packing up the boat we went back to the club. Great to see a nice big crowd there enjoying the post-race socialising. Results were announced by Rowdy. Team Halo came 7th place on handicap. Thanks to Evans Bay Yacht & Motor Boat Club for organising a wonderful day out on the water!
Halo Log Book 