Crew: Geoff, Peter, John.
Forecast: Predictwind said: Southerly 3-15 kts, which proved to be spot-on.
Peter joined me on Halo at Chaffers Marina and after rigging the boat we cast off at 1130 hrs. The wind was negligible but we hoisted the mainsail to shake out the wrinkles and the reef we used on our last outing. We motor-sailed round to Evans Bay and rafted up alongside Tamerlane at the wharf where John was waiting for us.
The course was posted by the race committee on the club’s ‘virtual course board‘: On-the-water start from Pania – Mark 10 Falcon Shoal – Finish. John rigged up the maxi spinnaker and No. 1 HW Genoa and after a quick bite to eat we cast off at 1235 hrs.
We located the committee boat Pania just north of Greta Point. With just the mainsail hoisted we did a practice start, timing our approach from a transit line just off the NIWA sign. After a short delay the green Keeler Division flag went up on Pania. Peter set our countdown timer for the 5 minute start sequence.
The start went perfectly to plan. John was on the bow hoisting the kite as we crossed the line in the front of the fleet. A great start.
With Peter’s steady hand on helm, John and I kept the spinnaker trimmed as we sailed our way up Evans Bay.
By the time we reached Pt Halswell we had managed to keep ahead of the fleet except for Slingshot who rounded the point ahead of us. Surprisingly they turned very close to the lighthouse and got caught in the wind shadow. We sailed a bit further out and happily overtook them as we hoisted the genoa and did a drop of the spinnaker.
We then sailed close hauled towards the next mark at Falcon Shoal in an enjoyable 10 kts southerly. The Interislander was departing Wellington but we were well clear of her.
We needed to do a tack for the port rounding of the mark but Incantare was coming up behind us to windward. We would have collided with them if we tacked so we waited for them to make their move. They eventually tacked at the last minute and we quickly followed suit and rounded the mark just behind them at 1340 hrs.
We then eased our sheets to sail on a beam reach back towards Point Halswell. Apart from Incantare, we were still well ahead of the fleet.
As we neared the wind shadow of Kau Bay we saw Incantare momentarily stall as they sailed too close to the land. We kept a wider berth to keep up our speed round the point.
Once back into Evans Bay we were getting a good 15+ kts of southerly as we beat our way back towards the finish.
We were greeted by a toot on Pania’s horn as we crossed the finish line at 1424 hrs. Thanks Neil and Rob!
Wind was now over 20 kts at times as we turned and sailed back home. A great race!
RaceQs Race Replay: http://raceQs.com/event/1772240
After packing up the boat we went round to the Evans Bay clubhouse.
I caught up with 9 year-old granddaughter Isabelle who was just completing her first day of the Learn to Sail Course with her friend Janya. By all accounts they had a fantastic time out of the water. Highlight was doing the capsizes she said 🙂
We then went into the Trophy Bar for the prize-giving. It was announced that Halo came second on line and first on handicap. Well done Team Halo!
Halo Log Book 