2 races today. Both races in about 10-12 knots.
The first race saw us starting at the pin and able to pinch off most of the other boats. We rounded the weather mark in the lead but struggled to find the right mode downwind. We rounded the leeward mark after a bit of a messy drop and worked our way back to the left side of the course. We finished the race in second place. Not terrible but we felt like we could have sailed better.
For the second race, we again started at the pin and were able to pinch most of the boats off on our weather hip. We rounded the top mark in good shape right behind Stig. However, we again struggled downwind and got rolled by Ran after the gybe. We had to clear our air on the beat but struggled at the top of the beat. We finished that race in 5th place, just barely beating Highland Fling.
So overall, we felt like we left some places on the course but we also can identify them. We will have 2 more races tomorrow in probably similar conditions so we will get another chance to improve.
Doogie
Regata Copa del Rey Audi-Mapfre: Practice day 2 and flag retrieval
We headed off the dock at 11 am ready for a good day of sailing. On the motor out, Jesse was at the back of the boat taking care of business when an unfortunate encounter with the American flag resulted in him accidentally dropping the flag and pole in the water. The boat made an immediate turn around an Jesse jumped in without hesitation to retrieve the flag. Successful rescue.
After we all had a good laugh, we hoisted the sails and sailed to our starting area while looking at a new Code 0.
Once there we sailed upwind and then looked at some kites on the run. We worked on some pre start work and time and distance to get comfortable with the conditions. Once the sea breeze filled in, we ran 2 practice starts and a 2 lap race with a few other boats on the course. It was good to get some sailing around other boats and start to get a feel for our positioning. The boat handling was smooth with the spinnaker take down system working quite well.
Tomorrow’s first start is a 1 pm. Looking forward to it.
Doogie
Jesse rescuing the flag
Newport Bermuda Race 2012: Great Video from Racing
Newport Bermuda race review
Well, we made it to Bermuda. It was a reach for the whole race. No tacks, no gybes, but plenty of sail changes, probably too many. We started the race under A2, after a few minutes, peeled to the R2, and then to the jib top, all within 15 minutes. We sailed alongside Rambler for a good portion of that afternoon with small losses and gains on them. We were pleasantly surprised as to our performance against them in those conditions. Throughout the rest of the day, we were between the jib top and the R2, reefs in and out. This continued all night with us holding up well against the competition. Our biggest competitor was the water coming into the boat. There was constant pumping and bailing for the whole race.
We started crossing the gulf stream late at night and early in the morning. As conditions got lumpy, we slowed down a little to keep things under control. At this point, Rambler was able to stretch on us. We probably waited too long to get back to 100% and lost some valuable miles to Shockwave. By the end of the day we had Shockwave a couple of hundred yards to leeward of us and the battle continued like this all the way to the finish the next morning. As the light came up in the morning we could just make out the mainsail of Shockwave just a couple hundred yards ahead of us. Both boats were pushing hard and we ended up bow even and to leeward of them about 20 miles from the finish. As squalls rolled through, both boats changed sails to try and stay in tune with the shifts. We had to improvise on some of our changes because of a damaged tack line that had occurred the previous night. We finally passed them about 10 miles from the finish and held them off until we finished the race.
The race was quite a big learning experience for us. We learned quite a bit about the new boat and its strengths and weaknesses. We have quite a bit of waterproofing work to do to make the boat more seaworthy. Proper sail combos and when to go to them also need to get sorted.
Now the boat gets loaded onto a ship and gets shipped to Palma in the med. Our next 2 events will be inshore oriented so our focus will be on that. See you for the Copa Del Rey.
Doogie
Newport Bermuda Race 2012: Photos
Bella Mente Racing in the Newport Bermuda Race 2012 (Photo Credit Billy Back)
Bella Mente Racing in the Newport Bermuda Race 2012 (Photo Credit Billy Back)
Newport Bermuda Race 2012: 2:30 PM Start
Tomorrow at 2:30 we will start our race to Bermuda. The forecast is for some fast reaching conditions with some light upwind work at the end. We are really looking forward to what this machine can do in those conditions. Conditions promise to be rough through the Gulf Stream and we will most likely have to move to boat preservation mode for a couple of hours. The team has been working furiously to get the boat ready over the last several days. A great many thanks has to go to the Fitzgerald Racing boys for helping us in getting tons of projects completed. Thanks Brad, Kyle, Kyle, and Mike.
We will be pushing hard for this race. Rambler, Shockwave, Wizard, and ourselves will all be going for the record. The systems are all online and going. We have a strong team of trimmers, grinders and drivers to make this race a sprint. Little rest is promised and plenty of wet gear is on the menu.
See you in Bermuda,
Doogie
