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The Wily Annapolis Locals (WALS) mixing it up in what appears to be breeze                                    We knew we forgot something...oh yea, the jib

    Well here it is another season, another rainy day for writing and posting this tripe.  We've been racing for three months now and I thought I'd  let my crew read our results and see some pictures of our endeavors.  (They usually forget what they had done all day....somewhere during the post race party....and have a hard time convincing the wives/date dejour that they actually went racing).
    Our first two races were PHRF affairs with 6 to 8 J35's on the line along with the rest of the division.  We went out there bristling with information that was sure to make us  win  (Tide charts, weather forecasts etc.)  The only problem was the Wily Annapolis Locals (WAL for short) didn't let me know that when the wind blows hard from a certain direction (North) current charts etc. don't mean sh..).  On the first race, NASS, the tide was ripping out and all the local boats ignored the 30 degree shifts and went hard left..out of the current while Aunt Jean  played the shifts and went around eighth at the top.  On the down wind leg we consulted the charts aplenty and were convinced the tide wouldn't matter the second lap....WRONG.   On the third lap we were so far behind it didn't matter so we stuck to our guns and played the shifts...all WALs headed left.  As luck would have it we actually did gain this leg and came around the top mark second.  The down wind leg was a follow the leader deal so we sat there watching the stern of Tiamat sail to what we thought was victory.  Then lady luck smiled on us as Tiamat finished...no gun, they were OCS and hadn't gone back.  The next race was much the same as the first but this time we had the tide figured and led around the top mark only to be passed on the seven mile run by a 45 foot Bennesslow.  As luck would have it they missed a mark of the course and we won again...I was beginning to hope this wasn't how we to sail the entire season ( winning by luck ) when along came the NOOD regatta...

Getting ready for a mark rounding at the NOOD                                                     Humping up the kite as we come around

The first day was a light and variable event with only one race being scored.  At the end of the day a well sailed Maggie (A WAL that came up to play with us, along with Quicksilver) won quite handily with yours truly in second.  The second day was much like the first, 8 - 10 kts and variable.  Maggie sailed a 3, 1 compared to our 2, 2 leaving them one point ahead going into Wednesdays racing.  Maggie sailed a very good second race on Tuesday.  We were covering her at the top of the second windward leg  when we had a major brain fart and ducked a Express 37  instead of  lee-bowing it. This put Maggie close enough to attack, which she did admirably by picking better lanes than us and going around the top mark one boat length ahead.  It was at this point I remembered there were other fleets out on our course to deal with...duh.  Wednesday there was a little more breeze and a lot more current than the previous day.  Aunt Jean managed a 1, 4 to Maggies 2, 1.  The fourth was due to my total disregard for the tide...oops.  Thursday came with 10-20 kts predicted and the around the island race.  The fleet started of in less than 10 kts on a one mile beat to a drop mark.  Aunt Jean went around second to Charlie IV.  Under a kite reach around the bottom of the island we saw the wind starting to shift and jibed in toward shore and promptly found ourselves in fourth. As it turned out we were about ten minutes premature because Smuggler (the Merchant Marine Academy) which had been in fifth was now in first as they hit the shift perfectly...patience is a virtue.  At the corner turn mark Aunt Jean and Maggie were neck and neck with Aunt Jean on the inside.  This is where lady luck finally smiled on Aunt Jean and gave us a lane in the wall of boats tight reaching toward the top of the island, Maggie never found a lane and started falling back.  Half way up the leg it got too tight for a kite and Aunt Jean changed to a medium jib.  At this point Smuggler couldn't get their kite down and sailed out to sea and Charlie IV (forever taking the high road) sailed up into the beach...and all the IMS fleets.  Aunt Jean stayed down and jib reached straight for the top mark taking the lead about a mile from it.  The top mark was truly interesting with all the fleets converging at once and three kts of current against the final upwind course.  At this point Christmas came early for Aunt Jean, as we let the two large IMS boats inside us to pull clear ahead and take the turn wide while we shot inside and never looked back.  Of course we almost got cut in half by a Santa Cruz 72 that didn't realize buoy room does indeed apply to little piss ant J35's.  After the dust had settled we had gained about ten minutes at that mark and simply covered for the rest of the race.  Maggie who had been sixth at the mark sailed a great last leg to eke out a second over a truly furious Charlie IV (he was trapped out on port coming into the finish by the fleet ahead of us).  This took Aunt Jean into the last day one point behind Maggie. Luckily the breeze was up around 12 kts which suits Aunt Jean just fine.  The first race had steady conditions all across the course.  Aunt Jean got an early lead and covered Maggie the whole way around. This gave a completely tied regatta going into the last race.  Needless to say the last start was going to be interesting.  With less than a minute to go Maggie approached Aunt Jean bow to bow on port then threw the helm over to jibe in front of Aunt Jean...good idea but a little late.  Aunt jean followed Maggies transom down and established a leeward overlap with thirty seconds to go.  At this point Aunt Jean was in Maggies bad air and going slow.  JB (Aunt Jeans Tactician) glared at yours truly while I tried to convince him I controlled Maggie and that he was going to be over early.  When the gun went off so did the X flag and JB just turned to me and said "Jimmy you've got a golden horse shoe stuck up your ass".  With that vote of confidence going for me Aunt Jean had clear air and went on to win the race. Although this years J35 fleet was small it was a lot of fun with Maggie finishing only 2 points behind and Quicksilver coming in third overall.

 Chris giving much thought to tomorrow's race                                              Deb rocking Block
 

Well it's September which means we're back in the Annapolis area. We had a great summer sailing off of Ocean City NJ in the Heart Cup and other local events. The sea breeze was 15 to 18 kts every day and steady as a rock...gotta love ocean racing. Labor day weekend we sailed the CBYRA race week in Annapolis and actually had good breeze for once. We started off the regatta pretty badly thanks to yours truly not bothering to pick up the SI's the night before. They contained a minor detail like we're the third start not the fourth...oh well. So after my wonderful last row start we found ourselves in 9th going around the bottom mark of the first lap. From there we were happy to pick off a couple boats on an outside wind gradient that put us in 5th at the top mark and after jibe setting 4th at the finish. The next race it was Jake all the way and we were left to 2nd. Sundays racing was canceled due to too much wind??...they do that in Annapolis. So coming into Monday we were two points behind Dreamer and tied with Jake, while Wild Thang was two points behind us. Luckily for us the gods were smiling on us, since at the start Jake and Dreamer OCS'd giving us an easy cruise to the favored left corner and never looked back. At this point we had a two point lead over Jake and five on the rest of the fleet. On the second race I screwed the pooch on the start and couldn't get right fast enough, leaving the wily Jake three boat lengths to windward of us covering comfortably. About two thirds the way up the leg we tacked on to starboard, fully expecting Jake to face us, forcing us right...but lo and behold Jake let us go! This allowed us to get to more pressure which resulted in a two boat length lead at the top. Jake gained most of it back going downhill so he was right on our transom at the bottom mark rounding. Going back upwind we forced Jake to tack, which he did...right over a crab pot. By the time he got untangled we had a comfortable lead and covered the rest of the race...Must be that golden horseshoe!

  The 1999 North Americans are a thing of the past and we just completed the race down to Oxford and the Hammond memorial race back.  The race down to Oxford started as a dilemma for us.  There's a huge fleet that has started before us, all slower boats which suck up what little air is available coming in from the southwest.  We know the wind is going to rotate left, the line is HUGE (1/4 mile) and the start is a close hauled, starboard tack affair.  Conventional tactics say start at the left side of the line, however your now faced with 300 boats on your air (previous starters) and having to work through them.  Aunt Jean decided clear air was paramount so we started at the right (pin) end of the line and hopefully our clear air boat speed would rotate us ahead or even with the boats to the left as the breeze went left.  At the start we looked really good and had clear air but as predicted the wind was veering left and it became a foot race to the eastern shore and the channel. (the current was with us)   For a while the Wily Annapolis Locals (WALs), of course they were to the left, looked to be ahead then we looked to be ahead and when we finally hit the channel we caught a little extra pressure that put us slightly ahead.  Now it became a tacking exercise down the channel to the first mark.  We stayed in clearer air and deeper water than the WALs and got to the first mark with a comfortable lead and were able to extend from there.   The race back from Oxford was shaping up to be the usual drag race from the first mark...get to the mark first and it's all down hill from there with no passing lanes.  We got to the first mark in first just ahead of Jake and towed him the next three marks and most of the 10 mile final leg.  I say most because with less than a mile to go to the finish we got careless and took our eyes off Jake allowing him to jibe away.  Anywhere else this wouldn't be that big of a deal since he was jibing into more current, however in typical Annapolis fashion the steady as a rock southeasterly  crapped out leaving yours truly out to dry.  Ultimately the air died for everyone and it became a guessing game as to where it would fill in from.  This is where the WALs shine and of course it came from the northwest (aka northworst) Soo... with Jake sitting two boat lengths to the northwest of us and 200 feet to the finish the breeze filled in hitting Jake first and us second, which is of course how we finished.  The next three weeks are the AYC fall series, which will decide the CBYRA Highpoint championship between Jake, Dreamer, Maggie, Grayling and us.  Will Sags Underrated Yachting Team(S.U.Y.T.)    hold off the WALs??

Well the fall series came and went.  We screwed the pooch on the first two races...didn't jibe out in time on the first race, first to fifth....ouch!  The second race PMS'd only to come back to second and throw it away on a clearing tack...to fourth, double ouch!!  The last race we sailed well and took second to Tiamat, which sailed an excellent series capitalizing on our mistakes.   Needless to say after our "stellar" performance during the AYC fall series the WAL's beat us for Highpoint (See results below).
Oh well, 'till next season....