Marbleheads are just the best boats to sail. Fast, tricky to set up well but go like the clappers when you get it right.
There is a report on the event on facebook MYA downwind along with a lot of good pictures and videos. Condition were breezy, shifty but we managed to sail up and down the lake on windward leeward course for most of the weekend.
Of course Brad Gibson gave us and exhibition of how these boats should be sailed. What was remarkable was he did not always start well and was often in the pack at the start of the first beat but he sailed fast and always seemed to be on the right side of the windshift. OK he has been sailing in this region for 18 years but I have to say he has such a special talent.
Enough of the praise, what about me. In summary I got the results I deserved. Yes of course I could have done better. In fact three race events took me from a potential 4th place to 7th overall on Sunday. Here are some examples of what befell me.
In one race I had moved from 5th to second on the run and approached the leeward gate with three other boats. The leader missed the mark and was in the process of re-rounding. I was inside boat and would have rounded first but one of the outside boats turned sharply towards me and sailed between the mainsheet and backstay. By the time we separated we were last and second to last.
In another race I was lying forth on the second beat when my radio decided to loose contact with the boat 2/3rds of the way up the leg. The boat turned through 90 degrees and stopped. I switched the transmitter on and off to no avail. When the last boat passed me, the transmitter miraculously reconnected. Someone or something did not want me to do well this weekend.
In another race on the first beat, I misjudged a port and starboard crossing and just nicked the transom of a boat meaning an immediate 360. Hard to recover from that one.
Even more disappointing, I had a good lead in one race and missed the leeward mark. That will teach me not to run the full length of the lake to judge the rounding.
But it was not all bad. I was starting well, getting many of the first beats right and generally was in a good position at the first mark. My boat was quick but I know I have much to learn. Conditions were tricky and many had similar challenges to me but the experience of sailing these boats is invaluable.
I got into the Marblehead class to get used to speed sailing so IOM's would feel relatively slow and controllable. This was my first M regatta in wind so it is not really surprising I struggled. It was brilliant fun and I managed to reframe my thinking, from the wind is against me to, I am tacking at the wrong time and placing the boat in the wrong part of the course. Amazing how much better you feel when you place the responsibility on yourself and not outside elements.
In the end the Grunge design dominated the results, interrupted on Saturday by the Starkers Squared of Martin Roberts, a 33 year old design and a boat age which could be described as vintage.
Next outing will be the Nationals. Can't wait. In between there is the small matter of the IOM ranking event at Eastbourne and the DF65 nationals at Gosport.
Enjoy your racing
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