Miami Nassau Race - Again Irked by IRC

This race from Miami to Nassau began with nearly 2 knots of air out of the southeast. Because the air was so light the start was delayed for nearly an hour at 10am. In fact because of the outgoing tide current we got pushed over the line early. We went back to start over. We then went right towards the cut and got a good push from the current and nearly got back in the lead. By noon the wind was at 8 knots with a boat speed of 6 knots.

Crossing the Florida straights we stayed in sight of the J125 and the J44 with a lot of reaching. On the Florida side we had a current of 5 knots so Carinthia would have to point at least 30 degrees high just to keep our north south position.

When morning broke the rain was coming down in sheets. Boat speed was continually good as we would get a buildup and more astern. As you can see we tore the .6 oz at the tapes and we went to the 1.5oz with no loss of speed.
 
     

In the last part of the race we managed to stay ahead of the J125 who had a faster rating. In the last 10 miles we passed Golddigger, a J44. This group sailed a nearly flawless race with almost 35 sail changes. Again I stuck it to us myself. If I would of registered the boat in IRC we would of placed 1st overall.

Happy, Sleepy, Doc, Grumpy

Whadya mean, no beer? Wait a minute this is not Hot Ticket!

The plot above got a little cruddy because in the middle of the race we discovered our alternator had fried and we let the laptop battery run down. (Click on the chart for a larger image)

Crew: Bob Declercq, Lynn Kotwicki, Mike Kirkman, Mike Badedieck, Colleen Flanagan,  Karl Kuspa, and in the buoy race Jim Dundas

As you can see above this race was a big deal here. This an event that was part of the old SORC. With the fantastic facilities on Paradise Island and hospitality of the Nassau Yacht Club this is a race nobody should miss!

In the buoy race it blew between 18 and 22 knots. We managed to lead in both races. Towards the end of the 2nd race Jim Dundas tried to move the boom with his head and we took him to the hospital for observation. Fortunately he got only four stitches behind the ears with no other permanent damage. BTW the doctor would not let him walk out of the hospital with the head bandage on.

Results: 3rd in long distance race, 1st in buoy race, Winner of Governor's Trophy
Link: http://www.miaminassauraceweek.com/