C H A L L E N G E
Without a doubt, for me this regatta was the most exciting and challenging so far (other than my first one, 10 years ago, when I fell overboard and barely got away with my soul still attached to my body). It was a combination of mishaps along the way and the fact that our Tartan 30' was manned by only two people (the captain and myself - a pro and a noob) while all other sailboats had a crew of three and more.
C O U R S E
The committee boat announced the race format via the radio and picked a triangular course that was marked with three orange buoys. We quickly skimmed over the printed instruction pages and studied the sequence that all participants had to complete: Start >W > G > L > W > G > Finish
B A D . S T A R T
Our first major mishap was that we were late for the race. By the time we made it the start line we were dead last. In this regatta however what matters is the time it takes for each boat to complete the designated course so we still had a chance.
E X P E R I E N C E
I see myself living and exploring the world on a sailboat in the future, but in the meantime, local regattas are a great way for me to gain experience and keep my skills sharp. There is wisdom that you can only acquire from experience and by watching what the experienced captain does (including any mistakes).
As for the experts, they often learn quite a bit from the noobs too. Since newbies often rely on intuition rather than experience, sometimes, their intuition can be very keen and unclouded by the confidence that the more experienced sailor has. After all, success can come on behalf of not only text-book knowledge, experience and intuition, but also sheer luck.
S E A . G Y M
This regatta was also a test of strength and took me to the limits of my ability to reel-in the sheets (sail ropes) while the sails were full. Since I was the only crew member, I had to cross the boat from side to side with each maneuver and release or trim the sails throughout the duration of the whole regatta (we had two of them that day). By the end of the regatta I felt that my arm muscles were beginning to weaken and I couldn't turn the winches fast enough during the tacks (boat turns). Needless to say I'm still sore and walk like a body builder with my arms resting with some distance from my body, and I show-off my bruises like trophies.
D O W N T I M E
Unfortunately we came last in the regatta this year, which was humbling since last year we came in first. But we did our best and were happy with the effort spent and the experience gained. After the brutal sun had subsided we set course to Miami, where the boat will spend a week in anticipation for the next race (Miami to Key Largo).
Now that there was no rush, we took our time to tidy up the boat, take a brake to eat and snack, tell stories and set the navigation for the next destination.
G O L D E N . H O U R
Living on the east coast, you rarely get to enjoy scenic sunsets, but from a few miles out in the ocean its a spectacular view. We could also feel the night breeze sweep the heat of the day away and replace it with a slight chill that forced us to change to warmer clothes and whip out the coffee to keep us warm and alert as we continued sailing into the night.
C A P T A I N ' S . L O G
Cpt. Eric is making notes in his journal and calculating how many tacks we'll have to make while heading-up, weighing weather its better to sail straight but slower or make more tacks but sail faster. El captain keeps a tight log of all the activity on the boat - how much time the engine was running, when had the regatta started and ended, what time were the night lights switched on, and what errors were made that can be avoided in the future.
M O O R I N G
We arrived at the Coconut Grove marina in Miami at 1 AM, after 10 hours of sailing (no photos due to darkness) and tied the boat at the mooring field we had booked in advance. After the boat was secured in its spot, we were to exhausted to fold the sails or collect all the ropes neatly so left them as they were and went straight to sleep. In the morning we made all the maintenance work and while at it, I took some photos of small sailing dinghies racing against each other.
T O . B E . C O N T I N U E D
All photos by A N K A P O L O.