I thought it would be a fun, new experience to join in on the
George Town Cruiser’s Regatta. Bill agreed that, since we were here, we might
as well and; we signed up for both days of racing. We had never raced before and, frankly,
Spiraserpula is designed as a comfortable cruiser, not a sleek and sexy racer. We have good-naturedly endured having her
described as a floating seawall, or a 3-story condo only because those
describing her as such were VERY good friends.
In spite of being assigned a
large handicap, we really did not expect to place (well maybe a third) but
looked forward to a couple of fun days of sailing. Our friends from Mosey, Ken and Darla agreed
to crew—they are power-boaters and also racing beginners, Darla had never been
on a sailboat.
The day of the first race, Saturday, March 2, dawned with a
light breeze and overcast skies. This
was the “Around Stocking Island Race” a course of 18.6 miles starting in Elizabeth Harbor
Our ship of racing greenhorns passed the start-line hoisting
the Jolly Roger, threatening the committee boat with the cutlass and belaying
pin, and demanding them to “surrender your rum!” Spiraserpula ran down the harbor before the
wind, easily passing one boat in our class and leaving another far behind—we
started to think that maybe third place was a possibility—at least we would not
be last. We expected a more favorable
wind angle as we exited the southern end of the harbor and headed into Exuma
Sound for the long upwind leg—the third place seemed a possibility. However, after rounding the southern marker,
we inexplicably slowed down, barely making 6 kts when we were expecting at
least high 6s if not 7 or more. Boats in
our class and the class starting after us passed us—even the one that was way
behind. One boat used a racing maneuver
that our lack of experience had not prepared us for and we were a bit
intimidated by it. Bill started working
the sails, catching every gust, while Ken steered—but we still barely kept up. Our hopes for other than dead last finish were
now based on regaining the obvious advantage we had on the downwind leg to the
finish line. After rounding the northern
marker and re-entering Elizabeth Harbor Spiraserpula did pass one boat in our
class and finished closely behind the others.
We all agreed it had been an intense and fun experience—we had forgotten
to eat lunch!
During the trip back to the anchorage, the wind picked up
and we sailed back at 8 kts—go figure!!
Of course that made picking up the anchor chain and hooking it back to
the boat quite exciting. In addition to
the wind, the engine water pump decided to self-destruct an impeller and Bill
had to maneuver the boat with one engine.
We could not have done it without the help of Ken and Darla!
The after race party was scheduled at 5pm at St. Francis
Resort, not too far from our anchorage.
By that time the wind had picked up to 25-30kts—the expected blow had
come in sooner than forecast. There was
talk over the radio about postponing the party but few people wanted to do
that. We donned our foul weather gear
and headed to the party in the rain.
Luckily the way to the party was sheltered by the island so the waves
were not too bad. Ken and Darla had
plans to meet with some friends who were leaving soon so they did not
attend. After drinks and some excellent
chicken wings and conch fritters everyone was ready to hear the race
results. We were the last class
announced and heartily cheered as the third place and second place winners were
named—not us. We silently speculated who
the first place winner was but could hardly believe it when Spiraserpula was
called out!!! There were several
comments, among the congratulations, about the enthusiasm with which we
accepted the trophy, blue flag and cap, and… a nice bottle of rum! I am still pinching myself as I look at the
trophy sitting on the shelf.
So-----Dare to call Spiraserpula a floating seawall
again!!!!! Next race is Tuesday.
PS—We saw the race statistics today. Spiraserpula held her own in the unadjusted
times.
