Team Seacats

This is the question that Frank and I asked each other after we finally worked our way to the start line for the Steeplechase this morning.  Apparently a lot of people asked that question before pushing off the beach this morning and they answered “this is”.  Approximately 11 boats struggled to get through the draw bridge to get to the start area and it took us four or five attempts to break through the 8 knot current and get through the bridge into Jewfish Creek.  It was mayhem trying to get through there with the other boats making several attempts.  I’ve got a video and will link to it soon (it’s uploading).

Once through, we were waiting in the starting area and I was wondering if it was wise to proceed.  Frank suggested turning the boat downwind and get a feel for what the boat is like in this much wind without the spinnaker up.  After a 300 yard jaunt downhill, we agreed that the boat felt pretty good and that we would commit to the race.

The start sequence was started and we were off.  The boat was manageable but the choppy water was really giving us fits on the trapeze.  I eventually came in to drive the boat while sitting and Frank stayed trapped.  After clearing the first bridge things laid down until we got into the ocean.  Once there, the wind was blowing a manageable 25 with some scary gusts over 30 but the waves were lumpy and irregular giving us fits with random gusts and random wave troughs opening up.  While trying to determine “how much speed is too much”, we found out when we got nailed with a gust when a deep narrow trough opened up under the bow.  We drove the boat in harder than I’ve ever seen a Nacra 20 go, and the sterns shot toward the sky while we tried to stay at the back of the boat.  Resistance was futile and she went over.  Both of us had firmly planted in our brains to stay connected with the boat because even though she was over, she would drift much faster than either of us could swim.  We did and Frank single handedly righted the boat while I rolled on the lower hull to be on the boat when it came right side up.  I kept the boat under control while Frank climbed back aboard.

We decided then and there to kick things down a notch and run at about 80% instead of 90%.  Things were relatively uneventful until we caught up with Team Accelerated Chaos and tried to run them down (unsuccessfully).  With about 5.5 miles to go, the wind and seas were laying down and we popped the spinnaker hoping to get a run on them.  They saw our kite go up and followed suit to try and keep us behind them.  The boat was pretty stable but we lost it in a gybe and flipped for a second time with about 300 yards to go.  We slid up to the beach, the fourth boat to finish – only 6 made it.

BIG kudos go out to the Hobie 16 team that slid in a measly 6 to 10 minutes behind us – they absolutely stuck it out and rocked.  Undoubtedly, they beat us on corrected time.

We haven’t had a chance to look at the forecast for tomorrow – it’s a pretty sure thing that it will be breezy again.

That video should finish uploading in a bit … think we’ll go get some dinner and I’ll publish a link to it when I get back.