Team Seacats

Who says sailing is a safe sport? Check out this sequence of photos that Craig VanEaton recorded from a chase boat on the first day of racing during the Tradewinds regatta last Saturday. Nigel and I had a rough start but were picking off boats and had just rounded A-mark headed for the reaching mark when we found ourselves in the middle of a very tight pack of boats. We ducked low under the Key Sailing Team of Kirk Newkirk and Glen Holmes looking for some clean air and Nigel said “if they flip,we’re (*&#$#!”. It wasn’t 3 seconds later when a big hungry gust engages with our fleet and Newkirk experiences a snarl in his mainsheet as they go over right in front of us while we are all doing about 16 to 18 knots on a reach. Pity my batteries had died in my onboard video camera as it was poised looking right at their boat for this entire sequence.  Reminder; we’re the boat with the blue hulls and the grey and white mainsail.  Watch the spray off the rudders as Nigel slams the helm over to try and avoid their boat and watch me as I come off the wire to be barely missed by the tip of their mast.  We managed to finish in 2nd place in that race.