Rolex Regatta

hehe, we made our way into the Rolex Regatta.... It all started out with skipping a day of work, then hitch hiking down to the yacht club and laying on our charm.


Right off the bat, we found one spot on a beach cat. A beach cat is a small and fast two person catamaran. The seas were choppy and the wind blowing twenty knots. I geared up without a clue of what was in store.
















This is what its supposed to look like:

This is more like what I was doing:

My job was to run the jib, the spinnaker, and the down haul, while using my body mass to balance the boat and counter its heal. This means I clip my harness into one of the side stays and hang off the side with sheets in hand. In big swells and heavy winds in a race it means getting bashed into waves, tossed around and yelled at like a gumby for the duration. I was literally getting pummeled and knocked off my feet by the waves, and correspondingly yelled at. I was secretly relieved when we broke our jib roller and had to turn back after an hour. Due to the conditions all the other beach cats capsized and some completely turltled, meaning they were upside down in the water and required tow assistance in.


Day Two of the Regatta, we sold our selves as spinnaker men and we landed on a 52ft sloop. In the interview the captain asked us if we knew spinnakers, and technically we did since we had flow ours that one time in the Bahamas. haha This is a picture of us under spinnaker. It totaly looks like we are winning. I'm up on the bow and Derek is in the cockpit
running the lines.

The skipper was laid back and the crew fun and casual. We filled in the gaps and worked our young backs into knots grinding the winches as we tacked up wind race after race. We finished dead last in four races, but enjoyed every minute of it. The other boats in the regatta were well funded with racing sails and matching t-shirts, while we were sporting old cruising sails and hauling eight peoples vacation luggage from point to point. We danced the night away at the race party and blended in with the other racers.

Day three the crew came together as a team. Bow team and cockpit team. Our execution seemed flawless compared to the day before, but we were still in above our heads. After completing half the course, the entire fleet had finished and the committee requested that we accept our place and quit so they could collect the race marker buoys. :) We had a great time and saw our improvement, and from this who would know that we finished last.




I still think this is the most beautifull boat out there.

Derek and I got some more experience and hope that we can pick up the pace as we set off for longer distances across the Atlantic in our own boat. haha