As old men will do...

[TrentePieds]

… I was sculling around on youtube for delights I knew in yesteryear, and came across this clip recorded in waters that once were mine.

I thot in light of discussions we've had recently about commingling commercial traffic with racing fleets, and the applicability of COLREGS v. Racing Rules, that you might find this amusing. I'm not sure whether the ferry skipper woulda been laffing his head off, or whether smoke woulda come out his ears :-)!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QG0LxJweSw&t=284s

TrentePieds

[a64pilot]

Seem to be some seriously tender boats, do they not?

[senormechanico]

Has no one heard of adjusting a leech line????

[LittleWing77]

Those are some sailors who seriously know their **** (except the guy who ran aground, of course!)

Warmly,
LittleWing

[thomm225]

Looks like most of the sailors are doing a good job especially since it appears they are sailing single handed in a very narrow channel/area with lots of traffic

Plus it's definitely blowing hard …..

[DenverSailors]

Wow! Thanks for posting. What a great fleet!!

[Ken Pole]

If that's a regular ferry lane, it was a truly dumb-ass decision to set the course there regardless of the race skippers' competence. As for the slipper who went aground, he/she probably did so trying to stay out of the racers' way.

[psk125]

That’s not the Race Committee boat coming in to set up?

[Cadence]

The brief piece with the brown or tanbark hull, looked like that guy had it all together.

[Michael Pope]

I think the sound advise would be "Be Patient and catch the Ferry" He is Bigger! MP

[hpeer]

Just because can does not mean you should!

Not sure what to make of that melee. Great to watch.

[TrentePieds]

@A64: Well you know where I stand on the matter of design idiom. The modern “racing machine” has largely put the cap on decent cruising designs. The boats depicted here are just oveblown Wayfarer dinghies with a deck as far as I'm concerned, Some of these boats are down to the second reef, but most of them appear to be over-pressed. That's what racing will do to you :-)!

@Senor: You are probably talking about #220. Don't be so picky, they are 10 minutes before the gun. Way, WAY back I wuz told by a geezer that “winning races is dead easy – all you have to do is get first over the start line and then stay out in front.” This race is 135NM, or so, all around the island of Funen. 220 has plenty of time to see to his leech line. Position is more important just now :-)

@Littlewing: This race is reputed to be a toughie. It is held in the autum when the stormy winds do blow. As I write, it's blowing WNW 15 there, tho I think when this clip was made it musta been a shade over 20. Boats come from all over Danish waters and the Baltic, and only a few would be locals sailing out of the town of Svenborg. The distance from the mole at Svenborg to the mole on the southern side of Svenborgsund is about a cable and a half, and that is also the width of the navigable channel until you are well west of the bridge whose piers you see to the left in the clip. You can know you poop, handling-wise, and still run aground if you don't know the water. Or if you are too busy to read it.

@Ken Pole: Well, No! This is a MAJOR racing event held every year on a known date with over 300 boats taking part. There are, if I'm not mistaken, five classes based on length, so getting them all away for a race that lasts anywhere from 15 hours for big boats to 25 hours for the smallest is a major organizational feat. Getting all classes away takes about half a day. The ferry authority is obviously involved in the planning and has no problem with the required modification to the ferry itinerary. The ferry turn-around at the terminals is about 15 minutes and the transit time terminal to terminal about an hour. So instead of picking on the race committee, lets doff our caps to them and the ferry skippers :-)

@Michael Pope: Specifically she is about 550 tons and has a service speed of about 12 knots. Name is M/F Marstal.

TP

[Mirage35]

For a non-racer this is impressive / disturbing / scary / hilarious / surreal / all of the above. Next time someone suggests that I should try racing I'll just show them this video.

[carstenb]

I've sailed those waters any number of times (not int he race) The silver rudder is a single-hand race and I know several people who have raced in it (none of them won)

When the winds are strong - it can be a tough area to sail

[svmariane]

Wow. Controlled chaos. So I watched a scond time but muted the sound and in def to the thread title had the Kingston Trio playing in the background - Raspberries Strawberries. Reminded me of my younger years. Love of sailing, love of Paris - love of life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31aSpEB1RRc