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Old 28-01-2010, 04:18   #1
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Any Racing Stories?

I spent a lot of the 70's and 80' doing RORC racing and just wondered if anyone else had. Any good stories
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Old 28-01-2010, 12:33   #2
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Lots and lots of racing here on the Great Lakes. Good times for sure, some torn sails, broken boats and hangovers. One funny story, we raced a windy Mac and blew up some kites. Still ended up winning. The owner wanted everyone to sign the head of one of the kites we blew up, pulled it out of the bag, cut the head off, and we all signed it. Come to findout it was one of the good kites we hadn't blown up. Too funny.

You're sailing a Ker 11.3 so you're still racing. Are you coming over to the cruisier side of life?
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Old 28-01-2010, 13:08   #3
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When I was just a kid, my father bought me an international snipe for my first boat. The only sailing I had done prior was some day sails on friends boats so I did kinda know how to get from one place to another. I'll never forget the first day I put that boat in the water my best friend and myself sailed all over the harbor. When we got back to the club we noticed all the other snipes we getting ready to go out for their twilight race and invited us to join them. Well you didn't have to ask us twice we're in. I'll try to make this quick, when we got out to where they were starting one of the boats came over and told us to just follow the fleet as we didn't have a clue what to do, so off we go. Now it get funny, after the snipes go off there are two cat boat fleets that follow, much slower than a snipe. When we crossed the finish line and actually beat the last two boats in the last fleet to start you think we won the world championship. I was hooked. Raced that boat for years. captden
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Old 28-01-2010, 14:15   #4
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A few years ago we were into racing really strong..
One weekend to get away and just goof off, we trailered the boat to a lake in the foot hills to meet up with my son and do some fishing..
On Saturday after noon we were approched by a couple local folks from the yacht club and invited to do the weekly (sunday) race.. sure we'd join in..
Sunday morning came around and when the first gun went off, I was working the line and diggin holes.. Our plans were to round the windward mark and work the bluffs off the far side of the lake, working our way to the other end..
Now experance was something we had alot of that summer and we were primed to the hilt to outsail our numbers along with the other boats..
As we rounded the mark, we wer a good 50 yards ahead of the rest of the boats, so we pulled the kite and headed down wind.. I remember the wife had asked where the leeward mark was and al I said was it had to be at the upper end of the lake and we'd find it when we got there..
something odd happened as when the rest of the boats rounded the mark, they all, in line headed right down the center of the lake.. I kept thinking of how crazy they were as the wind was better over where I was..
And then It happened.........As I looked over the all the boats in a line, I noticed the first boat in the line threw an orange bouy out of the boat and all the boats in a line, rounded the bouy and headed back windward...
We dropped the kite and headed across the lake where everybody was hanging out and I asked what type of racing they were doing... and I was told that john over there uasally had the fastest boat so it was his decision as the where the leeward mark would be.. and being in the first position, he would throw out the mark and the rest of the fleet would follow and round up..
And then the real surprise.........they informed me that I was the last boat to round the mark and it was my job to stop and pick it up!!!!!!!!!
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Old 28-01-2010, 15:12   #5
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That's me and mister in the middle holding on to the other 2 ensigns as we come across the start line.
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Old 28-01-2010, 21:04   #6
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Lots of RORC racing

Lots of stories

Most involve breaking something!!!
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Old 28-01-2010, 21:19   #7
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OK here's one:
61ft X-yacht, tack change from Genoa to Jib top 2.am. pitch black, South China Sea, 25knots or so.

The clew of the jib top is supposed to be attached to spinaker sheets, the bowman hooks up to headsail sheets. So we hoist jib top, tack, drop genoa.....trim on jib top......trim on jib top.......nothing...

me (trimmer) "it's hooked up!!"
bowman "no it's not!! - it's clear"
BANG!!
me; "OK, easy now, trim on!"
grinder: "getting tight again! are you sure it's not hooked up?!"
bowman" "I'm positive"
BANG!!
me: "OK, easy now, trim on"

We ripped out 3 stanchions before we realised what was going on....
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Old 31-01-2010, 03:09   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bewitched View Post
OK here's one:
61ft X-yacht, tack change from Genoa to Jib top 2.am. pitch black, South China Sea, 25knots or so.

The clew of the jib top is supposed to be attached to spinaker sheets, the bowman hooks up to headsail sheets. So we hoist jib top, tack, drop genoa.....trim on jib top......trim on jib top.......nothing...

me (trimmer) "it's hooked up!!"
bowman "no it's not!! - it's clear"
BANG!!
me; "OK, easy now, trim on!"
grinder: "getting tight again! are you sure it's not hooked up?!"
bowman" "I'm positive"
BANG!!
me: "OK, easy now, trim on"

We ripped out 3 stanchions before we realised what was going on....
Oh that brings back memories. I remember one Channell race that started at 8pm off Gillkicker and we beat all the way down the west Solent. Finally tacking to starbord off the Needles and then a long wet hard beat through the night to the French coast. Dawn arrives and the wind has dropped to a nice foce 4 the windward mark is on the nose and a long run back across the channel will let everyone dry off and get off the weather rail.
We round the mark, the kite goes up and bacon rolls appear. 30 mins later the wind backs 180 degrees fills back to force 6 and we are all back on the rail!!!
Why on earth do we do it?
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Old 31-01-2010, 04:32   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sbenest View Post
Oh that brings back memories. I remember one Channell race that started at 8pm off Gillkicker and we beat all the way down the west Solent. Finally tacking to starbord off the Needles and then a long wet hard beat through the night to the French coast. Dawn arrives and the wind has dropped to a nice foce 4 the windward mark is on the nose and a long run back across the channel will let everyone dry off and get off the weather rail.
We round the mark, the kite goes up and bacon rolls appear. 30 mins later the wind backs 180 degrees fills back to force 6 and we are all back on the rail!!!
Why on earth do we do it?
Because sometimes it goes the other way.
Late 80's offwind start of Fremantle - Mandurah and Return race heading down the coast with a NE storm from behind. Hooted along toppping 15 knots in our 30 foot flyer with kite up - got close ashore off Mandura leading the pack - droppped the kite and hardened up to windward - and a 30 second period of still and it all it backed to a fresh SW'ly. Recall flying back north under kite as most of the fleet still beat southward.
Methinks the record still stands for a Division 2 boat. Averaged 10 knots over the complete race. Lovely memory bank job and exactly why we go racing.
JOHN
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