What a season it has been. Now that ShellShock has been on the hard for a couple of weeks I've had time to reflect on the first season.
This year I sold a boat I just bought, bought a new boat, crashed that boat, went through numerous crew members, made some friends and made some enemies, got stuck in my well, blew up a couple of sails, won some races, finished mid pack most of the time, came in dead last in some others and did one overnight sail with Susan. All in all, a very eventful racing season. My goals this year were primarily around learning how to make the boat go as fast as possible and to build a serious race program around the boat. I feel I was more successful with my first goal than the second.
Things that fell off the boat this year:
1 pair of expensive sun glasses
1 set of winch bearings
multiple GoPro mounting hardware aparatus
numerous hats
2 winch handles
maybe a couple of aluminum can empties
1 shoe
Highlights of the season:
NSSC Friday Night Top Gun Series - I raced in this series all summer long and I got my A$$ kicked. Unfortunately due to the low PHRF rating of my boat, we were up against the fastest, best crewed boats and we didn't stand up very well in most conditions as we all learned how to sail the boat together.
Wednesday Night Fun Series - Had a great time sailing with my dad, brother, and nephew. We would start dead last in a pursuit start against mostly cruisers and finish in the front of the pack. Lots of fun. Even had Bill Roberds out from Seattle one night, we flew the kite and had lots of laughs on a down wind reach with no one on board that had any idea how to fly an ASYM.
Double Handed Hind Hornett Regatta - Joey and I killed it. We passed the entire fleet like they were standing still in light wind conditions. We were so far ahead we made a tactical mistake and turned around the wrong mark because there was no one to follow. We even had the kite up upside down at one point and still passing boats. We still did pretty well despite the skippers big mistakes.
BYC One Design Regatta - This was a big wind event and we were in the same class as the J/120's. It did not end well. We blew up the # 3 as we were rolling it up, and decided to call it on Saturday after race number 3. Gary almost got in a fist fight in the bar and at one point during a race, a boat passing us asked us if we were alright with our reefed main. On the way home, we saw 13KTS boat speed down wind under main alone. It was a sporty trip back up the lake with no head sail and 35kts of breeze.
AYC Overnight Distance Race - Best results of the year and we were robbed. Under light air conditions, Gary, Mark and I had a flawless race. We finished second in class just behind Joey, who got by us as we briefly parked it in light air. Desire was so surprised and upset with our results, they protested ShellShocks PHRF rating and won. It didn't help that the Desire skipper was on the DRYA Race Committee. Totally unfair, but that's what happens to the new guy that threatens all the old fat cats. My boat now rates under the nationally published J boat rating for a J/92. Whatever, it's not over. Ended up with a third overall, still a great race and great result up against some really strong boats.
Birthday Race - Good showing. Had Andromache on the boat and we beat Dog Dayz out for a third. Everybody was shocked and kept congratulating us for upsetting a very winning boat.
NSSC Fall Series - Great fun with some sailing rock stars for crew in the fall winds, but the boat just didn't show up. Inconsistent crew and high winds made it tough to compete against the heavier and better crewed boats. I typically had no more than two or three guys onboard, and I watched a J/35 go by with a rail meat count that exceeded 10 bodies. We saw 10kts on the last race of the season while flying the kite - good times.
I know there was more races in there I forgot about, also had a couple of no shows because I couldn't muster a crew. Overall, very inconsistent race results depending on who was on the boat, what the race conditions were, and most importantly, how may stupid decisions were made by the skipper.
Overall thoughts on the season:
It has been a lot more work than I ever imagined to keep a boat fully crewed with able body sailors / racers. Phone calls, emails, groveling for help are the primary duties of a race boat skipper. The sailing is the easy part. It's like trying to get your seven best friends to show up for a party at your house 3 days a week all summer long for six months, it's not easy. I know my relationships and race program will develop and deepen over time, it just takes a long time to develop a talented crew committed to the program. I think the main question I have to answer for myself is whether or not it's time and money I'm willing to invest to keep up a serious race campaign. So far the answer is yes.
Now that the boat is out of the water, I've committed to making the improvements to take the boat to the next level of competitiveness. I had hoped to be buying new sails this fall, but I've completely blown my repair budget, so all of my resources will be going into bottom repairs, hull repairs from a crash, and replacing 50% of the topsides with dry balsa, fresh paint, new non skid and moderen deck hardware. I could have bought a gently used Porsche Cayman for just the price of the repairs I will be putting into this boat over the winter. And I really hope my engine starts in the spring.
I put in a huge level of effort this year, committing a very large portion of my leisure time to get the program off the ground and to get the boat sorted. Has it been worth it? Time will tell. I made some new lasting relationships, had some great experiences this year, but it forced me to have a singular purpose in a way I'm not accustomed to committing myself or my resources.
For me, it's all about sharing these great experiences with others. The winning is important, but more importantly is sharing the results with those I enjoy being with. For now, I will stay committed to finding like minded friends to race with and enjoy the ride.
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