The Traveller's Trophy on Middle Harbour
Sep. 16th, 2015 06:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
khiemtranOn Saturday, Liem set off for Balmoral Beach to compete in the Traveller's Trophy on Middle Harbour...
Getting there was an adventure in itself, as we had to get Shearwater, all her sails and spars, and even her dolly, all on top of my little Yaris...
When we got there, Sydney Weekender were filming a segment on kids learning to sail. They also interviewed one of the other Mirror crews, so we might see them on tv later. As you can see, it was another glorious Spring day in Sydney.
Time for us to hit the water...
In the first race, we quickly found ourselves outclassed. We were late getting to the starting area and were already a long way behind by the time we even crossed the line.
Then, as the other boats reached the top mark, we saw that, unlike us, every one of them had a spinnaker, giving them a huge advantage on the downwind legs. We were so far behind after just one lap that we dropped out early for fear that they would start the second race before we had even finished the course.
In the second race, we were better prepared. This time we nailed the start and get pace with the back of the pack all the way to the top mark.
Here you can see us tacking as we head up to the top mark. In front of us, you can see The Sound, the deepest part of Sydney Harbour, with the open sea beyond that.
Once again the other boats ran up their spinnakers as they rounded the top mark, and most of them vanished into the distance. However one of them had trouble flying their "kite" and we were able to latch on behind them. One of the interesting dynamics in sailing is that the trailing boat has an advantage downwind, because it can take the wind out of the sails of the boat ahead. Here we are closing in, even though the boat in front has more sail area than we do.
By the bottom mark, we've almost caught up.
From there it was game on upwind. Unfortunately, we couldn't quite keep in touch with them and they got away at the top mark. This time they caught their spinnaker up cleanly and they vanished before we had even rounded the mark. At least we had given them a scare.
As we headed back downwind, the skiffs from the Manly 16ft skiff club were past on a race of their own.
Two races were enough for us, so we headed back to start the process of de-rigging and getting Shearwater back to the sailing club. We managed one DNF and one Last Place, but at least we can claim the moral victory of having threatened to take Not Last for the good part of one race...
Getting there was an adventure in itself, as we had to get Shearwater, all her sails and spars, and even her dolly, all on top of my little Yaris...
When we got there, Sydney Weekender were filming a segment on kids learning to sail. They also interviewed one of the other Mirror crews, so we might see them on tv later. As you can see, it was another glorious Spring day in Sydney.
Time for us to hit the water...
In the first race, we quickly found ourselves outclassed. We were late getting to the starting area and were already a long way behind by the time we even crossed the line.
Then, as the other boats reached the top mark, we saw that, unlike us, every one of them had a spinnaker, giving them a huge advantage on the downwind legs. We were so far behind after just one lap that we dropped out early for fear that they would start the second race before we had even finished the course.
In the second race, we were better prepared. This time we nailed the start and get pace with the back of the pack all the way to the top mark.
Here you can see us tacking as we head up to the top mark. In front of us, you can see The Sound, the deepest part of Sydney Harbour, with the open sea beyond that.
Once again the other boats ran up their spinnakers as they rounded the top mark, and most of them vanished into the distance. However one of them had trouble flying their "kite" and we were able to latch on behind them. One of the interesting dynamics in sailing is that the trailing boat has an advantage downwind, because it can take the wind out of the sails of the boat ahead. Here we are closing in, even though the boat in front has more sail area than we do.
By the bottom mark, we've almost caught up.
From there it was game on upwind. Unfortunately, we couldn't quite keep in touch with them and they got away at the top mark. This time they caught their spinnaker up cleanly and they vanished before we had even rounded the mark. At least we had given them a scare.
As we headed back downwind, the skiffs from the Manly 16ft skiff club were past on a race of their own.
Two races were enough for us, so we headed back to start the process of de-rigging and getting Shearwater back to the sailing club. We managed one DNF and one Last Place, but at least we can claim the moral victory of having threatened to take Not Last for the good part of one race...
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no subject
Date: 2015-09-23 11:59 am (UTC)The photo where you hit the water, with all the spray flash-frozen by your fast camera speed, is wonderful. Also, I'm impressed that you got the boat and all its accoutrements onto the car!
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Date: 2015-09-23 07:29 pm (UTC)