First Race of the Season

This past weekend, I had to opportunity to participate in my first informal sailing race for the season. It was a beautiful morning. The sun was out. No clouds in the sky. The Lake was like glass. There was no wind to speak of. All very different conditions than predicted.

The race, known as the Dash to the Dock, is relatively new from what I understand. I think this may have been the inaugural year. Regardless, it was my first pursuit race. A pursuit race has staggered start times, based on your vessel’s PRF rating. The first ship over the finish line is the winner.

We set out across the starting line in the direction of the first (and only) mark. There was some debate about the first mark and its location. Thankfully, a handy iPhone was able to bring up the Sailing Instructions for verification. The wind picked up as we rounded the first mark and it was smooth sailing to the finish line.

Having been my first experience with such a race, it was a nice change from our usual experiences in Wednesday night Beer Can Racing. Gone were the discussions of who we needed to beat and how much or little they corrected over or under us. Gone was all the waiting around back at the dock for the posting of results. We crossed the finish line, hailed the race committee, and asked!

We finished 3rd.

I was very please with how we did. Not only because it was the first time I’ve been part of a crew that placed, but because of the low stress nature of the organization. For those who have seen my post about The Right-Brained Skipper, know now that I’m totally game for this type of race. It’s so much less of a hassle. You start when you start, you finish when you finish, and the entire time can be devoted to teamwork and fun. You knows who’s ahead of you because you can see, plainly.

My only issue coming away from this race was one of procedure. Before leaving the dock, The Urban Skipper must never forget sunscreen.