So we've completed yet another Lidingö Runt. Very challenging today in the light wind conditions where it pretty much started off as a lottery - one minute you were in the middle of the field, the next you were in the lead just because the latest gust came your way and not on the other side of the field. And that way it continued all the way out to Askrikefjärden where we dropped the shute and began the game of tacking. I do know that some sailors are very good at finding even the smallest gusts in light conditions but today it truly felt like a guessing game.
Once we started the tacking routine the wind had picked up and was actually very even. We also did very well throughout that section of the race track and overtook several boats. Once we reached Djursholm we found ourselves in 2nd position overall (i.e. in the Express class) but then the wind died completely. And I mean c o m p l e t e l y. So we parked with everybody else and could watch our speed drop from 3 to 1,5 to 0.00 knots. Quite frustrating but that's just part of the game. After a while some shutes came up again and much to our surprise they actually filled so we obviously followed the example and hoisted our spinnaker as well.
The final section of the race track which constituted about 5% of the total track took about 30% of the entire race time (at least in a ball park) so obviously this gets to your nerves and you only want to get it over with. With the last couple of tacks we were able to gain some more ground and beat one of the competing Express boats right before the finish line. All in all 4th position of 10 in total which we were quite happy with given the amount of time we had practised together (less than 3 hours...) and also the fact that the Express class is rather competitive...
Once we started the tacking routine the wind had picked up and was actually very even. We also did very well throughout that section of the race track and overtook several boats. Once we reached Djursholm we found ourselves in 2nd position overall (i.e. in the Express class) but then the wind died completely. And I mean c o m p l e t e l y. So we parked with everybody else and could watch our speed drop from 3 to 1,5 to 0.00 knots. Quite frustrating but that's just part of the game. After a while some shutes came up again and much to our surprise they actually filled so we obviously followed the example and hoisted our spinnaker as well.
The final section of the race track which constituted about 5% of the total track took about 30% of the entire race time (at least in a ball park) so obviously this gets to your nerves and you only want to get it over with. With the last couple of tacks we were able to gain some more ground and beat one of the competing Express boats right before the finish line. All in all 4th position of 10 in total which we were quite happy with given the amount of time we had practised together (less than 3 hours...) and also the fact that the Express class is rather competitive...
Boats on a string...
Some of the "hotter" multi-hulls started off with a crash.
One of the downsides with racing the Express is that an engine is not allowed to be mounted (and weighs too much to carry onboard) and as a result you rely on helpful competition for towing you to the starting line in light winds...
Difficult wind conditions where you didn't quite know if you'd be first or last over the next 5 minutes.
There were several Dehler yachts in the race. Here a D34 on her way home.
And there goes the wind...
Still nothin'...
Tobbe on his Dehler 29 was hoping to overtake us before the end of the race but fell short - today...
"Kind of Blue" on her way home.
No results yet...hope we will place in top ten of 29 starting boats in our class. We was very good in half race, I think top3 than, but lack of wind get us a "new" start before finishline. We picked a lot of Expressboats, but not Yours.. Tobbe on KoB
SvaraRaderaNow the (preliminary) results are online and as usual KoB is on the upper half - good job! I would not be surprised if you would have made it top 3 before the "doldrums" settled in. That truly was a restart.
SvaraRaderaWe did have visual contact with you during almost the entire track but the light winds were favourable for both D29 and Express so we were able to stay ahead... We are now confirmed for 4th place in the Express class (only 3 seconds before number 5...) and we're quite happy with that. The Swedish Championships should be an interesting week.