Roach Coach wins Class C CYC Regatta.
The weather forecast was calling for lots of rain and wind, but our spirits were not dampened as we headed for CYC on Roach Coach. As it turned out, the wind was light and the rain come only in drizzles (of course we were pretty focused on racing, so if it poured, we didn’t notice).
The Start and first windward leg; we knew there would be a crowd at the start so we decided to make it conservative. It is the beginning of the season and several of the group are sailing together for the first time. Also the deck layout is completely new and this race served as a shakedown sail. We ended up in bad air, but luckily we had a clear lane to tack and go right. It then started to look like we were on a favored tack, FIVE was also on the same tack which gave us confidence to stay the course. It worked out and we were one of the first boats to reach the first mark.
First time around the course; we had a few snags getting the spinnaker up as we rounded the mark, but the foredeck crew did the right thing. We saved lots of time and headaches because foredeck didn’t panic and didn’t rush, they thought through the process, worked out the issues and the spinnaker was flying, and we lost very little ground. Sail trim must have been on the mark as well; we had speed on the other boats and passed them one by one. We owe GO DOG GO a favor. The Roach Coach skipper was a little rusty and we almost sailed through the starting line (against the rules). The skipper of GO DOG GO called over and reminded us. Few! Saved! For the rest of the race we played nice and made sure we kept clear of their wind.
Second time around; Second time upwind we held our speed (credit to spectacular trim
and keeping the boat flat). We turned the windward mark and we were off and running again. We even had the fun experience of passing a 45 footer (rating 75) on speed alone!
Finnish; Around the leeward mark and we chased a J 109 (B fleet) to the finish line and crossed only seconds after. We then enjoyed a nice sail back to the mooring, and then drove to Centerboard Y.C. We literally walked in the door just in time to here Roach Coach announced as 1st place for Class C!