Crew:
Will Lanni, Will Barfoot, John Lapham, Amber Lanni, Taylor Daynes & Sarah

Unfortunately, no course track today.

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We got a decent start and the winds quickly built, and soon we were maxing out the wind range for the 150%.  Given the conditions, our current sail and the course (a windward, leeward twice around) and our lack of confidence in maneuvers (especially in heavier wind)... we decided to retire and just sail around.

We changed down to the repair 130%, and then just kept sailing south into Puget Sound rather than rounding the mark at West Point.

The major excitement of the day came after dousing sails and heading to the marina.  The conditions were quite choppy and we were bouncing around quite a bit.  While getting the boat ready for the dock, a fender went overboard - a new fender at that!  So we went into our man overboard drill.  With the wind and waves our first two attempts didn't go well - we got close to the fender only to see it just beyond the grasp of crew that were leaning over the rail, or lying on the reaching out while holding onto a lifeline.  On the third attempt, we got closer and nearly got it - but just missed.  Then with the fender 10 yards behind the boat, I hear someone say "Hey, isn't that the OTHER fender?"  Yes, yes, yes ... it is.  The only other fender on deck had also gone over!

Things soon got better though.  With only a few more attempts we had both fenders on board.  We were all a bit wet and our ego's were put down a few pegs.  But the fender's were aboard and we headed off to successful docking.

Postscript:  I found out weeks later that a pair of my nice sunglasses met an untimely end during the fender melee when they were crushed by Sarah's bosom.  So I guess there were causalities!  But as a friend said - there likely isn't  a better way to meet one's end.

Today's Crew:
Sarah, Taylor, Will, Amber

Taylor steering on the way to Shilshole Bay.

Will in deep discussion...

Sarah - our helmsman for the day.

Where does the rabbit go again... and which part is the tree?

Beautiful day on the water!

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There was a fleet of about 15-20 boats total split into 3 starts - we were in the third start with a One Design 35, a few J105's, a J109 and a J33 - a fast fleet that we'd have challenges keeping up with.  After a bit of confusion at the start, we settled with Sarah at the helm at dealt with the first major surprise - a downwind start.  I'd thought we'd have time to prep for a spinnaker on the first leg to windward which is the norm for most races.  We rushed through the prep for the spinnaker set and Sarah did a great job handling the traffic and the steering.  Amber, Will and Taylor did very well with the trimming and the spinnaker set and crossed the start line on time and with the spinnaker full.

We rode the Northerly breeze down to Blakely Rock with great speed.   We kept up with and even got ahead of the J105's and the J33, and even held off the OD35 for awhile.  This was much better than I expected or hoped for.  I really thought it would be awhile until we had competitive speed with these boats.   While the trimming was great and our speed was wonderful, we still have some work to do on our gybes and roundings.  These are the toughest part of racing and we're actually doing pretty well considering the few races with the spinnaker we've done.

Needless to say we lost a handful places within the fleet with our gybes and I did a 'dance' of frustration.  Our rounding was organized chaos - just like it should be.  I stuck my foot in my mouth when I asked a fellow boat rounding with us to give us room because 'my wife's at the helm'.  I meant that we were a new crew and Sarah gets nervous when boats get really close, and they would be better off ducking our stern since as a new crew we were going to take more time than most.  Apparently this intent was lost in the brevity of my message.  I promptly apologized to Sarah - she's a great helmsman and a wonderful wife... for their part the boat rounding with us was more than a bit bitchy - taunting us while we rounded - I guess it takes all kinds.

After rounding, we tacked to get back out into the Sound and the favorable currents - we had a close crossing with a J30 made bit closer due to some confusion aboard.  But we made it through and had good speed and tactics which allowed us to catch and pass a few boats prior to the finish.

On the way back to the marina, we practiced our gybes and found that I need upgrade some equipment for the pole and fix part of the track that causes problems during gybes.  We also attempted end-for-end gybes  which worked for more smoothly than our dip-pole method.

In all it was wonderful day.  Will, Amber and Taylor are great crew!!  They did a great job and really helped us get the boat moving well, and after the practice I think we have a solid base for future sails with the spinnaker.  I'm really excited about the future - I think we really have  a chance of doing well in future races!!  It's going to be a great year.