Grand Finale

Yesterday was the last cruising boat race of the season and since many cruisers are heading back home, crew was hard to find for Sunrise. I was 'elected' to be the third person on the boat along with Milton, the owner, and of course Dave. The wind was supposed to be about 8 knots, so we set the huge 155% jib sail. In reality it was about 13 knots with higher gusts and white caps. Wow, did we ever heel over...so much so that I ended up being just 'rail meat', using my weight on the high side to try and keep the boat more level. I couldn't move around the boat easily so, except for steering, Dave had to tend the mainsheet, jib and winches by himself. He joined me on the high side when possible on the upwind legs, to keep the keel as far down in the water as possible, in order to help point towards the mark. It figures that the course was longer than usual due to the perfect sailing winds, which was tiring for a novice like me and Dave having to do more than usual. We were a bit overpowered on the upwind legs, but that huge jib helped when going downwind. We were racing along side of the Abaco Rage most of the day, with them in the lead, but on the last leg, we beat them to the finish. In the end, we came in third after the handicaps were tallied! Plus Sunrise with Milton and Dave as co-skippers ended up earning the Boat of the Year Award, a huge accomplishment!

Below are a few of Will Heyer's great shots of the racing action...