ex Elly 197 Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 So they started a day late, but still had to head into 30-35 knots on the nose. I wondered if any would park up for a few hours, but looks like all 15 starters headed straight into it. The wind has now abated to 18 knots from the east. 3 have retired, and Hotdogger is resting at Gulf Harbour. Tracker is on this page (scroll down) https://www.rnzys.org.nz/rnzys-events/three-kings-offshore-race/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Psyche 634 Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 https://cf.yb.tl/3kings2024 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ex Elly 197 Posted April 12 Author Share Posted April 12 Looks like Hotdogger has rejoined the race now. They were ahead of the other 930 before stopping, so will have to do like they did in the Gulf Triangle - give them all a headstart then fly past. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LE Bb 25 Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 broken battern cars - you can see it in the start photos. main leech ripping .... hopefully all fixed 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Psyche 634 Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 The leaders are just getting to the lumpy stuff Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Psyche 634 Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 anyone know what the north cape gate is for? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jon 360 Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 Not a hundred percent but believe that they are possibly shorting marks trackers can ping a time as they cross them and race management could call the race at any one of these points Just my guess but I’ve been involved with theses tracker a lot 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ex Elly 197 Posted April 13 Author Share Posted April 13 Hotdogger nearly caught the other 930, but have now pulled out with mainsail damage just past the Cavalli's. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ex Elly 197 Posted April 13 Author Share Posted April 13 And 3 more out. Perfect Storm and Ragnar made it to North cape. Start Me Up got to Cape karikari. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Romany 162 Posted April 13 Share Posted April 13 I'd imagine its big boy trousers stuff north of the cape now but interested to know - are the boats that have withdrawn turbo charged coastal & harbour racers or are they more than capable offshore boats? Respect to them all regardless - its a pretty serious bit of water and I guess even just starting requires significant prep & expertise not to mention investment. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ex Elly 197 Posted April 14 Author Share Posted April 14 All the smaller boats withdrew, less than 40 feet. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
waikiore 400 Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 Seven will finish, Romany you have it there -these races require much thought and planning -and are really only suited to ocean going yachts that are happy enough (not comfortable, but capable) for hour after hour with 25-30 on the nose. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bad Kitty 252 Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 4 hours ago, waikiore said: Seven will finish, Romany you have it there -these races require much thought and planning -and are really only suited to ocean going yachts that are happy enough (not comfortable, but capable) for hour after hour with 25-30 on the nose. And conditional on having a crew that will take 25-30 on the nose all day & night! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
waikiore 400 Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 The last boat coming in seems a little stuck at the hen, reminds me of a certain Blackadder episode, I hope they dont have to resort to the same diet........☠️ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DrWatson 378 Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 22 hours ago, waikiore said: Seven will finish, Romany you have it there -these races require much thought and planning -and are really only suited to ocean going yachts that are happy enough (not comfortable, but capable) for hour after hour with 25-30 on the nose. Yeah I spent about 12h in the English Channel pushing into 25-30 on Firefly. Started out with some very good swells, prob 6m with quite ugly sea on top. Was pretty glad it moderated and died away around 8pm (as predicted) - not sure I wanted to spend a whole night doing the same. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Steve 34 Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 Bit bashy I imagine Quote Link to post Share on other sites
funlovincriminal 163 Posted April 16 Share Posted April 16 I was on Hotdogger 2-up and I can give you the scoop. We started late because we were debating going to the third reef. I think the time we spent stooging about didn't help the top batten cars in their efforts to live a long and prosperous life. We elected to start, and in the midst of sideways rain and a jib hank that had let go we didn't really look up and notice the issue. After tacking at North Head we slid under Start me up (which was fully crewed but still a fellow small boat) we set off into the washing machine. 2 reefs and a #3 were still a bit too much sail for the over 30 puffs but comfortable in 25ish. Once settled in I looked up to see why the leech was flapping and saw the head cars floating. We discussed our options (was the track in the carbon mast damaged or were the 'T' pieces ripped off the cars?) We knew the wind was going to abate and go west so we pressed on, but in not too longer period of time our inability to control the leach meant a decent tear in the leech developed. We elected to head to gulf Harbour and try to effect repairs. We had a friend raid the spares cupboard of a fellow racer and meet us at Gulf Harbour. Sarah from the Squaddy organized a berth for us in Gulf Harbour, we tacked right up to Frenchmans Cap and suspended racing pretty much at the entry poles. Dropped sails and motored in, tied up, removed main and the boys took it to Gulf Harbour Covers to sew up the mess and I took the time to remove the broken car pieces from the rig and run a long enough reefing line to reach the deepest reef (thinking ahead). 2 hrs after passing the poles we were back out with a full main and in a completely different wind/day to what we had left. Racing resumed and we decided to just go for it. The breeze was more in a 930's comfort zone and although it never went aft enough to fly an extra we managed to keep it on the boil all afternoon, night and into the next morning. 2020 schedule had us roughly 13 miles behind the fleet so we knew we had gained. We rounded Cape Brett with a full main and #2 before dawn to find ourselves hard on the wind again which duly built to high teens so tucked a reef in and pushed on. During the morning it built to a solid 19-21 with pretty lumpy/confused seas but we were still trucking so all good. CO skipper went down for his sleep and I sailed into a few squalls, breeze 26-30. Spume flying, crests getting blown off and boat on its ear but still doing high 5s to high 6's. Problem was the main was slatting as we popped up on the swells but had no wind in it in the troughs. We were about 50 miles short of North Cape at this point. Had some pilot whales broach in front of me which was cool (first time I've seen whales at sea), took the time to look around and realized I could see sunlight through the main above the first full batten. Not good. Looked harder and saw 2 more tears. Let Sin sleep a bit and woke him up for a discussion. We knew the breeze and sea state were going to be shite north of the cape. We had 3 options: 1 was turn around and go home. 2 was drop the main and try to repair it (hard in that sea state). 3 was press on and hope. In the 30 or so mins since I'd noticed the main tear it had not got worse. But the big risk was, having the main part while upwind of either Cape Reinga or the 3 Kings in the pitch black and 5m swells whilst one of us was asleep. It's a distinct possibility wed be stuck with 75% of the sail on deck/in the water and 25% acting like a flag at the top of the rig without enough weight to bring ut down. Lack of steerage and drive with a lee shore could mean loss of boat or worse. Unbeknownst to us we were fully back in the game, I think if We had of known that and taking into account the mountain we had climbed to get back in touch with our fleet it might have made us take the wrong decision. In the end we checked our log, realized we had done enough miles since leaving Gulf Harbour to ensure we would exceed 250 miles non stop and therefore qualify for an RNI start if we could just nurse the main home and made the call to retire. Bloody hard to do after the effort I can tell you. All the systems we have installed, the ideas implemented, and the boat itself performed perfectly. The boat is rock solid in the big seas, if not a bit uncomfortable. The only liquid in the bilge after we got back was split roffee's (Rum Coffees) which I can tell you are hard to manufacture and pour at those kind of lean angles and bashing! The stability and control of the boat were never an issue and I have no qualms in setting off around the island in 2026. What let us down? Well you could say the mainsail but that would not be fair on the sailmaker. It has done nearly 7000 miles, most of them racing. We hadn't put the heavy battens in despite the forecast. (Just clean didn't think of them). We only have masthead runners and they were not preventing the rig from pumping at the forestay. We have never sailed the boat that deeply reefed and from what I can see the halyard is actually trying to pull the cars out of the mast at that point. So we have a few things to change, some massaging of systems and a lot more experience than we started with. All and all a worthwhile exercise I'd say? We crossed the line at dawn on Sunday to a welcome bucket of rum and some hot pies. Once the main was down we realized we had a broken batten that had caused the big tear, and the gaff batten car had pulled its thread. I think that justified our decision. Have to mention, 11/10 from the organiser of the race. Plenty of support and communication. And a great bunch of hardy competitors - a tip of the hat to all that finished! 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Psyche 634 Posted April 16 Share Posted April 16 You made the right call 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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