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Barfoot & Thompson Shorthanded Series - Big Cash Prizes


Fish

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Just above mast height of Boadicea II. Did you see it whizzing around out there? First sail yesterday. Should be fun in a good breeze.

 

Yep saw you get a good start WT. looks funny seeing 2 big boats then a wee one right up there with them. You looked good. I was on the hammerhead watching you all sail past.

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Another cracking days racing, but talk about turning the tables :!:

Soft and spungy wind and technically a sub hull speed race, although the results don't show it.

 

Course was start off little Manly, up the Penninsular to round Navy Bouy in Tiri Channel, then back to the Long Bay Marine reserve marker, then to the finish.

 

Managed a reasonable start at the pin end of the line, but with no speed, WT was right on the line and moving well. Planet X smoked through the line like someone had put a lite match in their butt crack :wave: they were off like cut cats and made it around Navy Bouy in 35 min flat, to take the gun and handicap win, good work Mr Cross.

 

The first three boats got around in good order, then it went soft, forward, and a bit softer, pushing in to the flooding tide. The whole race look to be decided by the first leg, with the rich getting richer :evil:

 

We wiggled around Navy Bouy and drifted out of the channel with slapping sails. Rewi and Kirsten J put up kites behind us, only a southerly was filling in, we percivered and plugged into the new breeze, but with several small boats well ahead, including Crazy Sexy Cool, Cool Change and Rafferty Rules, who were flying two headsails in a cutter rig set up, one off the prod.

 

We slowly realed in Cool Change heading to Long Bay, and managed to climb over them with a sharp mark rounding, only for the wind to go soft and them to climb right back over us :twisted: :eh: 8)

 

We popped out black genny up and headed off at good pace, but with Cool Change running either a funky headsail or an A sail thing, we had no chance of getting over the top of them. After running into their wash for the third or fourth time I asked Richard if he would let us past.

 

He said we could go over the top if we wanted, I said, that's very nice, but will you luff us :?:

 

Head said, of course, it's a race isn't it :?: :!:

 

We ended up pushing through below to beat them by maybe a length on the line, after a good wee tussle on the final leg.

 

Charlatan finished 10 th out of 15 on corrected, which really showed the Kauri log up in soft, sub hull speed conditions. A sticky first leg where we struggled to get in the groove really punished following the hole at navy bouy. But not as bad as flasher. They were almost leading on points following the drop but got parked up with the flooding tide and couldn't get around navy bouy, finishing 14 th on corrected, they weren't happy.

 

Points now, counting a drop, have Wild Thing and Charltan on 12 each, and Glory Days, the big Hanse 400, on 13, and back to 17 for CSC and 18 for Planet X.

 

Looking at the handicaps it will be a mission to defend a one point lead over the big Hanse with two races left in the series.

 

Here's hoping for a25 knt SW and the course out to Flat Rock and back :thumbup:

 

Great to see the crew.org first airborne providing close cover for the fleet, thank you Aileys Comer and Sundreamer, a cracking days sailing, but enough of the hot sunny sea breeze rubbish, please can we have a good snotter for the next race :)

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Another great race. we got a great start and climbed over cool change, platu and the kauri log towards navy bouy. got softer as we approached navy so I tried out the new (to us) onion sack jib top I brought off faster coyote. I was going to cut it down as a fractional but hadn't got around to it yet so tried it off the mast head.

 

It looked good!!! working outside the no1 slotting nicely and adding another 1/2 a knot while allowing us to still point pretty high and didn't upset the balance by pulling the nose off and the top mast didn't look like it was going to fall off either.

By crikey it worked !! much to a certain fish's disgust.

 

Managed to drift around navy bouy fighting fizz stink wakes and fought the platu off then caught the new breeze and watched raiatea head off into the distance.

the wind backed towards long bay so we unfurled the onion sack again and she was off . round long bay and over raiatia to finish 4 on hcap and line.

we're pretty happy with the way we're going in this series as we've only had the boat since march and are still learning her, fixing stuff and getting new sails etc for her.

I think I'll leave the onion sack alone for now.

 

Dunno what fish is complaining about. He seems to have forgotton race 1 where the kauri log seemed to do quite well in no breeze.

 

Right racing sails off, cruising sails on now. barrier for christmas with the bumps, and rewi mothership (floating fridge) weather permitting.

 

hey rob I'd love to see an arial shot of rafferty rules if you have one.

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Cliff hanger finish to the Barfoot and Thompson series!

 

The final race of the 6 race series saw Glory Days and Charlatan were first equal with the reaching machine Planet X two points back, meaning it was do or die for the three boats coming in to the last race.

 

The series had seen tight racing with Charlatan defending a dwindling points lead after managing to finish the drifter first race with Wild Thing, the only to boats of 19 starters to finish the shortened course. Race five saw Glory Days beat Charlatan by 14 seconds on handicap after 6 hrs of racing to draw equal coming into the last race, with the drop applying.

 

The deciding race last Sunday had the course starting in Arkles Bay, beating up the peninsular to Navy Bouy, possible a long beat to Haystack and a flat run back to Arkles to finish, but how wrong would that be?

 

Charlatan chose the right time to finally get her starts right, hitting the line with speed about a boat length back from the gun. Light and very annoying shifty conditions saw big gains and losses at stake on the beat, Craxy Sexy Cool, Rafferty Rules, the Bump and Atom Ant (under new management) making the most of the conditions...

 

With Glory Days underneath her from the gun, Charlatan set up a cover, inadvertently letting half the fleet through after two tacks. A quick stock take called for a conservative middle of the course beat with a loose cover on Glory Days. Unfortunately the dark horse Planet X was putting their code zero to good use and working on an effective "horizon job"!

 

By Navy Bouy Charlatan was in control of Glory Days, but had fairly much lost sight of Planet X, and while getting back over the much smaller Rafferty Rules was in a back seat to the quality smaller boats including Bump and the Platu 25, Craxy Sexy Cool.

 

And then the wind backed:

Glory Days closed on Charlatan, rolling over her as the wind backed further.

 

Coming into Haystack Charlatan plugged in the VMG kite in eager anticaption of a flat run in light winds, chance to get back on Planet X and neutralise Glory Days wide beam,

 

And then the wind backed:

Charlatan took in the VMG runner and pluggedy in the gennaker, getting nervous...

Planet X rounded Haystack and hoisted their mast head genny, but struggles for height and went to white sails once clear of the dirty air off the Noises. Glory Days and First Priority went around in hot pursuit, hoisting gennakers but running well low and slow. Charlatan went around in eager anticaption of the hoist and chase, trimmed in, and... Bugger, wind well forward of the beam, proceeding up the rhumb line on white sails.

 

And the results, a good win to Crazy Sexy Cool, with Rafferty Rules taking 2nd and the 'next club' $50 prize, Charlatan bet Glory Days, but finished two places behind Planet X, meaning the series was a draw! Count back going to Charlatan for the series win.

 

A big thank you to series sponsor Barfoot and Thompson Whangaparaoa (The Topics!), who have already said they will support the series next year. Also a thank you to the race committees and start boat crews from Weiti and Gulf Harbour.

 

Full credit to Planet X for the series draw, and Glory Days for keeping the series very interesting, and a very close third place!

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