Tauranga Two Handed Report

[Justuts 0]

Finally, one week on, enough time to get a race report up for Escapology. Sorry, this turned out to be a bit longer than expected but should provide a bit of a read for those procrastinating at work....

 

We have been spending a lot of time getting the boat ready with the long term goal of competing in the two handed RNZ next year. The Tauranga race was our first long distance race in what is going to be a build up to the RNZ, which is why we decided we would round the finish line and head straight for Auckland. We will also be doing the Simrads, the Coastal, White Island, and probably a couple of jaunts around the gulf when time allows.

 

The race really started about ten days out when the first of the weather models started to forecast for Easter. It was pretty clear from the outset that this was going to be a light race. As the models started to firm up and agree, we developed our strategy which was to go east and hook into the new breeze first. The only flaw in this plan would be if it took too long to get to channel, since the forecasts were saying the easterly would clock north which would leave us on the wrong side of the left hand shift and having ground to make to weather.

 

We managed to have an ok start and drifted commendably out to Bean Rock with the rest of the fleet. There was a brief discussion at this stage about whether we would get through the Motuihe Channel before the tide turned, but decided that going the other way would be reckless at this point in the race. We watched someone bravely carry their kite over to Browns (this paid eventually for whoever it was), and decided that we would try to be leeward of everyone else as we could hear there was breeze in Tamaki strait. This didn't really work for us as the wind filled in from the North through the channel. Early days though, and we focussed on short tacking in the guts of the tide well in the back half of the fleet.

 

We got through Motuihe Channel at 1420 which gave us just over an hour to get well out of dodge before the tide turned and sucked us back. As soon as we could lay Waiheke we tacked on to port and stayed there, looking to get east and away from the turning tide. It was still super light at this stage (6ish kn) and the square top main and our lack of crew weight allowed us to straight line away from a lot of boats. We found ourselves wishing we had brought a fishing rod as the water was boiling with kahawai all the way along Waiheke. Boats started tacking to the North, testing our resolve as the afternoon wore on. We were beginning to worry about how long this leg was taking, and this wasn't helped by channel 21 only talking about NE developing with no mention of the E we were looking for. We could still see most of the fleet, and once we were the right most boat we figured we needed to seriously consider consolidating. There were still one or two boats to leeward and behind (incl Crac-a-Jack) that we didn't want getting around us though so we stuck with it. We were probably 15 min away from having to go back to maintain contact with the fleet when it came, new breeze from the east, with a touch of south as icing on the cake. We tacked through about 15 deg onto layline, told each other how awesome we were, and had a celebratory Hauraki Hellraiser (a subtle blend of V and Orange Juice) with dinner (freeze dried stir fry which tasted a hellavalot better than it looked).

 

As night fell and the fleet converged on Channel it was obvious that our plan had paid off. Lots of green lights to leeward that we seemed to be pulling away from still so we obviously had better pressure. Then it got tricky. The breeze dropped right away and went aft. We were faced with having to go DDW to course in about 5kn. We were concerned that we were in too close to the ranges, but didn't really want to set a course that would have us converging with the fleet out to the left. Decisions decisions. Up with the big A-sail to get some apparent happening, at first on Stbd but pretty quickly back to port and the fleet. We were less than 5 miles from Channel at this stage and were consistently hearing 22-25 from the opposite direction on the now-casting. A bit of a shift and we were back on Stbd as the making board. Then the wind went forward and built a bit. We had prepped the no 3 ready for a breezy beat from channel, and as the wind came forward made the call to ditch the A-sail thinking it was all on. After about two min it dropped away again. Here we were in 5kn with the number 3 up. This was really frustrating, but being two handed and knowing what was just ahead in the dark somewhere, we didn't attempt to change back to the number 1. We sat for 10-15 min, again our resolve being tested on the sail choice. Eventually we got some breeze and got underway. We had the radio on 82 and were hearing much bigger boats just ahead, with the exception of pteradactyl who were ahead of us and many bigger boats.

 

We rounded channel at 2245 and were stoked with how we were doing. We were hard on the wind now in 20 heading pretty much for Cuvier on stbd. We put the first reef in which we need much sooner than with a full crew. We could see boats ahead tacking to port, and our thinking was that the pressure we had here (everywhere but channel had 10 kn) was from air being squeezed against the ranges. We went in to try and stay in better pressure, and ended up on a horrible header in close. Back out we went and after not too long we lost the breeze but had a very big leftie, should have stayed out... A boat or two had gotten past us since channel, but now we were shaking out the reef and heading to the Mercs with slightly cracked sheets in about 15. Two handed, with the big main, we are faaaast on this point of sail. Whilst it would have been boring, we would have been happy if this was the breeze for the rest of the race as it wouldn't allow any boats behind to get kites up and catch us (cool change in particular would have been super quick if it was a little further aft). Tim took the opportunity to get an hour's sleep whilst things were relatively settled and I had an absolute blast catching and rolling two boats before the mercs.

 

As we approached Great Mercury, Tim popped his head through the hatch and the wind went from 15 to 0 in about a minute. We were both pretty tired by this stage and looked aft to see what appeared to be the entire fleet relentlessly closing in on us. Frustrating doesn't come close to how this felt. A couple of boats caught and got around us but it soon became clear that the breeze was dying for everyone. We consoled ourselves that we just needed to wait it out and I went below for a kip. I surfaced an hour later as some breeze filled in. We had about 4 boats around us that had come from behind and those ahead seemed to have gotten through the hole in the wall and away already. The breeze we had was a soft south westerly meaning we were beating up to the gap. The direction didn't fit with any expectations we had on what would be happening, so after thinking about it for a bit we decided the most likely outcome was that it would clock around to the NE so we worked our way left of the boats around us. We were all within shouting distance so this was a nice little tactical interlude in the middle of the wider race. The call paid off (Tim gets credit for this one!) and we managed to wiggle away from the boats that had caught us and were eventually once again on a tight reach to the hole in the wall which we got through just after dawn, with First by Farr and a couple of others hot on our heels.

 

At this stage it started raining and given the lack of sleep and wind, things were pretty miserable. I also found out that my wet weather gear needs replacing. Time for breakfast... freeze dried bacon and eggs with beans and hash browns. This time it didn't taste much better than it looked, and when the call came from on deck that it was time for a kite the half eaten meal got put in the sink where it stayed for the rest of the race. We got close to castle island in very little breeze and quite a seaway pushing us on to it. We gybed in, and then decided we needed the bigger a-sail as the fractional wasn't setting in the slop. We changed, and then gybed back onto port to continue down the coast, me getting the sheets inside the shrouds during the change and inventing a couple of new words as I explained this mid-gybe to the helm. We had an audience for this one I think as a boat crossed our stern, not sure who that was but it must have provided them some early morning entertainment. Shortly after that, what little breeze there was went forward and we dropped the A-sail... to leeward and behind. Luckily we recovered it before the brine got a grip on it... more entertainment for those watching, and a clear indication it was time for me to get some sleep.

 

At slipper island I woke up (got up at least) to find us still tight reaching in not much with the boats that were with us at hole in the wall well inside us and in a bit less breeze but ahead. The seaway and light winds made this really hard going, but we pressed on, with Tim getting a chance to grab some z's. As we progressed down the coast I could see two boats inside on the same heading but opposite board to us (Stratocaster and First by Farr I think). We seemed to have better pressure so stayed out to keep it. There was a boat half way that was in the same breeze we had and was holding a kite. Given Tim was getting valuable bunk time and it was unclear whether the westerly or easterly would prevail, we held off on the kite until we saw some of the inside boats struggling. Stratocaster lost breeze and got spat out the back which made it clear that the easterly would win. Then we saw lots of kites behind, Cool Change doing particularly well to leave the rest of the fleet behind and catch us. For the last hour or three we had been sailing conservatively given what we had thought was a good lead and our need to get sleep in, but now it was becoming clear that there was northerly breeze and we needed to fight to stay ahead.

 

Made the wake up call to Tim and after a bit of discussion over whether it was a-sail or runner, put up the a-sail which we could pole back if we needed to. This was the beginning of a very long and tense final stretch. We were catching boats in front, but lots of boats were catching us from behind. We were having lots of difficulty keeping the kite set and sailing at some pretty crazy angles to keep the apparent going. There were two groups, most boats trying to soak deep and us and a few others heading further south, it really felt like roulette as one side would inevitably pay, but not much indication out there which side that would be. The holes were incredibly hard to spot in the seaway and at one stage the lads on eye-spy came through and rolled us less than 10 meters to weather whilst we sat there going nowhere. Having given up the lead that we had really worked hard for the night before was really brutal but seeing these guys sail past (and take the lead in the 2 handed div) gave us the motivation to focus, get the boat moving and push hard to the finish.

 

Eventually the dice fell our way and we picked up good pressure south of most boats. Sabian was with us and we had a drag race with them to the finish, with our A-sail poled back and sailing deep to A bouy. Despite us working hard to catch every wave they beat us in the end by a length. Down with the A-sail and hard on the wind. We took the chance to have a breather and sailed out under main only whilst we cooked dinner, got some weather info and logged a TR for the trip home. It would have been fantastic to have gone ashore and told lies over a few beers, but we really wanted to simulate the longer distance stuff so kept at it. We might have celebrated with a Tauranga Tumbler (a subtle blend of V and orange juice) given it was about happy hour.

 

Once dinner was done we tacked over, put the 3 up, put a cheeky tuck in the main so we wouldn't need to interrupt sleep to do it later, and started chewing up miles. We were laying through to the mercs so sailed a little higher than rhumb to put some height in the bank but basically straight lined it doing 1.5 hr watches from the outset to make up for the lack of sleep the night before. These watches got shorter as the night wore on. We were both on deck through the hole in the wall (at maybe 0330), where the breeze softened. From there it was through to Channel (we had decided in our pre-race strat session that we would round this as a mark of the course on the way home and stuck to this despite the short cut on offer). Watches were now down to about 30min and even that was borderline with regards to our ability to focus on the lighthouse in the distance or the compass on the bulk head. A really good reminder about the importance of sleep management when short handed. We had knowingly neglected this during the race since we were sailing a sprint race against full crews. We were glad to see the sun and have our body clocks wake us up a bit.

 

From Channel Island we were able to fly the mast head runner and had 10-15 all the way home. It was a really nice ride back and we took the chance to reflect on the race and our plans for the remainder of this year. Over lunch I think there might have been a Gulf Gobsmakker (a subtle blend of V and orange juice) given that the sun was well over the yardarm. A few precision gybes (using those new words again) through fishing boats around rangi light and we were around the corner and in to Westhaven with the lines on by 1630. The beer fairy had been kind enough to stop by the berth only 10 minutes earlier so we were rewarded with a cold beer each, which went down in very few sips, but certainly hit the spot.

 

Congratulations to team Crac-a-jack, and also Pteradactyl who did a really amazing job to get the jump that they did. Massive thanks to all those involved in the race, whether organising or competing. It was great fun tactically although a bit frustrating at times. Apologies for not making it along to the prizegiving, we have heard great things about the Tauranga hospitality and it was a shame to have missed it. Thanks also to Tim for all the time that has been going towards getting the boat ready, things have been full on since the beginning of the year. Finally, big ups to the beer fairy!! See you all in July for the first Simrad.

 

Stu

 

[PeteG 13]

Stu

Great report on the race! Well done, as you said- it was a good reminder about managing rest/sleep in the two handed (all the stuff you forgot in 3 years?).

Good luck with your preps for the RNZ.

Will think of you while we are tucked up in a warm bay next Feb sucking on rum and cokes. Still not doing it!!!!!!!

Pete, Nonstop

[ballystick 72]

Great report, I was really impressed to see you turn around and head back at A Buoy, what determination or may be just heavily masochistic, well done. I was on Fast Lane which was the boat between Strato and you with the kite up I think. We had been around 1st by Farr and Stratocaster since leaving the Motuihe Channel the day before, by luck we finished ahead but not by much! It was incredible how variable the wind direction and strength was around that area just to the south of Slipper, and it stayed that way for so long too. It was gut wrenching to see those specks on the horizon behind us to come up and sail around us, anyway that's yacht racing! Good luck for your upcoming 2-handed racing and I hope that all the effort and racing pays off. - Andy

[johnMi 2]

I always enjoy reading a report like that, thanks for the insight into a race I was not in.

[Guest]

Stu

Great report on the race! Well done, as you said- it was a good reminder about managing rest/sleep in the two handed (all the stuff you forgot in 3 years?).

Good luck with your preps for the RNZ.

Will think of you while we are tucked up in a warm bay next Feb sucking on rum and cokes. Still not doing it!!!!!!!

Pete, Nonstop

 

Come on Pete, you know you want to.

[PeteG 13]

Steve (Zen)

No No No I am not listening!!!!!

Definately a no- got a better offer! The rum and coke in a nice bay in the Sounds is still a clear winner.

Pete

[Justuts 0]

Come on Pete, you know you want to.

 

Took the words out of my mouth...

 

Thanks for the positive feedback on the report. Will try a bit harder on the next races to get more video I reckon.

[Guest]

Thanks for the great report, enjoyed reading about your tactics and 2 handed insights. Which weather models did you look at?