1. The May CABB race will be the annual Chicken Key Distance Race. The date for the race will be Saturday, May 27. This race goes from the Rickenbacker Causeway to a marker near Chicken Key. Then the race goes out to marker 21 at Biscayne Channel. Mark your calendar and make your plans to attend this CABB race. See you there.
2. The Tybee 500 starts this coming Sunday, May 14. It starts from Hollywood beach. The first day is an out and back to Fowey Lighthouse and back Hollywood beach. The race starts at high noon. You might want to stop by before or after the race and check out all the sailors and boats. It is quite a sight. There are several CABB members participating. There are also sailors from all over the country. You can see all the details on their web site at Tybee500.com.
3. Here is another great story about the Hogsbreath-Key 100 which took place April 29 and 30. James Barrett wrote this account. He was crewing on Marc Newlyn's Nacra 6.0. They had quite a race.
Mark and I started fair to mid without the chute at the start and after crossing the start line tried to raise it, of course it got caught on a shackle on the bridal foil and we watched everyone go by except for Scott Hubel on the fox he went over. Oops! As we got it all sorted out and tried to drive for the cut, we were driving way low right behind Carla and were not going to make the cut, so we put it away. Pointed way up and got through and then tried to drive high so we could put it up again. Up ahead I-20s were going over left and right. Tybee, Lambert & Livingston, Castrol (don’t know which one there are so many now) but we were in the back and deciding what to do about the shallow water. Carla put her chute up and we did as well. We decided it was a good time to head for the shallows. Pulled the boards all the way up and hoper there was enough water to skim across. We did just that 2 inches at 15 knots and both rudders kicked up. I expected at any minute to come to a screeching halt, but it never happened. That should have been some sort of foreshadowing. We passed the next back with the boat really dialed in. Good angle, smooth water, really good speed. The boat was making that rudder hum that happens whenever it gets above 18kts. I sat in the way aft footstrap and drove it hard. We skimmed across the second flat and our decision seemed to pay off, we had passed a couple of boats. We Jibe and then disaster struck. Mark went to adjust the tack on the chute so we could adjust the angle and head a little higher and next thing I know I am dragging in the water on the windward side. The boat jibes violently and over we go chute and all. It is blowing over 20 knots and it was a good thing I hung on to the spinnaker sheet because the shock cord broke and I somehow came off the wire. It takes quite a while to get it up and we decide we are in a bad spot to fly the thing again, but we both realize we need to get it out and untangle the thing, but it is blowing …… a lot!
So we eventually pull it out and untangle it, we realize the angle is bad and quickly jibe the boat to put it away on the starboard side. We start broad reaching and the boat is really fast. Just like the 2003 race, except the sun was out. So there we sat main traveled all the way out and me keeping the boat from pitch poling only by blowing the jib. 5 minutes later Mark hands me the stick to adjust a board or something, we get a gust, he is on the low side I try to adjust and over we go again, #2. Mark was already down low so no big deal, I try to hang on and miss and fall into the mast. Luckily my lifejacket takes the brunt of the fall. We get up and try again. Now two is our all time record. Even the 2003 race we only went over once, right at the start. Off we go driving the bows into the water and just trying to keep the boat on its feet. We see Carla up ahead on her side so we decide to take a spin by and make sure she is OK. She says she is but the boat is not, or at least the spinnaker pole is not. Her crew is handing it to her in 3 pieces and is cutting the chute loose from the top of the mast. On we go. We hit another flat on port tack near the channel 2 bridge and the leeward bow digs in, the boat stops, I go for mister toads wild ride forward and the boat capsizes the other way. From the water I see the aft end of both hulls in the air, as Mark falls on top of me near the port bow. The boat gets caught on the spinnaker pole and fall back to the water on the port side right on top of us #3. I get damn near drowned and lose both of my contacts. We both crawl up onto the hull and look at each other and both of us have the exact same thought, “what the hell just happened?” I pull my sunglasses off and realize I am now as blind as a bat. I look down and there sits my left contact lens on the inside of my sunglasses. Huh, what luck. I pick it up and put it in my eye, salt water, 20 kts and all. I at least can see somewhat better. We look forward and there is 2 feet of mud and grass attached to the spinnaker pole and it is not broke. We are both in disbelief, because for a moment the entire boat was in the air supported only by that pole.
Off we go again, this time we head for the channel 5 bridge and the wind has picked up and so have the waves. As usual there a power boats anchored under the bridge in 3-5 foot waves fishing and yelling at us to go away. I love those guys. We turn the corner and see Terry and Chris ahead. We move after them and oops over they go. By the time we get to them they have the boat righted and are trying to climb aboard. We keep on thinking they are OK, unfortunately that was not the case. We keep on in fairly large waves and big wind. The wind is almost exactly on the tail and we have to broad reach out and back to get to Marathon. Each jibe feels like we are out of control but we work together and keep the boat upright. Unfortunately the waves are choppy and that damn bridal keeps getting underwater, kerplunk, over we go again #4. The last capsize #5 I cannot even remember, maybe Mark can. Needles to say we were both tired of righting the damn boat.
We made it Marathon 6th I think and all I could think of, is that was a lot better than the steeplechase where we spent 16 hours on the boat with little to no wind. I’ll take a big blow over light air any day. When I find Jamie and tell the story I find out we are tied with them for most flips at 5, but he claims to win on a tie breaker because they did a double flip. They apparently went over one way and while trying to get situated the chute filled with air and flipped them over the other way. I’m sure I am not relaying this correctly but let Jamie or Brian correct it.
Day 2 was a very nice sleigh ride under spinnaker all the way to key west. Thank God for the chicken lines. (Thanks for the advice Jay) Even being attached it was very choppy and I found myself forward of the shrouds 2 or 3 times. We didn’t go over and we just tried to drive the boat as hard as we could. We ended up chasing Mark H on the Tornado, to no avail. We took the close to shore route when most of the others went out to sea. That was the right call because the wind shifted east and they were able to go fast with the chute and then reach back going fast. We jibed the whole way down and that of course was much slower.
Very nice 2 days though. Had a great time, and we didn’t sink this year.
Jim Barrett
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John McKnight
(305) 251-7600
CABB Forum:
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