Dec 24.2024-Racing success and Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all. The big spinnaker pulling towards home, 12.7 knots We just finished the Banderas Bay Blast and we had a Blast! We won! The crew was excellent, the boat hung together, and the third day we hit a speed record, best since 1987, 12.7 knots on a wild beam reach in 20+ knots of breeze and we didn't break anything in the few round ups we had, the pot of coffee didn't even spill off the stove. Day one and two weren't bad either. Second Place on Day 1 After the race we had some bubbly to celebrate our Victory.

Since the Blast we did a Wednesday night Beer Can race, got second place (it was chaos at times) and now the crew have departed and we’re taking a break for the holidays. Fred with Renee and Rhonda, Great crew and great helpers This post is all about photos. Click here to see the whole story including some fun videos;

Fred Roswold, SV Wings, Mexico

March 29, 2019-It's a Wrap

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Wings Sailing on Banderas Bay

We finished the racing season in March with the Banderas Bay Regatta.

The crew were in high spirits as we sailed home from the third and final race despite the fact that we were disqualified in that race due to a protest and finished third in the regatta.

We’d sailed well anyhow and the sailing in Banderas Bay was excellent and the racing closely fought.

BBR Results

In three races we finished first, third, and sixth (for the disqualification). The boat was sailing fast, the crew work was excellent, and if it wasn’t for a couple of mistakes I made, (for which I take complete responsibility) we would have been second. First place was out of the question. The beautifully prepared and well sailed J145 Double Take was unbeatable. They got first place on day two and three. Second was the J130 Sirocco, who sailed well but we could have beaten them and we would have if I had not underestimated them and backed off on the last downwind leg of race two.

Instead, in that race, we had our focus on Olas Lindas and once we knew we had them in the bag we sailed conservatively. Too conservatively, and we unknowingly let Sirocco correct out. We only needed to have gone .4 knots faster on that one last downwind leg to have beaten them. A spinnaker would have done the trick but with the breeze up and with the tight angle it was a bit dicey and we stayed with the genoa instead of risking our kite. My mistake.

The last day Double Take was well ahead but we had both Sirocco and Olas Lindas until the protest situation with Olas.

We were in close quarters with Olas and there was quite a bit of yelling about who had the right of way and Olas Lindas filed a protest. In the hearing after the race both of us were disqualified. That bumped us down to third. It was little satisfaction that Olas Lindas was also disqualified and wound up last in the regatta.

To have avoided that disqualification I would have only needed to yield a bit to Olas during the confrontation, but I didn’t. Honestly I don’t know why I didn’t. I will next time.

That night the whole crew, plus spouses, came to the awards party on the beach at Paradise Village. We received our third place award and we had a great time. Some of our crew were still dancing on the beach after the band left and the party had thinned out.

About the Conservative Call

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Judy

On Day two the race was all the way to Vallarta then back. On the way back we had a long close reach then a shorter downwind leg. At “S” we rounded and turned downwind, or rather onto a broader reach. Olas Lindas was still just ahead. We still had them on time. The question was, do we set the kite or stay with the jib? Olas hoisted. We should have.

We debated it. Someone said, “We’re already going 8.5, how much faster will we go with the spinnaker?”

“Ok,” I decided, “We’ve got Olas close enough, we don’t need the spinnaker, no need to blow out a sail, let’s sail conservatively.”

That was correct; we did have Olas Lindas. But Sirocco was up there too and we didn’t have them. We missed that and therefore placed third, not second. That was a point lost that we later needed. And I learned a lesson: Don’t be conservative. The whole crew felt bad. They thought they had talked me out of it and it cost us a place.

The next day the opposite happened. On this day we sailed a beat to “W” then down to “S” and back and this time we were overly aggressive.

The beat was OK, we were leading, but the long leg south to “S” buoy was tough for us. It seems like everyone on the boat but me knew that there would be big breeze on that leg. Judy was calling for the #3 jib to be moved off the rail to the port side and the spinnaker bag pulled off and put below. I didn’t get it. I kept asking “Why?”

Well the reason she suggested that was that she saw that there was big wind down to the south. They all saw it, just not me. I was concentrating on the tell-tails. If someone had said, “Fred, We’re going to get twenty knots on the next leg!” well maybe I’d have OK’d the preparations. But I never got that message. I think they were still remembering the conservative call of the previous day and didn’t want to repeat that mistake. Instead, we were overly aggressive.

So when we rounded the top mark and set course for “S” and the wind came in like a solid force we were unprepared. The boat with a #J1 and a full main was instantly overpowered.
“Don, we’ve got the change to the #J3.” I made the call, belatedly.

But nobody was ready. It was an outside set. It took forever. Meanwhile I was trying to feather the boat and keep the main under control. Richard and I worked together; not easy. The foredeck struggled.
We finally completed the change and got the #J1 down right at mark “S” From then on we were fine. We set the S3 kite and charged. If it hadn’t been for the protest we’d have gotten second in that race, but the overpowered leg wasn’t fun. I’ll remember that.

About the Protest.

We were battling Olas Lindas all week. On the final day, on the first downwind leg, we converged with them under spinnaker. The wind was light. We were on starboard, Olas on port. They jibed, then, while to windward of us, tried to force us to go down, calling “Proper course, proper course”. Well, we had rights to maintain our course. We did. They collided, if you can call a spinnaker brushing on our rig a collision. That would disqualify them.

Shortly after we jibed to port. Olas Lindas also jibed, and now to leeward of Wings, as the boats drew near again, they called for us to “come up, come up”. I judged that I was staying clear, as required of a windward boat. I didn’t move. They kept yelling. I yelled back: Profanity.

No contact was made but Olas Lindas filed a protest. In the protest meeting both boats were found to be at fault and disqualified from that race. More points were lost. Now we were in third place in the regatta not second (or first). So I learned another lesson: Give way and stay out of the protest room.

So, my two mistakes cost us second place. But, I learned some things. It’s funny that after 50 years of racing I still have room to learn such basic things. But I do.

All Aboard for Hamburgers

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Wings Sailing on Banderas Bay

The following Wednesday there was a Beer Can Regatta on the schedule. We planned to sail in it and host a hamburger BBQ on Wings afterwards. Well, there wasn’t a race. Only Wings and Olas Lindas came out.

Mike called off the race and we just went sailing but what a great sailing day it was. The wind got up into the 20 knot range once we sailed up the coast a ways and we sailed together with Olas into the new breeze.

Then we turned down wind and put up the A-3 spinnaker for a close reach back to La Cruz. The boat was steady in the high 8’s to high 9's and was over 10 knots at times. That is good speed for an old IOR boat. Everyone loved it.

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Hamburgers on Wings

Back at the dock I cooked hamburgers on the grill and we welcomed aboard some friends and neighbors. Together with our crew we chatted about the successful season and the great sailing we had that day.

So that is how the season ended. Twenty three races, first in two regattas (Banderas Bay Blast and Vallarta Cup) third in Banderas Bay Regatta, and first in several Beer Can races. Not a bad season.

Our crew has really gelled and are quite good now. We constantly get recognition for our great crew work. Further, they have become like family to us. Breaking up at the end of the season was a bit sad but we hope we’ll get the whole team back next year.

So that’s the wrap-up.

Click here for many more images and two videos.

Fred & Judy, SV Wings, La Cruz Huancaxtle

December 14, 2016-Tequila is the New Champagne

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Race to the Finish Line

Tension was high among Wings' crew as we watched the boats closing in on our right, side by side with us. The two boats were screaming towards the finish line and they were looking hot. It was hard to tell if they were faster or if we were holding them off. The racing was already tight; in just the last minute we'd passed two others on our left, barely, but now these two on the right were coming on fast, maybe too fast. They could be gaining. Were they gaining? It was hard to tell. We were still ahead but would the finish line come soon enough?

No one onboard was speaking, there were no sounds other than the sheet running in and out and the periodic, soft but urgent, "sheet" whispered from the trimmer, followed by the sudden answering rattle of the winch drum spinning, then, "OK", and then silence again. No one dared move lest the spell be broken; hold on, we might do it.

The ten people aboard Wings were all trying to will our boat faster. Myself, I was confident. As I watched the relative angles of the three boats it was clear to me: our nose was out in front, we'd cross first. We held our course steady, soaking down towards the finish while our main competitors sailed higher, toying with each other, destroying their chances.

OK with me, I thought and then the radio call came: "8986". We'd done it, first in the race and therefore first in the regatta.

Two first places and a second.

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Yeah!

The crew was jubilant, euphoric. We broke out in a loud, triumphant, spontaneous cheer, "Yeah!"

I spun the boat downwind and we dropped the kite.

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Tequila is the new Champagne

Now we needed some champagne but, silly us, we had no champagne on board. We had plenty of Tequila so we celebrated with that. It worked. Tequila is the new Champagne.

The Banderas Bay Blast not really a grand prix race, it’s even called a “rally” by some, but the racing over three days was serious and intense so we were quite pleased to win convincingly.

Sunday’s triangle race started off well enough for us; we scorched the fleet up the coast to the first mark and led the way down to Nuevo. But behind us, moving well on the light air reach, was Vanishing Girl, a Beneteau 40 we haven’t raced against before. They are rated 40 seconds a mile faster than us but we held them off most of the first reach and then after they got by at the gybe mark, stuck closely to them on the final leg, and we knew we had our time on them. Disaster hit when the breeze failed completely 1 mile from the finish. We were at that time about 1/3 mile behind Vanishing Girl but it took us 10 minutes to finish. We had to settle for second place.

Monday’s race was a nine mile beat from La Cruz to Punta Mita featuring a reverse start where the slowest boats go off first and the faster boats start later. Again we scorched the fleet. Starting 58 minutes behind the first boat we passed all of them by the half way point and finished the race in first place 8 minutes ahead of the next boat, Bright Star. Since Bright Star started 2 minutes before us, it meant that we gained 10 minutes in a 9 mile race. We only owed them 9 seconds a mile but we beat them by 60 seconds a mile. Our new sails are sterling upwind. Vanishing Girl was fourth.

Tuesday found us facing a 14 mile run from Punta Mita to Nuevo Vallarta and another reverse start. We waited around the start line while all but two boats set their spinnakers and headed off towards Nuevo before we were allowed to go. But then it was our turn and the chase was on. We sailed aggressively after the leaders, slowly grinding down boat after boat, while constantly watching over our shoulders for the fast boats behind who were chasing us. It was no surprise that Vanishing Girl was back there creeping up on us but it did shock us to see Alarife as well hanging in there with us; they were remarkably fast. At least two times they tried to pass by sailing higher and taking our wind. A couple of firm luffs discouraged them from coming to close to windward of us and then when they sailed farther to windward to keep clear we took advantage of a slight shift and bore away. It was a gain for us. Finally the race came down to the five boats closing in on the finish under spinnaker, virtually overlapped.

What tension, what fun!

We had fun celebrating our victory.

That night there was a big party at the yacht club and we relived all the good moments from the racing with our competitors and danced until we were too tired.

Click here for a few more photos.

Fred & Judy, SV Wings, La Cruz Huancaxtle