A Maverick Fastnet - Part Two

31 augustus 2015 - The light breeze held through early the next day; much of the fleet sailed further toward the coast to try to catch a later sea breeze, or to kedge easier in the shallower water. We took the middle road until we saw the inshore boats stalling, and the lull soon extended over us.

Turning the Corner
The light breeze held through early the next day; much of the fleet sailed further toward the coast to try to catch a later sea breeze, or to kedge easier in the shallower water. We took the middle road until we saw the inshore boats stalling, and the lull soon extended over us. To compound our woes we watched a row of boats in the lower class, spinnakers lightly filled, approach us through the afternoon. Soon Nunatek lay only a mile away, and fellow Dutch doublehanders Firestorm and Joost & Vrolijk were close behind. While they closed the gap they also brought a breeze with them, and with a gentle wind Maverick began to pick up speed and slowly pull further away.

While not quite ‘All is Lost’, based on the boats in our immediate vicinity we were looking at a very low finish. We focused on sailing and as darkness fell we approached the last major headland before Land’s End, ‘Lizard’. A number of boats chose early in the race to go even further offshore, and as they joined us by the peninsula we spotted a few other boats in our class. We presumed the top boats in our class and IRC 1 had made it past Portland Bill the first night and were well ahead, but we would continue to fight for final positions with this second group of boats.

As we approached Land’s End we faced another fundamental decision. An off-limits traffic separation area (for freighter traffic) lay ahead, and we could either sail up the east side of it along the English coast before heading northwest toward Fastnet Rock, or we could continue straight ahead and pass between the separation area and the small Scilly Islands that lie just off Land’s End. In either case we were truly between the Scylla and Charybdis, or for the less classically inclined, we were stuck between the rocks and a hard place.

 With fatigued but seemingly sound reasoning we saw an opportunity catch a swifter tidal run close in to Land’s End and then up the coast, and decided to commit to the northern route. As we sailed by Land’s End we passed close by our friends on J-109 J-Taime, as they sailed toward the main group and passage south by the Scillies. Only a handful of us veered north though we counted ourselves in good company with top boat Raging Bee a few hundred yards ahead. Even as the wind died we moved north on the tide with a few knots over ground, hoping the boats that remained south were enduring the same lull but without the extra push.

 The J-120 is not a particularly impressive light wind boat, and in the morning hours the tide began to turn and we drifted westward. Though 50m deep we set the anchor more efficiently than the first night, and waited in the sunshine with a few others for even a whisper of a breeze. Slowly, inexorably over the next two hours a 30 year old Baltic 37, Cosmic Dancer III, ghosted up under spinnaker and later their huge overlapping genoa. Russell and I had our share of duels and shared successes when I raced a sister Baltic 37 years ago (Brut), and as he passed a few feet away we remarked that the old Baltic still had that special light air magic. Raging Bee managed to keep moving though as much eastward as toward the North; given their collective experience and accomplishments they had their own plan.

While jocular with Russell and his crew, inwardly we were gutted. A third of the way in and we were going nowhere, and our only hope is that a lot of the other boats down south were also stalled, or drifting in the wrong direction. Unfortunately it was just as likely that their breeze held, and we would be pushed further down the final standings.

Shortly after Russell passed us, a warm, feeble breeze tickled the water and we decided to haul the anchor up and try to get moving (in the right direction). We set our Code 0 as the wind rose above 4 kts, and within the hour we turned the corner on the exclusion zone and headed toward Ireland. With every additional knot of breeze we gained speed over the boats around us, quickly overtaking Cosmic and the Dutch duo on Splendide – who were having a Splendide early race. Perhaps all was not lost.

We Have Company

 If you ask participants what was special about this Fastnet, for a fair number their eyes light up as they unhesitatingly say “The dolphin”. Slipping quietly through the darkness past Land’s End, Ken resting below, I thought I heard a cross between a sigh and an exhale. It didn’t seem to be coming from Ken, and a few moments later I heard it again, from along side It was our first of many dolphin visits, this time a somewhat reserved English variety but as we raced further across the Celtic Sea we increasingly encountered bands of playful, raucus and wild Irish dolphin. Like an Irish pub band each group seemed to have its favorite routines; the bow crossers, the pair leaping along side, the solo leaper. “They’ll bring us luck” we pronounced, but if anything they brought wonder and smiles with every visit.