Racing on the Choptank

Wednesday evening on the Choptank River, Cambridge, MD

The wind was a steady 10-15 knots.

This was good sailing weather for the weekly race.

The larger boats take the lead on the first leg of the race.

Beating the wind on a close hauled tack.

This is George on TANGO 22. I have the smallest and therefore slowest boat in the fleet.

This week I had to sail solo so I went short sail using my working jib instead of my 135 Genoa. The working jib is much easier to handle when tacking; however, the smaller jib is a disadvantage on a downwind run. Nevertheless, I was able to maintain 5 knots despite the jib.  

"IF" is a Catalina 35 cruiser that TANGO 22 managed to track through most of the race.  I closed the gap big time on the downwind run; but, they pulled away on the beam reach back to the finish line.

Cruising along at 5.5 knots. Hull speed for a Tanzer 22 is 6.1 knots.

The leaders get their rails wet. This looks scarier when you're on the boat. 

That's Tango 22 chasing the fleet.  

Of the 10 boats sailing, Tango 22 finished last.  After handicap adjustment, 9th place was mine. The winner came in at 59:24. Tango 22 came finished at 1:09:02.
Using a Genoa would have shaved off a few minutes.

 Distance: 5.07, Course: I-A-H-D-Finish, Wind dir: SE, Ave wind: 12