just cancelled Sunday's race

[Robin]

Years ago before H&S went mad our then club regatta was held over a weekend of F7 -F8. We were outright winners by leavin the spinnaker bagged when some went for gold. 2 weeks later dumbo forgot the lesson and put the spinnaker up for a weekend passage race, Poole to Cowes, fine from Poole down to North Head but the short leg up North Channel involved a closer wind angle. Left the spinnaker up for the anticipated following dead run down Solent, but fate intervened and reduced sail instantly for us by shredding the kite, one which had previously survived the 1979 Fastnet unscathed on Pinball wizard, ( Paul Lees of sailmaker Crusader's boat). Took the sail back to Crusader for repair only to be told by a hysterically laughing Paul that he might be able to salvage the tapes!. Some lessons are hard learned:redface-new:

 

[Judders]

I think a lot of us have done a kite trying to hold on to it in the north channel there in a sea breeze. On the other hand, a million years ago on my second ever race, I was on a Swan 53 where we were the only ones who did keep it and we went from 7th to 2nd on the water.

More recently I recall a race where we went down barely in control with the rig often shaking violently on the edge of a round up. The relief when we bore away around the castle was short lived when we saw the forestay swinging merrily in the breeze; had we rounded up with it in that state we would certainly have lost the stick and it would have come down on the cockpit with a Lee shore to boot!