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Swiftsure-04

Toliva Shoals Race Results - 2001

By Martyn Adams

Greetings All, 

Note to self...Be sure to take sunglasses to Toliva race. (Yeah right! With 8 1/2" of snow Friday!!!) Well Saturday dawned above freezing, light winds, and about 70 boats. Olympia is an "interesting" harbor and there was a neat procession of boats that led the way to the start line. David on Coral Reefer gave us a wave and Pat on Dragonfly had a cheery "Good morning" while I fiddled with Cuttlefish and waited for Linda to return from the skippers meeting. We had met Rod on Strider the day before when he met us at the Swantown ramp, so we knew he would be there too. Four multis --- COOL!

The start winds were light (an omen of things to come) and Linda decided a port tack to start would be best. Why are all those big boats in the next start slowly cruising up the line on starboard tack? So much for our great plan to hit the line on the gun. Little choice but to do a quick tack (which put us to leeward with rights and they had to tack away or cross the line early). As soon as they tacked so did we and we are only three minutes late, now. Did I say the winds were light? Linda overheard her referred to as some anatomical body part. Sailing pretty close hauled to Dofflemeyer Point, the procession strung out. We were managing to hold our own with the multi's and the big boats in the second start were not running by us either. We called it too tight at the point and had to make a pair of quick tacks to sneak by. Once around the point I was startled to see Strider, Dragonfly and Coral Reefer not that far ahead. Note to self...Be sure to watch what the local sailors do. Rod on Strider had begun to sail in areas and to take lines that ultimately would lead to his first place victory in our class. At one point I thought he really blew it. He was waaaay over there in this calm little bay. No wind but there must have been 3 knots of current because the next time I looked he was waaaaay UP there--- pretty even with Dragonfly. Well we hotfooted (can you hotfoot a sailboat?) it after Coral Reefer and were actually closing with them. We had the chute up as did about every one else and the winds were as squirrelly as any I've sailed in. Oh, did I say the winds were light? Linda was pointing as high as she could and David was doing the same while skirting a no wind hole. Anyway she just managed to slide by. It would be fun to see the whole thing on instant replay to see just what we did. We would leave out the part where the wind shifted and we had spinnaker around every upward pointing part of the boat forward of the mast. We were fortunate to find a series of puffs that put us in the middle of Flash Gordon and his group, so we played cat and mouse with them for a while. The last we saw of David (we thought), he was becalmed next to an island.

As the minutes (hours?) dragged on Linda decided it was warm and sunny and as there was little happening she took a nap on the net. Sorry, this is intense racing but Wayne said, "Have fun." in his racing seminar and she did. I witnessed what to me was a marvelous piece of sailing by David and his crew on Coral Reefer. I know I was sailing as well as I know how and I watched as they slowly overhauled us. After they finally passed us (I woke up Linda when I saw them gaining on us) it looked like they were on a horse with the bit in its teeth. We still have a bit of trouble jibing the chute and get it right about 3 out of 5 times and here comes David on starboard tack with us on port tack and we have to decide to jibe or harden up and go behind. Woulda, coulda, shoulda----shucks, we went behind....NEXT TIME, THOUGH! I know it's not much of a compliment from us but, beautiful job. Well, they shortened the course and ended it at the Toliva Shoals buoy. Pat on Dragonfly had too little wind to "fly" and although I believe he was first over the line he corrected to 4th. Rod on Strider said afterward that he made the "right" call on every move and was lucky. I think Rod made that luck and deserved his 1st place finish. David on Coral Reefer put on a school for Linda and I for a little while and if the race had been a little longer he would have earned the 50 or so seconds we corrected under him for 3rd. Linda and I on Cuttlefish sailed as well as we could with the knowledge we have under the conditions we were given and if we had finished dead last could not have had bigger smiles. Our 2nd place made it even a little sweeter. 

(The Sound Sound Sailing Society official results are available here:  http://www.ssssclub.com/rtol.htm.)

Martyn