Large Turn Out for the 2004 Oar Race

Saturday started out a dreary and overcast day, with winds out of the NE at 8-15 Knots. There were 25 boats entered in the race, with the big boat spinnaker division having the largest fleet with 10 boats.

The start was heavily favored to port, with a tack around the marker at #2, a reach to 19 and then a tight reach going forward to a beat and back again. Carrying a spinnaker was a challenge in these conditions. On Brown Eyed Girl (BEG), it was only myself and Ellen Walden, so we opted to go with the furling 105 and a cruising spinnaker in a sock. We held our own down to Minnesott Beach for the turn, where it was Blueprint, Devil Dog and Brown Eyed Girl. I experienced two problems at this point: I had too small of a spinnaker for deep running, and I sailed to the north shore thinking there would be more breeze over there. At first it looked like it would pay off, then I noticed that everyone sailed right by me because of the current on that side of the river. The wind got very light at the end of the day, and my progress toward the finish was so painfully slow that I started the engine and abandoned the race. Devil Dog sailed a masterful race as usual, and won first overall. Complete results can be seen at here.

The racing on Sunday was very pleasant with sunny skies and a nice breeze. Bill Jarvis set a windward/leeward course between 2 and 17. The conditions were 8-12 out of the NE, but swinging through 40 degrees, making it important to tack on the headers. There were only 3 boats in spinnaker class, Cotton Picker, Brown Eyed Girl and Blueprint. At the first windward mark, we rounded with Blueprint, but lost our spinnaker halyard just as the spin hit full hoist, dropping the chute in the water. By the time we had recovered, we had lost too much time to recover and Blueprint took a bullet, with BEG second and Cotton Picker third. The second race went better for us, and we took line honors, with Blueprint second and Cotton Picker third, giving BEG a win on the tie breaker.

Oriental Dingy Club

Pamlico Sailing Club

Blackbeard Sailing Club