# Governor's cup Aug. 1st and 2nd



## zz4gta (Aug 15, 2007)

Anyone from sailnet going to be there? 67 boats so far.


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## T37Chef (Oct 9, 2006)

I wish but can't do it. Maybe next year?


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## kai34 (Jul 16, 2008)

im helping deliver st. mary's boat, but im looking for a ride on the way back down. any takers?
-kai


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## zz4gta (Aug 15, 2007)

kai34, wish I could help ya, but I just picked up a 4th crew a couple weeks ago. Good luck. Check out this site https://usa.regatta-manager.com/Reg...clubContext=stmarys&regattaContext=govcup2008
may help.


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## kai34 (Jul 16, 2008)

thanks ill post there. if you hear of anyone thats looking for crew send them my way  .
-kai


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## zz4gta (Aug 15, 2007)

Also check out Sailing anarchy. Lots of racers, but not sure how many are doing the gov cup. There's a thread about a party at the docks saturday night. BYOB. I'll be there w/ my crew, probably hammered.


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## kai34 (Jul 16, 2008)

my friends go to school down there and i know they know how to party. good luck with the race.
-kai


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## Sabreman (Sep 23, 2006)

I'll be there. It's our first time for this race. Should be fun as long as we have wind. I'm bringing along a couple of ringers to help us OFG's (Old Fat Guys)


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## kai34 (Jul 16, 2008)

i ended up getting a ride for this race on meridian. we came in 1st in the A0 class and 3rd overall. it was a fun race with good breeze. that was the first time ive ever sailed in the chesapeake bay and i enjoyed navingating the waters.


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## Sabreman (Sep 23, 2006)

kai - Congratulations! We didn't do as well, placing 15th in PHRF B. 

It was our first try at this race and only my second race in 20 years (we're confirmed cruisers). We had a pickup crew of friends, family, and two go-fast racers that I know. Our sails are old, and the boat hates light air. That said, we decided to stick it out after we were becalmed at about 0400, planning to wait until it was physically impossible to finish in the 21 hour limit before turning on the motor. We ended up finishing with 20 minutes to spare. It was a great ride with almost every condition from flat calm to 30 kt in the morning thunderstorm. The boat hit a record speed of 8.6 kts with main and cruising spinnaker (maybe higher, but that's what my nav software recorded - I love GPSNavX). The most frustrating part was being becalmed for the second time and taking 2 hours to travel the last 5 miles. I was also frustrated because we saw 3 boats poling out their jibs with boat hooks - a clear rules violation.


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## zz4gta (Aug 15, 2007)

Well you guys did a lot better than me. We were over 7 minutes late to the start, my fault. We pulled the motor too soon before our start and the wind died to the north east where I was. We went across the channel early and it seemed to work ok. During the night we passed a bunch of boats that were bigger, and of course got stuck in dead air in the wee hours of morning. That was the possibly the worst part for me. And then icing on the cake was when we jibed and the traveler track pulled the bolts through and broke. No back plates, so she's getting an overhaul on that note. We putzed along for about 45 minutes before I made the call to throw the motor on the back. Lost a winched handle coming up to the start, lost a traveler track, lost a little sanity, but gained priceless experience, and would do it all again in a heartbeat. I really wanted to finish, but under headsail alone would not get me there. Maybe next year....


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## Sabreman (Sep 23, 2006)

We were late too. No real reason except that the air was light and I miscalculated how long it would take to get back to the line. Our strategy was to stay in mid-Bay to take advantage of the falling tide and it mostly worked until the wind died. I have a cool track plot from the nav showing us headed south until the wind died and the rising tide pushed us north. Then the wind picked up again and we went a mile south where it died and we were again pushed north. The plot looks like a oval. Since I had GPSNavX set to capture data at 1 minute intervals, I can see exactly when the wind died.

We saw a lot of boats pack it in in the early hours and I have to admit contemplating the possibility. Then I decided to put an empirical twist to it; if we determined that we were so far from the finish that assuming 5 kt of boat speed wouldn't get us there by 21 hours, then we'd bail out. It didn't happen, but not by much. Looking at the results, you weren't alone - 28% of the fleet was DNF. There's always next year!


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## zz4gta (Aug 15, 2007)

Yeah, I don't feel bad quiting b/c of equipment failure. But would've really liked to finish. I know some things I'll be doing differently. For one, I don't think 2 of my crew will be doing it next year. Too small of a boat for too long on the water. The other said he liked "sailing" not "hiking". I didn't think I'd have to explain the fact that sailing and hiking make the boat go fast, and that's what we want. Silly me I guys.


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## Sabreman (Sep 23, 2006)

> I don't feel bad quiting b/c of equipment failure


Agreed!! If the boat is broken and unsafe, it's much more important to live to sail another day. There's always next year and that's how we get better. Live and learn. We'll be doing an informal "after action" review this week.


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## TAK (Jul 14, 2003)

More importantly.. How was the party??


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## zz4gta (Aug 15, 2007)

lol, never made it. I was falling asleep at the helm and the previous 2 days I got 2 hours of sleep each night due to trying to hit high tides at launch ramps. Never again. I'll just pay to have it splashed. 4 horus of sleep in 3 days = no party for me. Drove the 2.5 hours home, and passed out!


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## kai34 (Jul 16, 2008)

TAK- The party was great!!!! they had this drink called a sea nettle...needless to say after acouple of those and some mt. gay rum and 45 min of sleep the night before i was a happy camper.

ZZ4gta, Sabre- Thanks that was my first big race and finished in 12h 42min 30s. Its gunna be hard to top that experience. Inspite of being the slowest boat in our class by alot we almost beat the farr 11 straight up, but the last three miles killed us with no wind(Meridian has a phrf of 21 and the next closest was 0) . We had good wind (about 14 knots) from i would say 2130-0230and also had good wind after we rounded point lookout until about 3 miles to the finish when the wind completely died. im looking forward to sailing that race in the future if im lucky. it sucks that you guys had to turn on your motors AND missed the party. ZZ4gta well with all of those misshaps and equip failures i hope you still had a good sail and lots of beer on board.


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## Sabreman (Sep 23, 2006)

kai - We did NOT turn on our engine! At about 0300, we thought about it, but decided to hold off until it was a physical impossibility to finish on time. Luckily, that didn't happen and we finished 20 minutes before the 21 hour cutoff. It was amazing that after all that time, two boats in our class were right next to us at the finish. At least one of them used their boat hook to pole out the jib. Unfortunately, we didn't have a protest flag on board or we would have protested, had them DSQ'd, and moved up a place. Since we knew that we were battling for the back of the class, there really wasn't much point to protesting except to stroke the ego. Since 28% of the fleet DNF'd, 15th was ok for the first time. Next year, we'll be on time over the start instead of 9 min late!

It was a fun race. I'm not sure that I've ever experienced that wide a range of conditions in 21 hours. From 5-10 kts to dead calm, to 20 kts, to 30kts with t'storms/rain to dead calm to another t'storm on the way home that night.

We didn't stay long for the part since the crew had to get places, but we went ashore to buy souvenirs (they were out of lg/xl shirts!)


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## SailorMitch (Nov 18, 2005)

Sabreman--i'll let the real racers provide what the rules say, but my understanding is that you can use a boathook to pole out the jib as long as the person with the boathook stands behind the mast. besides, aren't whisker poles usually restricted in length? If so, how would you know their pole is "legal"?


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## chucklesR (Sep 17, 2007)

ZZ,
For next year try the Sandy Point State park ramps the day before and I'll put you on a ball or at a friends dock overnight.
Or:
There's a boat ramp 2 blocks from my house with 4 feet of water. I can hang a guest pass on your trailer or you can use my drive way over the weekend.
You've got my phone number and email in my previous PM's.


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## zz4gta (Aug 15, 2007)

Thanks chuck, it was nighmare trying to work out all the logistics.


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## Sabreman (Sep 23, 2006)

Mitch - To answer your questions, I'll refer to the rules. Basically, 50.2 says that a spin or whisker pole mast be attached to the mast. The outrigger section (50.3(b) and 50.3(c)) basically define a pole. 

The length of the pole is set by the J dimension. If it's greater than J, then it's a spin pole. When I received my rating, I deduced this by inference since I was claiming a non-spin pole credit and to get the credit, the whisker pole had to be less than the J. Hence, I deduced that a spin pole is J or greater.

Since the other boat was using a boat hook that was about 6'-8' long and held by a person, not attached to the mast (neither the pole nor the person), they were in violation of 50.2. I don't see anything about a person standing forward or aft of the mast, but if it's in the rules somewhere, I'll stand (or sit) corrected!

50.2 Spinnaker Poles; Whisker Poles 
Only one spinnaker pole or whisker pole shall be used at a time except 
when gybing. When in use, it shall be attached to the foremost mast. 
50.3 Use of Outriggers 
(a) No sail shall be sheeted over or through an outrigger, except as 
permitted in rule 50.3(b) or 50.3(c). An outrigger is any ﬁtting 
or other device so placed that it could exert outward pressure on 
a sheet or sail at a point from which, with the boat upright, a 
vertical line would fall outside the hull or deck planking. For the 
purpose of this rule, bulwarks, rails and rubbing strakes are not 
part of the hull or deck planking and the following are not out- 
riggers: a bowsprit used to secure the tack of a working sail, a 
bumkin used to sheet the boom of a working sail, or a boom of a 
boomed headsail that requires no adjustment when tacking. 
(b) Any sail may be sheeted to or led above a boom that is regularly 
used for a working sail and is permanently attached to the mast 
from which the head of the working sail is set. 
(c) A headsail may be sheeted or attached at its clew to a spinnaker 
pole or whisker pole, provided that a spinnaker is not set.


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