Day Three update... and "Splash"!

The lady that took this shot also caught our bottom mark MOB practice.  See below.....
Xena heads south on Islands course nine.

As promised in last post, herewith update:

Race Four: windward leeward, twice round.  10-15knots.  We led the fleet from the good start at pin end, leeward.  We had good speed on all, and led at first two marks, and a third mark, windward, we went round on the heels of One More Prang, the GP42 which rates higher than us (for NSRs*: that means the handicapper thinks they are faster, hence have a higher handicap). Then on the run home did well again on the fleet, tactician Cookie getting well placed and covering well all way down, second over line and a Third on Corrected time. 

Wooshka.

Race Five: windward-leeward, once round.  We led all way round, to finish over line first, by two seconds.  Passably well on handicap, with a sixth. Update (08:00 am): the detailed results were not online as of posting this, but talking to committee boat people just now, (rest day, breakfasting at Centara Grand), they said that there were just three seconds between us and third place on corrected time.  It's our new handicap, see, but don't get me started on that!)

Heading to start, Race three

Race Six: Passage race, course 9, 10-15knots, gusting 18k: down south, port passing mark half way down, round bottom mark, through gate by the reef and home.  We led from the get-go and put distance on the fleet all the way on first beat, which became a tight reach to the bottom mark, boat going well, 8-9knots in 12+ knots of breeze.

Round the bottom mark, gybe-set to A2 spinnaker, beautiful rounding well in front of fleet, kite half way hoisted before the mark, smooth rounding, gybe, set, banded kite pops and flick!  Iris overboard! 

Quick action by crew boss Stevo, and she was hauled back on board, shaken but unbowed.  She’d held on to the sheet saying to herself “we’re racing, we’re racing”, so held on tight and kicked her legs to get a surfing motion going.  Amazing was how quick it was, in an instant she went from on board heading to cockpit to trim, to being overboard.  

Hoist A2, drop Jib, smooth going till...

Splash!... Iris takes a dip... flicked off deck by spinnaker sheet....

... but hangs on ("we're racing, we're racing", she's thinking) and is hauled aboard.

Lessons learned we’ll discuss at tomorrow's briefing....  And, once settled, we made for the gate, under very shy A2 kite (NSRs*: an asymmetrical spinnaker, for medium airs) to lay the starboard passing mark of the gate, running 120-30 True, 85-90 Apparent wind angles, doing 9-10 knots.

All fine till near the line, we well in front, and squall brewing behind us.  We kept our kite up till the last moment, about ten lengths from the finish line, when we spiked the kite, and ran home with 30+knots under main to the finish, and easy Line Honours.  The rest of the fleet was well behind us, us and got hammered in various ways, some broaches, some panicked dropping of kite and heading upwind.  But the good boats all got their spinnakers down and ran home with gusts over 40knots, running fast to the finish, which did it for us on handicap and we took another sixth.

Not a bad day’s work, and with Iris safely on board, we can say it was a memorable and thoroughly enjoyable three races, in the classic of tropical racing, clear skies, flat seas and good and steady(ish) breezes.

Baby Tonga update: "Tonga" is the other boat in the division that is really a Premier Class boat, not IRC 1, same as us. We raced together in King's Cup last December ending equal first on points, with them taking first on count-back. We were keen to take them on again here in Samui, but Premier Class dissolved with some drop-outs, so we race them internally in this IRC 1 Division, not really appropriate for either of us.  
End of Tuesday, they were one point in front of us. In the three races yesterday, we beat them twice by two points, and they beat us once by one point, for a net gain to us of three point on the day, to take us two points in front of them with two days to go.

*"NSR" = Non Sailing Readers