 |
| Arriving back in Hong Kong, 05:30, 14th April. Oh what a beautiful city! |
LATER STILL: "How was it?" asks son, mother, et al : Well, here's the elevator version: we cracked off south of the rhumb line just outside the harbour, which strategy went fine for two days, at which point we were leading the whole fleet on corrected time.
Then, whack!-a-mole-Hole-of-holes, ended up with all sails down and drifting to Vietnam for 6 hours (others hit holes (*), but none stopped). We lost a lot of ground 55 and more miles behind Moonblue 2, but made up some when winds came back in, then took a critical decision on evening of day three not to play catch up, but to head south again, which this time paid off with major gains to morning day 4 (it's usually a 3-day race) when we had better angles to the finish and saw MB2 on the horizon at dawn. We played catch up with them all morning in fickle then building breezes, tossing in a couple of cunning tactical tacks and passing them around noon-ish and to the finish line an hour in front. Jubilation the order of the day at the finish, for a great resurrection, on Easter's celebration of the Resurrection...
Main weapons used: J2 (the new 3Di version) Code Zero, A1, occasional Staysail.
As TC says in the comments "it was the full range of emotions".
So, having decided for the second year running that I'm not doing another of these races, because I just can't stand the frustration of sitting on the rail drifting wind-less, of the lottery, we will in fact line up again in 2014. And maybe do the new Hainan Island races later in the year.
See also: Subic in 99 hours.... grr
* [Of course one could reasonably ask why we hit such a hole and not others. Others did, just not the extent we did. The course was patchy and localised all over, and there was no prediction as to that particular one -- perhaps on-board GRIB files may have helped, but we didn't have them, onboard, as that's beyond my nerd-factor; we only had PredictWind, which didn't predict that one -- predict wind, not predict no-wind (heh!).... so for us it was just part of the lottery of this race.]
EVEN LATERER: I've put some email comments in the comment section below, with permission. I encourage your comments here on the blog rather than email chain; that way they're always easily accessible.
EVEN LATERER STILL: Catherine's photo album: mostly people photos at the beginning of the race (4 April), and with some after start from the Club's Facebook page and screenshots of the race. Thanks to Catherine.
Click on "Read More" to see the photos...[click to enlarge each]EVEN LATERER STILL: Catherine's photo album: mostly people photos at the beginning of the race (4 April), and with some after start from the Club's Facebook page and screenshots of the race. Thanks to Catherine.
 |
| Considering routing just before the race: Jing, Pete, Kia, Srompfy, Stevo, Zoe |
 |
| At the pontoon, RHKYC, 4 April: Biggus, MC, Pete, Jing, Pit, Kia, Strompfy, Forse, TC, MC, Stevo, Noel |
.jpg) |
| Beating out the harbour. I love this pic, as everyone's doing what they're supposed to: MC checking Mainsail trim, Stevo checking out the competition, PF looking at Jib woolies Strompfy at Jib trim. Biggus piccie. |
.png) |
| As above, also note Jing's smile: she loooves racing! TC hiking behind her. |
 |
| Day Two: we're doing well, though we don't know till later just how well: At this stage we were leading the whole fleet. Noel, Biggus, Pit, Pete and Kia |
 |
| Day Two: still truckin'. MC, TC, Strompfy, all in concentration mode... |
 |
| TC driving, Noel trimming Main, Pit trimming Jib (J2) |
 |
| Day Two: Jing and TC |
 |
| Jing enjoys a cracking sail, Day Four, coming into Subic |
 |
| "Xena arrives in Subic Bay ahead of Moonblue 2": Daniel Forster. [hi-res] |
 |
| After the finish: Forse and Jing kiss Stevo's magic shoes, which have to be off and pointing forward to make the boat go fast... |
 |
| Subic Bay Yacht Club, 8th April with Moonblue 2 Crew: Jing, Forse, Vic, Pete (MB2 owner), Greg |
 |
| A dip in 2,300 metres, S. China Sea, on way back to HK: TC, Lony, Noel |
 |
| About to tuck into my famous scrambled and bacon: Noel, Lony, TC |
 |
| Ignore the odd horizon (it's a Pano which didn't quite get it...), concentrate on the vibe: evening in the South China Sea, TC at helm |
 |
| TC and I were trimming the boat by moving our weight. The wheels are not on autopilot; they're locked. As we moved from side to side we could keep our heading. So if anyone questions why we put people on the rail on such a heavy boat: here's proof of just how much weight shifting can affect it. |
 |
| The Chinese oil rigs, evening 13 April on way back to Hong Kong |
 |
| Kowloon at Civil Dawn. Photo: TC |
 |
| Hong Kong harbour with Sampan. Jing's office is the tall one on left: IFC2 |
 |
| Kowloon, Hong Kong, 05:30 14th April. I just loove this city and coming back into the harbour is coming back home. |
 |
| Xena safely berthed at Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club. Navigation lights still on, because it's "civil" not "official" dawn. (TC) |
Excellent blog& presentation. Keep writing more and more. I voted for your blog and suggested your blog to my friends also.
ReplyDelete2007 Volvo V50 AC Compressor
Who is Jacob??
DeleteHi Peter,
ReplyDeleteHow are things after the China Sea Race? A bit of a downer for you guys after such a promising start, but that is sport (or so “they” say). At least you sent through some entertaining blogs.
How did you find the new J2? Steve is always complementary, but it is always good to know the owner’s perspective (Jing can pipe in as well if she wants).
Chat soon,
Magnus (email 11 Apr)
Thanks Magnus,
ReplyDeleteActually it wasn’t a “downer” at all, we had a great feeling at the finish line, having hauled in Moonblue 2, just that we didn’t have quite enough time over t’other one.... The last day’s sailing — from dawn to 2pm -- catching Moonblue, was fantastic: TC says the most technical sailing he’s done. He and Stevo made a couple of critical and fine tactical decisions that made us up hours over MB over just 8 hours sailing. I won’t ever forget it, and neither will the crew.
The J2 performed brilliantly, a fine sail. Stiff, wing-like, menacing.
Just so you know, Tom on Vega was also ecstatic about their J2 on their roller furler. They won their cruising Div and were just sooo happy! When I asked him what he thought about the J2, he pulled out his T-shirt in heart-thump action... He loves that sail. That it pulls the boat forward on every surge of breeze, doesn’t stretch. Ditto with us. Brilliant.
And, btw, we often used the upper (aka the “jib top”) clew. That worked really well on double outboard snatch blocks.
So... Thanks for building such a nice sail for us!
Cheers
Peter (14 Apr)
Cheers Forsey,
ReplyDeletethe 2nd last night with the 0/Staysail up was pretty gnarly. Awesome sailing with a FULL set of canvas. Magnus we are having issues setting the staysail. Definitely we can't get enough Luff tension. Lead angle seems to wide. We tried to tweak it with the lazy sheet which helped, but that makes things pretty complicated in the cock pit. We run out of winches fast. What do you reckon?
Steveo. (email 14 Apr)
Running out of winches?!!
ReplyDeleteHaha! The cockpit looked like a giant's version of Cat's Cradle at times! Magnus, you wouldn't believe some of the solutions of cross-winching and double or even triple winching we came up with. Worthy of the noble prize for mathematics and science!
Good to hear from you Magnus. Hope you are well. As has been said already, the J2 is a weapon with that 2nd clew.
We got the staysail working well at one point. The breeze was up and I guess the angle just right. It was quite a tight window of conditions though, it seemed. I'm sure Steveo will fill you in in detail later.
The race certainly came with the full range of emotions, but in the end the satisfaction of reeling in our rivals ' Moonblue ' was worth it all.
Take care, bro!
Tc (email 14 Apr)
hi guys,
ReplyDeleteIt was the most interesting racing experience for me, a wonderful learning about life and its up, down and up. Thanks a lot Magnus for the J2 - it worked magic. And Steveo for your strive for perfection, a true professional and TC, a great tactical advisor - i truly enjoyed those discussions between you and Steveo during the race.
The last eight hours was the most meaningful - we were from four miles behind Moonblue to finishing one hour ahead of them… and Steveo's flossing ….
Many thanks, Jing (email 15 Apr)
HI Peter,
ReplyDeleteFor me the higlight was the whole crew coming together as a team in the last days sailing to catch MB2! This was really great as no one gave up and the morale was
fantastic.
The decision to not come up to MB2 line and sail our own race was a nail biter,
cheers
Rick "Strompfy" (email 16 Apr)
Dear Peter,
ReplyDeleteI trust you are back home, safe and sound. Surely all went well on your sail from Subic to the moorings at RHKYC!
Thanks again for having me on board of Xena for this race and thanks for your generous hospitality during my stay at your wonderful home in Discovery Bay.
I totally agree with you saying: “Once accomplished, one forgets the not so good moments and just remembers the exiting phases of the race, like outmanoeuvring Moonblue 2”. After arriving in Somerset West, I think I told Gundi the whole afternoon and early evening about all those good moments - until I simply fell asleep. It was along trip and Manila was truly chaotic!
I have written to my contact in Kenya respective the “East Africa Rally”. No answer as yet. Kindly let me have the dates of the event and possibly the route, allowing me to give answers in case the questions will be asked.
Please send my best regards to Jing too.
All the best
Pit (email 16 Apr)
I’d agree with Peter – the comments are pretty fun/educational to read!
ReplyDeleteGees, it sounds like you guys had a blast. I can only imagine the rat’s nest of lines and winches, but it sounds like a floating jammer might not have gone amiss. Steve, for the in hauling on the GSS, is there somewhere to attach a small purchase around the base of the mast (maybe the bottom of the vang?).
I’ve passed on the comments about the sails to the guys on the floor – they are always proud to hear good feedback about the sails they work on.
If any of you are in town on the 26th of May around lunch time, Bicky and I are cruising through HKG on our way to Koh Samui – could be a possibility of a beer or two.
Chat soon,
Magnus (email 16 Apr)
Hi Folks, [PF email sent to RCSR crew, 16 Apr]
ReplyDeleteFirst up: thanks to all! Great efforts and a memorable race. And thanks for various email comments so far.
We had, as TC said, “the full range of emotions”. And as Strompfy said “For me the highlight was the whole crew coming together as a team in the last days sailing to catch MB2!”. Agree!
I’ve put some photos on the most recent post on the Blog (link below). I’ve also added some received email comments to the comments section (with permission). I urge others, if you have comments, to make them on the Blog, rather than as a round-robin “ReplyAll” email (bearing in mind that Comments are public, so no “Xena secrets” -- if indeed there are any -- but other than that, feel free...). That way we keep them all together and they make better reading, especially later when we look back.
Special thanks also to TC for being a wonderful companion on the way back. We had a great time and chatted about everything under sun ... and stars. Bit of a roller-furler issue and bit of an engine issue; other than that, benign, easy and flat trip home. We arrived in Central at civil dawn. Brilliant. I do love this town!
TC and I chatted about MOB and safety stuff, and I’m going to send something around about that after this email, for comments. I’m going to take the safety briefing a bit more in-depth and detailed next time.
Cheers,
Forse. (this is now my “official” on-board name...)
Latest post: http://xenakingscup.blogspot.com/2012/04/photos.html
Dear Peter and Jing,
ReplyDeleteGlad you have got back to HK at last.
Many thanks for including me in the crew once more. I would agree with Stromfy that the last day was a blast. I love racing a boat that you can see!
Cheers.
MC
(email 16 Apr)
Forse and Jing,
ReplyDeleteKia and I won’t be able to be there, so please have a great time on our behalf. I also wanted to thank you and Stevo for giving us the opportunity to share the wonderful experience of the RCSR. It will be an experience I will always remember. The feeling of crossing the finish line, first in our class, after all we went through was mind blowing, in many ways because we did not expect it, and most importantly, because no matter how bad the scheds were, the whole team kept trying 100% right to the end. Kia and I are both proud to have been part of the team on your wonderful yacht.
Thank you, thanks to the crew and thanks to Xena.
Peter and Kia (em 18 Apr)