King's Cup: Day Four

Xena chases Pine Pacific, last downwind leg.  Both under A1s.
We caught them and beat them in this race,
and also beat Titania, a first for us...   
[Guy Nowell photo]

A quick update – more atmosphere and context later….

In order to have a chance at second we needed a first today, and more: we needed Titania, the current front runner, to come second, and Pine Pacific to come third.  A tall ask, given that we’d never beaten Titania and were struggling to beat Pine.

But that’s exactly what happened. [more later on the race itself... quite a tussle...]

So now we lie in second place, equal on points with Pine Pacific, leading them on countback.
The situation then is this: for the two X-yachts, Pine Pacific and Xena, it’s three wins apiece, both sitting on 14 points, with us in second place on countback, Pine in third.  For us to keep second place overall for the regatta, we have to win tomorrow.  
If they win, they get second; if we win, we get second.  
So it’s all to play for tomorrow….

Just back from the prize giving, after an exceptionally pleasand afternoon drinks on Titania, courtesy owner Richard Dobbs, and feeling a big shagged, so off to bed. 

If I can, I’ll add some more and some photos later…

TTFN, says Eeeyore...

*******************************

Later: Rundown of the race yesterday.  In very light and fluky winds, they set us off on course 17, a windward/leeward course, of two sausages.   After a good start to windward of the others, we folded over and worked our way up the beat, constant work needed to keep the boat moving in super light conditions.  At the top mark, we were just a few boat lengths behind Pine, with Titania in the unusual position of following we  two X-yacths, 50 tonnes being hard to move in breezes that were knots counted on one hand. 

After the top rounding up with kites, and we chased Pine on starboard tack with Titania on our starboard quarter.  Slowly catching Pine, when they gybed over to port, we decide to gybe inside them, but not all our folk heard the gybe call, so we had to go back to starboard, re-prepare for gybe, then gybe, all of which put us now about 70-odd yards behind Pine, now both on port.  Some other-class boats coming up the course on starboard gave our tactician, TC, a chance: let them separate us from Pine, so that they could not follow us on a gybe back to starboard, which we did: we caught some fair wind, while Pine and Titania stayed in a hole.  Result: to the bottom mark a few hundred yards in front of both!

By this time, over an hour gone, and I thought they’d shorten the course at the bottom mark, but no, they kept us going, so now for the work back up to the top mark, during which the Race Officer announced the shortening of the course at the top mark. 

Work to the top mark a bit suspenseful, as one never knew with these breezes, but we worked the shifts well, and finished just behind a quick finishing Titania over the water and well in front of Pine.

Result: 1. Xena, 2. Titania, 3. Pine Pacific.

Overall for the Regatta: Titania, Xena, PP

All down to today for we X-yachts.... stay tuned...