As I have written about before, every Wednesday and Saturday in July and August there are races on Menemsha Pond.  These races are hosted and organized by Sail MV, a great non-profit organization all about sailing on the Vineyard. There are a few Rhodes 19s on the pond that show up to race somewhat regularly, the “Three Sisters” is one of them.There is a Herreshoff class, and then a “everything else” class. Last Saturday, 8/9/2014, there were two races, in first light, then building and shifty winds.  Here is a quick recap of the races.

 Race 1

The first race we kicked ass, taking 2nd in the “everything else” class.  It was a chaotic start, but we had clean air and were right by the committee boat.  We were not quite at full speed, but we had the best position of the fleet. The wind shifted during the race, so what was expected to be upwind was actually a beam reach, but we had a great race.   The finish was a photo finish with us finishing with two other boats.  As we headed toward the finish line – a downwind finish – we were overtaking one boat, while another was trying to sit on our wind and pass us. We decided to dip under the boat we were passing and then head him up as much as possible while giving he and the other boat room.   Luckily the plan worked, and we crossed the finish line ahead of both boats.  In retrospect, it may have been a better plan to not dip, but hey it worked this time.

 Race 2

Race 2 flat out sucked.  We hit the line late and without clear air.  We tacked over early, which was a good move, but then at the 1st windward mark rounding, the wind totally shifted and we ended up having to hit another tack to make it around. We just didn’t have our grove in this race.  The last leg, an upwind finish, was good, as we rocketed past three boats on our way to a 4th place finish. So one great race, and one rather shitty race.  This week I will be racing both Wednesday and Sunday, so stay tuned.