Newport Ensenada Race

[zzmeyer]

Just completed Newport Ensenada race (125 miles in extremely light wind) on Coyote, my 42DS. Competed in Class A Gennaker class. Wind never reached 5 knots first 24 hours, but blew 10 -14 the second day. Gennaker reach most of the way. There were 2 Jeanneau in the class (out of 27). The 43DS finished last of finishers 22. We finished 7th and were happy. We got a very good start - if not in the lead, very near. Some sail trim issues early on saw us slow, but within 30 minutes of start we pulled away from the slower boats and even with the fastest boats. There were Catalinas 38-42 feet, a number of Hunters, Beneateau's etc. A Catalina, an Ericson, 2 Hunters and a large ketch finished ahead of us. 6 Beneteaus, 7 Catalinas, and 4 Hunters behind us. Gennakers are very sensitive to downwind angles, particularly in light air. No handling surprises and given that this is the first race for us as a crew, I am very happy with the boat's performance. - Steve

[mdrsailman]

Dear Steve,
Do you think the harkin upgrade on traveller would have improved your performance? Larry

[notorious7004]

I personally don´t think the traveller would be an issue on a reaching course, but congratulations to zzmeyer for his race, 7th out of 27 and with a new crew sounds great in my book!