Finished rebuilding the P19 I bought last year, so I decided to enter a regatta for the second time out. Hey, why not jump in with both feet? lol
Grapevine Yacht Club based on Grapevine Lake in the Dallas / Fort Worth metroplex had their big annual 2 day Gold Rush Regatta. They are mostly a monohull club but are very friendly towards multihulls and are trying to increase cat and tri participation. Current multihull members have a I20, H20, and a Stiletto. The only multi racing last weekend was the Stiletto. So it was me vs a huge tank of a cat. They use PHRF ratings.
I took their racing seminar earlier in the year so I had some basic familiarity with how things worked. That didn't stop me from making mistakes like rounding the mark the wrong direction and being way late off the line. The first day I also had technical issues. Shackles coming undone, centerboards popping up, trap lines not setup right. Got all that sorted out the second day and ended up beating the Stiletto in the first race. Yeehaaww, my first win. The second race I had a bad start and it was only 3 legs and I could not catch up.
Overall I had lots of fun, lots of beer, and learned alot. They have a 6 race fall series starting next Saturday (9/24/11) - $40 members, $60 for non-members. If you're in the DFW area, come on out and run some circles around me. lol. You can find NOR and info on the fall series on their website:
http://grapevinesailing.org/
The wind picked up in the afternoon and headed back after the race I got to fly the Prindle halfway across the lake. Was busy with controls most of the time, but I did manage to stop and shoot a little video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvYDSsCNnnY
Coming off a Getaway, the P19 is a whole different animal. Excellent control and feedback. I could get the hull way up and almost parked. Keep it flat and it hauls butt.
See ya on the water.
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Uwe
94 Prindle 19 - "überKat"
DFW, TX
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First Regatta Last Weekend
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Posted: Sep 19, 2011 - 03:55 PM
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Posted: Sep 23, 2011 - 03:22 PM
Glad to hear you got out there and mixed it up. Nothing accelerates the learning curve like racing. Grapevine is a blast from the past for me since I lived in Arlington in the late 80's and used to crew on J24's (hadn't discovered beachcats yet) there, as well as Rush Creek on Ray Hubbard.
Keep it up, it's fun to sail circles around those stationary obstructions on the course known as monohulls!
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Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN
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Posted: Sep 23, 2011 - 07:04 PM
Thanks for the encouragement. It's definitely a learning experience. The sad thing is that I got beat by monohulls. Hard to go fast when your mainsheet block leaves the rear beam and is flapping out on the side of the boat.
First race of the fall series is tomorrow. Goal is to not make mistakes, get off the line first and fast and not to finish at the back of the pack...and drink some beers and have fun.
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Uwe
94 Prindle 19 - "überKat"
DFW, TX
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