Awesome! thanks for sharing...
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'82 Nacra 5.8
Orlando, FL
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50/50 Round The Island, September 17 & 18 2016
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- Rank: Lubber
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Posted: Sep 19, 2016 - 06:04 PM
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Posted: Sep 19, 2016 - 08:11 PM
Sounds like a great race. I was beginning to think it had been postponed due to the weather, but sounds like an awesome time.
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Marty
1984 Hobie 16 Redline Yellow Nationals, "Yellow Fever"
Opelika, Al / Lake Martin
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Posted: Sep 19, 2016 - 09:18 PM
Wow Matt, what an exciting and interesting account of the race from first-hand, first place perspective. Nicely done!
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Tom
NACRA 5.7 (1984 Sail 181)
Pennsylvania
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Posted: Sep 20, 2016 - 12:43 PM
I really liked the new format. This distance in 2 days makes it a much more enjoyable experience. As it was, many sailors I spoke with, said wow that was a long way after just finishing on Saturday. It was good, as Saturday is the long day on the outside and the shorter ride back on Sunday on the inside had us finishing before 2pm.
Weather was a little dicey, however a little rain and some wind is always better than bright sunny days and no wind. Not to mention the heat that it generates.
There was a great turn out this year and I expect that to double for next year as word gets out. They had this with a reverse start to make scoring easy. It also was a bit of a safety thing with the faster boats sweeping the slower boats, in the event of issues.
A big thanks to Damon for bringing a trap harness from Key Sailing in Pensacola for me. Sorry that Kirk could not make the race this year on his Nacra 20C, he was down with the flew.
Randy was a great cheer leader for everybody and even made my daughter's weekend. She was sailing on her H18 and he told her she would see all kinds of wild life on this adventure. Sure enough, she has video of dolphins running next to them in packs in the Gulf.
Mike Kelly had his ARC22 running strong and looking good freshly painted. He took first overall with a 2nd on Saturday and then a 1st on Sunday. Mike has his boat back in action after three 3 years of drinking beer instead of sailing. It was really good to see he has not lost his racing form. Randy Smythe on his Sizzler "thing" was 2nd overall with 2 thirds. Man he is just creepy fast on that thing. Third over all was Mike Clark on a Nacra 6.0 no spinnaker, who scored a 2nd place on Sunday's race. Sunday was light air up wind. A one tack beat all the way.
For those a unfamiliar with rating systems. Spinnaker boats get a penalty added to their rating for what is assumed to be a course where you only go down wind 50% of the time. So if the race is all down wind (like Saturday) they have a rating advantage. And as expected the spinnaker boats scored great finishes on Saturday, relative to non-spinnaker boats, as it was all down wind in the Gulf. However on Sunday the spinnaker boats carry that penalty even when it is all up wind as on Sunday. So Mike Clark did very well with a stock boat and no spinnaker with a 3rd over all. Mike Kelly on the 22, said he almost didn't catch him on Sunday.
4th place overall was a big surprise to everyone else, however, they knew they were good. Ralph Cole and his son on a G Cat. They were sporting new Smythe sails and had that boat flying on Sunday. These 2 are definitely folks to watch out for in the future. Funny guys, who like to travel without their tiller. They said, they don't need one when they trim the boat just right.
Overall, it was a great weekend. Certainly a must do event for us for next year.
Cheers,
Edited by bruiser on Sep 20, 2016 - 02:52 PM. -
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Posted: Sep 20, 2016 - 05:21 PM
The story from a Hobie 16 (one of three in the race)
The weather provided a broad spectrum of conditions from no wind to 30mph gusts. Saturday was mostly dry except for the first two hours with lightning and rains that kept the H16's in the bay until 10am. Once the Saturday morning storms wrapped up (or slowed down) the H16's headed out into the Gulf of Mexico. We enjoyed the downwind run to Pensacola. The weather was stable until late afternoon when the winds picked up between Navarre and Pensacola Beach. The strong and steady 20mph winds made for a fast but unstable ride to the Pensacola pass.
Saturday night was a great night in the tent with 3 inches of rain in one hour and a sloppy, cold, wet rest until daybreak. The Saturday night dinner was very good and much appreciated.
Sunday provided a challenge in the H16 with an upwind ride most of the day (but nothing a diet Mountain Dew and protein bar can't solve) We did break out the spinnaker for a little fun after we dropped into last place. There was a period of no wind when we hit Navarre so a stop at a friends house for a swim and drink made good use of dead time on the water. The finish could not have been better as we pulled into Choctawhatchee bay in last place at 4pm with 25mph winds on the edge of a storm. The main was completely depowered and the jib pulling us along for a wild ride. We managed to make it in without capsizing. Last place in the race but a first class finish!
We will be back next year. Thanks to all for making this happen. -
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Posted: Sep 21, 2016 - 04:04 PM
My girlfriend and I had a great time sailing in the first event. We sailed down from Valparaiso, FL the day before Juana's some 26 plus miles and back to Fort Walton Yacht Club the Tuesday after Juana's.That day was all head winds... tacking all day long in a narrow channel and high winds.
So we didn't trailer the Hobie 21SE at all.
Thanks to Joe, Rick and Dorothy for helping with the logistic of getting my SUV to both events which put us on the water as often as possible. They drove my SUV back and forth between events...and Joe loaded me his boat to enjoy
......sailing buddies are as good as gold.
I crewed in the 50/50 with my buddy Damon and really enjoy all the days threw at us...light wind, high wind...light rain and a downpour that sat on our heads for a couple of hours.... it was all really good! Thanks to everyone involved in putting these events together and all how sailed too!
I will press my 21 buddies to participate in 2017 events.
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Bill 404 21SE
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Posted: Sep 21, 2016 - 08:41 PM
Sounds like a great time and I am putting this on the bucket list, even if I come in last, sounds like it would be fun. Now I've got a year of practice and re learning to do. Bill, I used to live in Val-p, Niceville, and even Destin back in the late 70's and 80's, used to sail Boggy Bayou and Choctawhattchee Bay all the time with my H14. That's where I learned to sail. Got my start with a little Sea Snark at Lincoln Park on Boggy Bayou in Valparaiso. Wow, great memories sailing the H14 out to White Point and back to the bayou. White Point is where the mid bay bridge is located on the north side of the bay. Good times!!!!
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Marty
1984 Hobie 16 Redline Yellow Nationals, "Yellow Fever"
Opelika, Al / Lake Martin
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Posted: Sep 21, 2016 - 10:05 PM
Something to be doing when out on the water. Start learning how tight your main and jib are visually and by the tension in the line in different wind conditions without having to look at the tell tails. Both days for 2-3 hours all the tails were stuck to the sail and it was all a guessing game. I made up most of my places in the rain just by keeping the sheets slightly loose just to make sure I wasn't stalled. I'm going to be practicing in different conditions now so I can be dead on in the future. It really would make a huge difference when the sail gets wet. -
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Posted: Sep 22, 2016 - 01:44 AM
Funny thing, when I sailed my H14, I never used tell tails, I don't think the sails even had them, I always sailed by three tightness of the sail as you said. Lol. My H16 has tells, but the 2 times I have sailed it, I didn't really pay much attention to them.
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Marty
1984 Hobie 16 Redline Yellow Nationals, "Yellow Fever"
Opelika, Al / Lake Martin
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Posted: Jul 31, 2017 - 09:31 PM
Is registration open for the 2017 50/50 RTI event yet?
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Bill 404 21SE
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Posted: Aug 14, 2017 - 07:17 AM
I was able to registered for the 2017 50/50 @ Fort Walton Beach through Nextsailor.
See you there.
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Bill 404 21SE
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