Sail Racing in Ronneby

Last night I was fortunate enough to participate in a 7-boat sailrace in Ronneby, a half-hour drive from Karlskrona. Avid sailor and Karlskronian Sven introduced fellow MSLSer Wyeth and I to Per, owner of a beautiful 35-footer and son of the race's timekeeper (no, that did not affect our placement).

We motored out to the starting line and unfurled the ginwe (jib), spinnaka (spinnaker) and mainsail (no translation necessary). This display of prowess was followed by some threatening looks at our competitors, and what I can only assume to be incendiary Swedish insults hurled in a seemingly friendly fashion by Captain Per. 

 

The starting gun sounded *BANG* and we were off! Sadly, the sea was dead calm, but our speed reached a high of 4.2 knots. Starting out strong, we managed to maintain second place for nearly half an hour! But then the dreaded SWE 105 pulled in front. Around the first buoy we zipped, keeping tight in. SWE 49 was closing in after we rounded buoy #2, but we managed to maintain third place until the final turn.

 

Watching out for the madly flapping "bom" (boom), I hauled in the portside jib stay with all my might... to no avail! SWE 49 (the devils) passed on our leeward side, literally taking the wind out of our sails and leaving us to sputter in, deflated. 

 

Ah well, fourth place ain't too shabby.

We were on the water for almost 2 hours, long enough to take full visual advantage of the old "red sky at night..." adage. Yeah, life is rough ;)

Comments

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A sailboat race starts on what you would probably call a moving start. The committee boat fires a gun or a horn along with a visual signal. This is called the prep, short for preparation. This starts the timing of a 10 minute sequence. In 5 minutes a second audible and visual signal are given as a warning before the start. Five minutes later a final audible and visual signal mark the start of the race. Because you know when the signals are coming you can sail along and through the area. The main objective is to end up right at the favored end of the starting line at the precise instant that the starting gun goes off with the boat moving as fast as waves and wind allow.