2nd place in Bridge to Breakers Regatta 2011

My sister Pat was so keen to compete that she delayed her return flight to England for a couple of days. I always intended that she should take Little Dragon's helm as she is far better at racing than I am. I would have been quite content to crew, but it didn't work out that way. I was still feeling a bit down from some pesky virus so opted to watch and photograph the event from the BRSC deck.

(Above) As usual Commodore Hariet Woodrow and Mark gave the briefing for this marathon race. Over 60 boats had entered ranging from a windsurfer to a 15 metre yacht. Little Dragon is in Division 7 for slower yachts. The catamaran fleet just gets bigger and bigger and it is pretty scary meeting an A class cat even if one has right of way.

(below) Pat was concerned not to dent Little Dragon's topsides.



















(above) Pat concentrating

(below) Luckily Denise Walker from Lake Keepit Sailing Club was keen to crew. Thanks Denise for stepping into the breach. You and Pat did extremely well in what turned out out to be a tough race.









There always seems to be a strong northerly for this November regatta and this year was no exception. Pat and Denise opted to give it a go under full sail. However just before the 1.30 pm start the wind freshened. They decided to anchor while they put a reef in and as a consequence they were late over the start line. (Note: I must get the reefing lines sorted out so that it is easier to reef underway.)  Others also decided to reef and it was clearly the right decision as shown in the photo below. It was a beat all the way down the river against the tide, hard going with gusts estimated to be up to 25 knots. They got well beyond the Goodwood mark and were on the way to the turning mark at Iluka when the rescue boat instructed them to head for home. They finally did so somewhat reluctantly. They arrived back weary but without damage to themselves or Little Dragon.  Others were not so fortunate and there were many capsizes, broken masts and retirements but luckily this year no serious personal injuries.





On Sunday the forecast was for wind gusting up to 30 knots so the organisers decided on two short races before a late lunch, hoping to finish before the wind really picked up. My friend Robin Crosby (photo below) agreed to be Pat's crew (Denise was crewing on another yacht). I was delighted as Robin is an experienced competitive sailor and boat builder. He built his yacht Whisper that he moors at Wombah. Robin helped trim Little Dragon's sails better than ever before as well as offering valuable tactical advice. Andrew Landenberger must have been relieved to at last see his sails setting well (see the last photo). Second thoughts - I doubt he had time to notice anything while he was racing his A class cat.

Despite the forecast the wind didn't pick up to anything like the strength of the previous day so Pat and Robin didn't reef. They did really well coming second in the first race and winning the second race on corrected handicap times.

At the prize giving Pat almost burst with pride (and surprise) when she heard that Little Dragon had come second in Division 7 for the series of 3 races over the two days. Congratulations to Little Dragon, Pat, Denise and Robin.

As always thanks to everyone at the BRSC who as usual made this such an enjoyable event.