If you have a disastrous first leg
- don´t give up!

Two true stories with a moral

Light wind nightmare

The first story comes from the European´s in Copenhagen in 1971. This particular day it was very little wind, in fact so little that the race ought to have been cancelled all together.
However, The race committee of the Royal Copenhagen Yacht Club was determined to carry it through, and so in virtually no wind at all the race was started.
In fluky conditions like this we all know that anything can happen and it did! Many of the top crews (together with others of course) find themselves in spots of dead calm and when a little streak of wind finally reaches them they are well behind to say the least.

At the weather mark (point A on the map below) our 'heroes' eventually find themselves lying around 5-6 from the end (!) in the 95 boat strong fleet of 505s.
During the first windward leg the wind had swung more or less 45 degrees anti clockwise, thus turning the first leg of the reach into a dead run. So, now the whole 505 fleet were lying there on 'the reach' more drifting than sailing and with sagging spinnakers.

Oh Paul, what would you have done?

In a situation like this feelings of despair and thoughts of retirement naturally popped up in the minds of our crew, but they decided that 'throwing in the towel' would be showing bad sportmanship.
So, as they were sailing on the home waters of Paul Elvström it felt natural to ask themselves; what would Paul have done in a situation like this? He would have stood up and looked for wind!
And so our helmsman stood up and looked for wind. Almost in the middle of Öresund, halfway to Sweden he could spot a few faint streaks of wind. Our crew that was left with no alternatives that substantially would improve their position with the current conditions decided to go for the little wind they could see some 500 metres away.

Wow, we´re moving!

By luffing the spinnaker suddenly carried and although our brave crew was sailing away from the rest of the fleet in a no doubt ridicolous direction they at least made way. After a little while they reached the first little wind streak and all of a sudden they could bear off and still make 2-4 knots speed (B). At the same time they could see the spinnakers of the whole 505 fleet some 4-500 metres to leeward suddenly fill only to collapse a moment later. At that moment our crew felt that they still got a chance to overtake a fair number of boats although the leading boats already had started to round the reaching mark for the second very tight leg (C).

Critical seconds

Keeping the dinghy within the wind streaks, thus making fair speed our crew then chose the right moment to jibe for the reaching mark in which position they were suddenly in front of the major bulk of the fleet.
At this moment the wind gradually came back from behind, spinnakers started to fill everywhere thus condensing the fleet of running 505s to only a few hundred metres. Our crew suddenly felt that time was very scarce indeed if they were not going to end up were they started off and a few very nervous minutes followed.
However, luck decided to favour our 'heroes' and with only a margin of maybe 5-10 seconds they managed to squeeze in around the reacing mark in 8th position, just in front of the huge bunch of 505s now approaching the mark at virtually the same time.

The leaders in the race that at the same time were just about to round the weather mark for the run, had the whole second beat sailed against an increasing wind that swung back to the original wind direction (D).
This suited our crew perfect and after overtaking a few more boats in a now steady Force 3 wind that blew for the remainder of the race our 'heroes' finished 4th - not a bad recovery!

 

Fighting it out in strong winds

Our next story also comes from from Copenhagen and again from a European Champion, namely the 1966 one.

Being caught by a capsized 505 at the weather mark in the start of this heavy weather race that was held in Force 6 winds, our team to follow found no way out, thus first cutting the main sail of the capsized dinghy in two and then subsequently capsizing themselves.

Having sorted things out for nearly five minutes our 'heroes' were finally on their way to the windward mark way behind the rest of the 80 boat strong fleet of 505´s.
Our helmsman was furious over having a perfect start destroyed as he and his forward hand started the chase for the others in front. At the weather mark they´d already caught a few competitiors and despite nobody in front of them dared to hoist the spinnaker in the strong wind our crew did!

Capsizing again

Shooting like a rocket through the back of the main body of the fleet our team overtook some 30 boats on the first leg of the reach only to capsize at the jybe mark. Despite the extra hazzle of the spinnaker they managed somehow to get the dinghy upright and sailing again on the sesond reach in only minutes.
Spinnaker up again with a second rocketeering through the the fleet and capsizing again taking the shute down.
After another fairly quick recovery, where the crew now being completely exhausted had to ask his helmsman not to tack for at least five minutes, thus enabling him to regain his strength, our team suddenly found themselves in contact with the fleet.

Sailing like fury to windward our team reaches the windward mark and they suddenly asks themselves: - Where are everybody? (it later turns out that they have passed over 50 boats on the second beat!)

And again.....!

Spinnaker up again on the run, with yet another capsize! Despite this 4th incident they still moved up a few places in the scattered top end of the fleet. Our team kept on sailing as if in trance, caught a few more boats on the third beat, last reach (no spinnaker) and final beat and found themselves finishing 6th only two hundred metres behind the winning boat (the Farrant brothers).

Conclusion

What we learn from these two stories, both from Copenhagen, is that you must never give up no matter how bad things look. With the right attitude of the crew there is always a chance to recover from a poor position.

Back to menu