[C320-list] Chicago - Mack Singlehanded race

[Stan]

Yes, I gave it up.  Two out of three nights virtually drifting was enough.
Tuesday night drifting around the entrance to the Manitou Passage was
un-nerving enough.  For those of you unfamiliar with the Passage it's the
place where ALL ships from the east pass through on there way to Chicago and
Northern Indiana.  It can be a busy place.  I was glad it was a clear
night.  And, oh yes . . . The black flies.  The spawn of the devil himself
were out in force two out of three days.

I was in second place six miles from the lead.  Third place was five miles
behind me.  Light winds were forcasted for Tuesday which also entered into
my descision.  I motored south toward Racine about three hours and caught a
SE wind that allowed me to sail 6-7 Kts. into thunderstorms about 9PM.  This
is my second time being up close and personal with lightning.  I left the
main up, had the diesel on just in case I needed it.  I sat on the deck
behind the wheel (lowest spot) and an hour later I was through and now had a
strong west wind which allowed me to sail on to Racine.  The best sail I've
had in a long time.

This is for Adam.  I left the pier in Chicago at 7:15 AM on Saturday and
tied off at my pier at the RYC on Wednesday at 10:16 AM.  99 Hours and 1
minute.  I traveled 427 miles.  My menu was somewhat sparse although I make
a mean deli sandwich.  Hot soup got me through the chilly nights (58 degrees
in the middle of the Lake).  I cleaned up the boat and had Lunch at the club
and listened to all the old timers recount their tales of the Lake.

I hit the sack at 1:30PM,  I did not sleep for the last 30 hours because my
sleep timer became unreliable.  6:30 Thursday morning I woke up.  17 Hours
of sleep!!!  I never did that before.  All in all a good week.

The boat performed well.  Especially in light air.  I never really sailed
much in 2 Kt. winds.  I could, when the water was flat, sail 2.2 Kts.SOG in
2 Kts. of wind on a reach.  It seems in my sixth year of ownership (I am a
slow learner at times) I really have learned what tweaks work well in all
conditions.  I consistantly stayed ahead of boats that owed me 10-12 seconds
of PHRF.

One lasr item.  The online tracker made the race an international event.  A
son of our friends in Texas is in Iraq.  I have been sending him emails for
almost a year and let him know about the "Tracker" site.  Well, I found out
after I got back that our little race became a hit in Iraq.  Seems they
needed something fresh to bet on.  I was glad to be of service.

Stan
"Our Little Amusement" #744


On 6/28/06, Sweetwater Yacht Charters <sail at sweetwater-charters.net> wrote:
>
> Well, I checked the website and it looks like Stan had to drop out of the
> race. The wind has been extremely light this week and I know many of the
> sailors had to get back to work (or is it that there is an overall time
> limit to the race? Some boats were still sailing this morning!).
>
> Stan, if you had to drop out, S. Manitou is a good place to do so! Hope
> you
> are getting to do some sailing in the Traverse Bay area.
>
> Joan
> C320 #90 Persistence
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Stan" <ola7442000 at gmail.com>
> To: "C320-List" <C320-List at catalina320.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, June 21, 2006 10:18 PM
> Subject: [C320-list] Chicago - Mack Singlehanded race
>
>
> > The Great Lakes Singlehanded Society starts its annual Chicago and Port
> > Huron to Mackinaw Island singlehanded sailboat races this Saturday
> morning
> @
> > 8:00AM.  This year a web based tracking system will be used.  The
> position
> > data will be updated every six hours on a Google Maps interface.  You
> will
> > be able to choose to display individual boats or the whole fleet.
> >
> > My boat's name is "Our Little Amusement".  I will try to send the names
> of
> > the other boats in my class before the race.
> >
> >
>
> http://solosailor.org/beta/dherring/racetracker/display-frame.php?race_id=99
> >
> >
> > --
> > Stan
> > C320 "Our Little Amusement" #744
> > __/)__/)__/)__/)__
> >
>
>
>


-- 
Stan
C320 "Our Little Amusement" #744
__/)__/)__/)__/)__