Prairie Schooner
Jeff & Donna, E35-3 purchased 7/21
Donna and I have raced for decades on friends’ boats, but this was our first race with our own. We are blessed with a lot of clubs putting on races around Narragansett Bay and nearby waters. This one by the Twenty Hundred Club was the unusual Prince Henry the Navigator Race. There are seven start options around the bay with a single finish point. The goal is to sail the most miles in the allotted time. Finish distances are modified by the boat’s handicap rating. The map shows the possible legs. Each leg can only be sailed twice, though in either direction.
This is a description from the 2021 running.
- https://www.windcheckmagazine.com/article/the-prince-henry-navigator-race/
Based on the light forecast we signed up for the spinnaker class. We have a 135 furling jib and a hand-me-down asymm (our only spinnaker) that’s a little too small for our boat and on the flat side. But it makes a nice reaching spinnaker. The wind predictions came true and we had 1-6 kts, with an occasional gust up to 10. Low tide was at 9am, the start. Originally we’d planned to go south through the west passage, east toward Newport, then ride the flood current north to finish. We followed that approach, but did it down the east passage on a shorter leg. We’re allowed 30 minutes of motoring time and we tried to use that judiciously to get through flat spots. We finished the race having used 29 minutes. We eke motor time out in one minute bursts.
The crew went below at 8:55am waiting for the start on the radio to rush on deck, hoist sails, haul anchor, and get going. The low wind sailing was as excruciating as you can imagine. The optimal finish is 3:30, after which there are mileage penalties. Past 4pm, you are disqualified. We honestly didn’t even think we were going to make it and were elated when we crossed the finish line (R14 at 270º to port, within 100 ft) at 3:47. It was a real nail-biter.
Possible morning rain showers never materialized and it turned into a beautiful warm fall New England day. Two of the crew I had sailed with for years on their boat, which they’ve since sold. It was a wonderful chance to reunite and return the favor. The other two crew were friends from those years of sailing. My goal was to have fun and not finish last. We came in 4th out of the 6 boats which in spinnaker class. Another four boats dropped out before the start, probably because of the forecast. I count that as a moral victory over them, too. We sailed just under fifteen miles and our actual VMG was 2.21 kts. The winning boat sailed 31 miles with a VMG of 4.56. Their spinn PHRF is 75 and ours is 174. We had a blast.
The crew heading back to the barn. (Donna and me on the left).
Cheers,
Jeff (& Donna)
This is a description from the 2021 running.
- https://www.windcheckmagazine.com/article/the-prince-henry-navigator-race/
Based on the light forecast we signed up for the spinnaker class. We have a 135 furling jib and a hand-me-down asymm (our only spinnaker) that’s a little too small for our boat and on the flat side. But it makes a nice reaching spinnaker. The wind predictions came true and we had 1-6 kts, with an occasional gust up to 10. Low tide was at 9am, the start. Originally we’d planned to go south through the west passage, east toward Newport, then ride the flood current north to finish. We followed that approach, but did it down the east passage on a shorter leg. We’re allowed 30 minutes of motoring time and we tried to use that judiciously to get through flat spots. We finished the race having used 29 minutes. We eke motor time out in one minute bursts.
The crew went below at 8:55am waiting for the start on the radio to rush on deck, hoist sails, haul anchor, and get going. The low wind sailing was as excruciating as you can imagine. The optimal finish is 3:30, after which there are mileage penalties. Past 4pm, you are disqualified. We honestly didn’t even think we were going to make it and were elated when we crossed the finish line (R14 at 270º to port, within 100 ft) at 3:47. It was a real nail-biter.
Possible morning rain showers never materialized and it turned into a beautiful warm fall New England day. Two of the crew I had sailed with for years on their boat, which they’ve since sold. It was a wonderful chance to reunite and return the favor. The other two crew were friends from those years of sailing. My goal was to have fun and not finish last. We came in 4th out of the 6 boats which in spinnaker class. Another four boats dropped out before the start, probably because of the forecast. I count that as a moral victory over them, too. We sailed just under fifteen miles and our actual VMG was 2.21 kts. The winning boat sailed 31 miles with a VMG of 4.56. Their spinn PHRF is 75 and ours is 174. We had a blast.
The crew heading back to the barn. (Donna and me on the left).
Cheers,
Jeff (& Donna)
