Oyster Regatta Palma - A lucky break on day 3

by Mike Owen on 5 Oct 2014 With four good races already scored, the chance to run today’s fifth and final series-race of the Oyster Regatta Palma 2014 proved a lucky break for those looking for a discard or qualifier. It was also the most challenging with patchy winds and big shifts made massive when black clouds and lightning entered stage left at the end.

At the top of Class 2 the two equal placing, carbon-rigged 625s Lady Mariposa and Guardian Angel needed this fifth race more than any others. Each knowing control of the other on the line was necessary, they played a cool match race pre-start but intent on the challenge their port crossing of the line tangled with a third contender and threated to stall their breakaway. But they ducked and away they went, Lady Mariposa leading the charge.

Dropping on the beat she tacked to the left, got the better height and boat speed and started to roll Guardian Angel. Tacking back onto port they had for a while two non-carbon 625s on top of them as the other 625s had started ahead, before tacking to lay the windward mark, which Guardian Angel rounded first. A jostle continued until the second beat when Lady Mariposa pulled ten or so boat lengths. 'The next downwind leg was really tough,' says Lady Mariposa’s skipper, Dan Hardy, 'the boats behind had pressure but we got stuck in gaps, Guardian Angel pulled up and Vamos started gaining. Then we got pressure and a nice rounding with a late drop.'

From here it was the upwind bash toward the last turning mark… and suddenly doubts. 'We saw the committee boat driving off [across the top of course] and had no idea what was happening. Our radio had been knocked off so we didn’t know the course had changed!' And it had, in response to the fast changing weather the finish line moved 0.5 mile to mark five, due to the 70 degree wind shift in the rain storm and to provide a fairer end to the race. They hadn’t heard the shout. With VHF back on, a quick call to the Committee Boat ended their race. Lady Mariposa had already crossed the finish line, and on corrected time 49 seconds ahead of Guardian Angel.

David and Joanne Furby’s 625 Vamos followed in to claim third with Henrik Nyman’s 625 Delicia in fourth just 28 corrected-seconds later. Graham and Victoria Heatherington took fifth with their 625 Great Bear V, sailing in reportedly very well organised manner and showing some deft poling of the asymmetric to sail deeper.

Sailing deep in Class 1 also drives the double-headed Oyster 82 Starry Night of the Caribbean’s downwind practice of very effective poling of their twin headsails. With massive payload of wine cellar and washing machines, upwind she’s not quite such a flyer but today the brains trust including Rob Humphreys who’s designed 24 of this 26 boat fleet, including Starry Night, joined Chris Mason and David Allan-Wiliams, and they called it right. As David says: 'We were in a position where we didn’t need to be first on the line, just more in a good position to go right. We do struggle a bit upwind so our modus operandi is not to tack too often, but we held Reina [the new Oyster 825] upwind. Taking the rhumb line downwind, then chasing the procession reaching across, we did have to apologise to a few for the blanketing, and then on the second beat we hung on far left, with Reina going right and losing all her gain.'

When she left dock for the start, Reina was head of class with a quarter point lead and all to play for, but this wasn’t her day. Some say yacht racing is the most difficult sport in the world. Neil Mackley of North Sails aboard Reina said that just the day before. They and he are right. There’s nothing predictable in this game: wind, waves, bumps, bangs, breaks, you name it, nothing is ever the same.

'We just fell in a hole and watched them sail away on the other side of the course,' says Reina’s skipper, Jarrod Cripps, 'but, hey, that’s yacht racing, you can’t do anything about it, it’s mother nature. We’re not troubled, it would have been good to win, but we’ve sailed fast this week, we know this boat goes really well, and this is our first regatta, and it’s been a really great one! I’ve been with this boat from blueprint and to see what she’s achieved and is capable of is just fantastic.'

Reina’s challenge had been to top the more race-optimised 885 Karibu whose crew, tongue in cheek or determined to crack that psychological quarter-point hangover, charged out of harbour early with the Pirates of the Caribbean music blaring loud.

Olympian Jesper Bank, tactician aboard Karibu, says: 'It was obvious we needed a win, to sail well, also to sail our own race rather than what the competition might be doing. The second beat made our race, the final nail in the coffin, we were first to tack off to the right and had 20° on Reina, then we went all the way through to far left, today very different to yesterday when right was best. We kept seeing more and more pressure. We were just in that position where we could see to the left and react.' And react they did, crashing the finish line way ahead with almost three and a half minutes in the bag.

Second behind on corrected was Starry Night of the Caribbean who took a massive header under the storm cloud that turned the last stroll to the line into a challenging climb. Then came Sir Frank Chapman’s 885 Clare with Reina accepting fourth.

Class 3 saw a surprise turnaround also with yesterday’s rising star Spindrift, Rory and Susie McGrath’s Oyster 53 suffering similarly to Reina, falling way back, while Oyster 46 SUNsuSEA with the three generation Kierebinski family alone and no borrowed hands scooped first after a cracking start and a solid attack throughout. 'We got a good, nice start,' said Paulina who mostly drives, 'I think just three or so seconds off, and then we sailed past lots on the reach.' At the start of the regatta Mariusz wryly commented they were slowly getting better. For any new racer, first to eighth in five races would seem to confirm that!

'We’ve been getting better results, I think particularly downwind,' they say. 'Also the thunderstorm helped, more wind and now no need to tack the last two miles… very, very pleased!'

Second fell to Neil and Sue Speed’s Oyster 45 Yo Ho Ho of Sark with the help of seasoned friends, third to Bill Munro and Susan Harris of the 54 Boarding Pass III, and fourth to Judy and Max Morrison on Silver Lining.

With more than three hours on the water for most, the post-race Happy Hour drinks and presentation hosted by Palma Watch Yacht Service and Yacht Repair slipped down well as did the prizes from the day’s race sponsor Dolphin Sails / Sailkote.

The series results will be announced at the regatta’s closing prize-giving dinner on Saturday evening at the spectacular Cap Rocat… after, wind permitting, a bonus race… a grand pursuit chase out in the bay. What a way to end a week of great sailing and great company. That’s Event website