Day 2 - Carnage and close racing in Europes on Evans Bay
by Antje Muller on 26 Feb 2011
Close start in race 3 - Europe Class 2011 New Zealand Championships Bryn Heveldt
Last year, a Tsunami cut the Europe Class New Zealand Championships short. This year, the earthquakes in Christchurch prevented the majority of the fleet from attending, so the North Island competitors are fighting it out amongst themselves on Evans Bay.
Evans Bay Yacht and Motorboat Club are hosting the Europes Championships in Wellington this weekend. Due to the reduced attendance, racing on Friday was postponed. That did not stop the enthusiasts going for a gorgeous sail in the morning with warm sunshine in about 10 knots of Northerly breeze before the forecast Southerly turned the breeze around and then off.
Today, the Southerly was in full flight when the fleet braved the waters of Evans Bay this morning. Andy Greager (Sail number 110) managed to cartwheel his dinghy within a few hundred metres of launching, and when he felt the first 30 knot gust hitting him decided that he should take the decision not to race. Peter Reay (83) followed suit, figuring that it was wise to retire.
Bryn Heveldt (81) made it a little farther afield but had to come back when the kicker of his chartered Europe broke. He has since unemployed the boat technician that set up his boat for him the day before. Susie Weeks made it to the starting area, but then her outhaul block gave out, and she tied to the Committee boat to stop her from being blown to Petone. When David Brown (102) took a deliberate ride in that direction and broke his rudder blade, the Committee decided to send the remaining two back to base.
That was just the morning.
The boats were fixed promptly, but the breeze was not abating, so racing was postponed until 2pm. This gave everyone time to get warm again and recover from the blustery induction to windy Wellington. As winds were gusting at one know less than in the morning when the call was made, four brave ones gave it another go. One decided that the conditions were still too harsh, but before this starts sounding like ten green bottles again, let me clarify that there were actually three starters in the first race!
Leading off the start was Antje Muller (107 but sailing with number 110) chased closely by David and Doug Roberts (116). She had a bad gybe on the first triangle but got her boat up and running again before the competition could catch her. On the downwind leg, David showed superb speed and rounded the mark in front of Antje and Doug. On the final triangle, Antje could claw back into the lead, and David maintained his second place in front of Doug.
In the second race, the Committee recorded quite sustained gusts of 32 knots. David showed that granny tacks were faster than capsizes and won this race in front of Doug and Antje, even though Doug got rather close by the finish due to his good upwind performance. Despite the harsh conditions, the three boats were still finishing within one minute of each other, showing great boating skills and very close racing.
The Committee showed mercy then, so the last race of today was only one triangle. The three boats were tightly packed off the start, but Antje managed to climb to windward on the second tack. The wind then slackened just enough for her and Doug to successfully gybe. David opted for the safer option but discovered that his mast base had given up, so he had to take the mast out and be towed back to port again. The gun went to Antje with Doug chasing her across the line.
Tomorrow the wind is supposed to be a much more manageable 15 knots from the north, but building by midday to 35, so the start has been set for 8.30am.
Results Day 2
R1 R2 R3 Total
Antje Muller 107 1 3 1 5
Doug Roberts 116 3 2 2 7
David Brown 102 2 1 DNF 11
Susie Weeks 112 DNS DNS DNS 24
Andy Greager 110 DNS DNS DNS 24
Peter Reay 81 DNS DNS DNS 24
Bryn Heveldt 83 DNS DNS DNS 24
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