What a race. Right, Challenge.
Thing is, part of the beauty of sailing is knowing and feeling that you are efficiently harnessing nature. If another sailor is doing it better, your relative efficiency is diminished. Focus, re-trim and re-assess. In a way you are racing something all the time.
Anyway, Midsummer Solo Challenge was not on the cards for me this year and until the last registration day, I thought I would not participate. With little preparation, warm bean soup in a thermos, cold gazpacho in another accompanied by a few Italian panini, I rushed to the line just on time for the start.
An OK start, leeward of a First 24SE, but free ahead to the North in NE very light wind wind.
At lunch time, just before approaching Hermanö, the wind went on a lunch break, only to return from the WSW after a short while. A lovely sea breeze!
With enough pressure, I decided to sail the shortest way, through the channel and by Gullholmen pitoresque village. I did not dare to put up my asymmetric at 100deg TWA. Any trouble would quickly escalate in the tightand trafficated channel. I managed to hang on to my position, and that was good.
Passed Gullholmen, it was time for some turbo. I decided to play safe and test what J/80 people call jib-top. It is not a jib top, ratgher a small, flat asymmetric with a high clew, that can be carried from 60 to 100 TWA or as chicken chute.
As it turned out, it was a blast. It has a small range in doublehanded and therefor not part of our standrad inventory. However solo is great. Manageable, safe, and comfortable. I left behind most of the fleet, but had some minor damage: a GoPro overboard and a strained lateral abdominal muscle. I guess that “manageable, safe and comfortable” are relative concepts.
In pain, I worried about the long sail ahead. But hey, it is a challenge, isn’t it?
After Lysekil, we sailed upwind all the way to Smögen. Quite straightforward routing. Most of the smaller boats in my start group where way behind by now, however, in the blowing sea breeze, larger yachts sailed past me (X99, Farr395, First35). Nothing I could do, but there was a long way to go. My time would come again 🙂
After Smögen, the “Jib top” went up again for a short while. As the breeze left us, the light gennaker went up. The game was to keep the boat moving. In whatever direction as long as it moves and creates apparent wind.
Now, here is where the J/80 shines.
The wind turned to the North. Down went the gennaker and a long slow upwind all the way to Testholmen followed. I love the feeling of the boat slicing through oily water.
I found some wind very close to land. I mean very close to land. Perhaps half a boat length. that was enough to fill the gennaker and get the log showing numbers again. Somehow, the whole fleet of larger boats stayd behind and I rounded Ramskär, the Northermost mark as first boat.
Now, that was something.
We expected wind from NE wind, backing later to NW and turn into breeze from the W throughout the second day and an unusual NW current. The strategy was simple: sail the rumbline, avoid the few obstacles on the way and keep on trimming.
I committed to sail West and outside of the beautiful islands Väderöarna. However, once there, I realised it was too early and would miss the backing to the West. Deciding to edge my bets and sail closer to shore, I snaked my way through Väderöarna and then south towards Smögen. Alas, my leading position lost to a group of larger and faster boats. I managed to keep the distance from growing further and that must count for something, doesnt’t it?
Imeediately after Smögen, the breeze filled in. Spinnaker changed to medium. And now we were cruising. Sailing on the rumbline at over 7kts and a perfect 145 TWA, I relaxed, listened to some music and rested a little.
Lovely, but like all good things, they come to an end.
After about 3 hours, the wind veered to the NWN, it picked up at 17kts and the seas turned choppy. Risking a few chinese gybes, I decided to tighten the tackline to stabilize the kite and hand steer for the rest of the trip. Everything told me to heat up and plane, but that would bring me far off shore and off the mark. Gybing back and forth it sure was an option, but when you are alone and have not slept for 30h, chosing your battles is part of the game. I chose soaking mode instead, but still could not go deeper than 160, without risking a gybe. Close to Hätteberget, the next and last rounding mark, I gybed back and forth a few times. to get on the layline.
To my dismay, larger boats hunted me with their longer hulls and/or symmetric spinnakers. Two or three, sailed past me just before reaching the finish line. Oh well, I was contented to be trapped in my own wake, for once.
Yet, I am very satisfied with my own performance, with the boat qualities and with the result!
An adventure to remember, surrounded by nature at its best and, as I often say after these races/challenges, “solo but not alone”. In fact, that is the general feeling, before, during and after.
In fact, I am sure that this is the key to their growth and success.
Here all results.