Buz's Race - Catalina Island Series

Hi everyone , I had the pleasure of racing this past weekend.  It was final race of the Catalina Island series(14 seperate races  during 2006 with 3 throw outs) The Boat ,an OLson 30 ,SOUTHERN COMFORT XL (same boat I have been crewing on the past 8 years) We were tied for 1st for the series going into this race and needed to win both going out to Catalina and the race back .Check out the attached pics. Pic #1 is of the famous yacht MERLIN  trying to pass us which she eventually did but only after the wind went aft and she was able to unroll that huge code zero spinnaker that you see rolled up on her headstay. In spite of her canting keel and all pro crew ,we still beat her on corrected time as we did all competitors on race 2, The other pics are of a "one design 48" that never did pass us. Notice  crew of 12 on her .Race 1 was not our conditions with wind on the nose almost the whole race and we took 6th  which gave us second place overall for the series Great fun! The island was hopping with "Buchaneer days"  (a bunch of folks dressed as pirates and wenches , crazy with grog) Our crew was serious about winning race 2 and hit the bunks by 10pm. It is alot of satisfaction working together as a team, especially when the wind gets wild , you've already gone turbo , the skipper calls for the "womper" and you change from one chute to that big chute  on the fly while planing at 14-18 knots of boat speed . As the spin trimmer, My mind screamed "oh no ,not the womper...it's already scary"Talk about staying focused and on the  edge...see ya on the water.

 

Below is an e-mail our captain wrote about the race.

 

Buz Branch

S/V DOUBLOON

 

One other thing - We had the lowest corrected time on Sunday's race for
ALL classes.  We beat the faster boats, we beat the slower boats.

> _____________________________________________
> From: Price, Cole J 
> Sent: Tuesday, October 10, 2006 2:10 PM
> To: Mike Price; Buz Branch
> Subject: Catalina Island Series 2006 Race Results
>
> Hi Guys & Gals,
>
> We took 6th out of 12 boats going out to the island on Saturday.  By
> flying our spinnaker, we picked off 2 boats on corrected time,
> including the Nat'l Champ Schock 35 Whiplash!  That ain't bad
> considering that we were going to windward which is not our direction
> to sail to our rating.  The only boats that beat us ranged in length
> from 39 to 44 feet - it was a big boat day.  Notwithstanding that, we
> finished boat for boat in front of a J35, J105, and a Soverel 33 - all
> of whom owed us time.  Not bad!
>
> Then on Sunday, we got a good start, the jib and main trimming was
> awesome (excellent job Jarred, Derrick - aka Tiny Trim and Jazzy, with
> great coaching from Buz).  We made all the right moves tactically,
> steering right down the rumbline.  The call to hoist the chute that
> Mike and Buz made (chute first, ask questions later) was at precisely
> the right time.  We went turbo with Buz's great spinn trimming (he was
> spot on this weekend on his spinn trim) and reeled in the J105 who was
> probably ahead of us on corrected time when we hoisted.  We ended up
> beating the J105 by only 39 seconds and the third place boat by 57
> seconds.  So, after 23.1 miles, we were 39 seconds out of second and
> 57 seconds out of third.  That's why we have to be flawless - no
> pressure.  One small mistake and they would have corrected over us.
> We did great against the J105 given that we never got lifted enough to
> pole back the spinnaker to drive deep downwind which is what we need
> to gain an advantage over the J105.  When the wind is forward like it
> was, they have a significant advantage over us.  Had the J105 nailed
> the start (like we did) and not had to drive way up to the left to
> keep their air clean, they probably would have corrected over us.
> But, they didn't - we out sailed them and they're a very good team.
>
> Because Gator beat us on Saturday, they took 1st in the series (with 9
> points) and we took second (with 16 points).  Third place had 28
> points, so Gator and Southern Comfort were way out in front.  All in
> all, I think that we did very well.  As this young and inexperienced
> team becomes seasoned, we're going to be a threat every time that we
> show up to race.  You may view the race results at the following
> websites:
>
> Results 1
>
> Results 2
>
> Check out this video which shows what boats looks like when they're
> planing (most boats don't plane, yet all of you have had the
> experience which many seasoned crew have never had):
>
> http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/06/1002/
>
> Great job guys and gals!
>
> Cheers,
>
> Cole