I really didn't know what to expect from the boat but I did know we had a good crew and Dave Lamere preparing the boat so that was all positive. When we finally lined up for racing on Friday it was clear the boat sailed well upwind and we just had to find a way to hang on to the TP 52 Natalie J and Rogers 46 Bretwelda in order to do well. The common thought from the crew that had sailed the boat before was that unless the other boats had enough wind to plane we would be ok. The wind rarely went above 10 the whole weekend and the races we struggled most were the light wind races 6 knots or less. Talisman is heavy I believe close to 30,000 lbs compared to the 52s or 46 which I'm guessing come in around half that in displacement So when the breeze was light the lighter boats accelerate much better in each little puff they find. It seemed we missed those little pushes unless we get a sustained puff that allowed us to build our momentum. That was the case on Saturday's single light air where the 52 NJ could take every little whisper of wind and turn it into boat lengths we struggled to convert. It became clear after two days of sailing that the top 3 boats each had favorite condition that allowed them to sail at or above their ORR rating number. This was not shocking considering how radically different our design was compared to the newer 52 and 46.
The last day we had the best breeze of the 3 days. Lucky for our boat it still was moderate enough that the Rogers 46 and TP 52 couldn't get on a step downwind and we were able to square our spin pole a bit and sail deep. During race 5 we covered Bretwelda the 46 on the first beat tacking right in front of her near the port lay line. We ended up rounding the top mark overlapped with NJ who had come in on the starboard layline. It was a drag race downwind but a gear failure (a shackle on the new spin sheet opened during the only jibe of the leg) caused us to sail passed the layline with a wrap in the spin in a knot before we could start heading to the mark. It was a little disheartening.
This made race 6 a must win and it changed our focus from Bretwelda to Natalie J who had just raked up 2 race wins in a row and was sitting in first place. Off the line we started to leeward of the pack with NJ, Bretwelda and defiance in a group on our hip. We had a small left shift and a little better pressure. As NJ, Bretwelda and defiance peeled off we picked our spot and tacked to port. We had a nice lane on port and what must of been better pressure because at a 30 degree compass course it was clear to me that the shift was going right. So we pinned our ears back, dropped the traveler and worked hard to get over the top of the boats to leeward and beat them to the right hand side. We were able to do this and had the first cross by several boat lengths on NJ. We tacked on them and Bretwelda as they came across on starboard with the goal of herding them to the starboard layline and leading them to the weather mark from there. This worked out well and we rounded ahead by 500 yards or so. The downwind was all about hanging on to our lead and not doing to many gybes. We did one gybe and we were laying the left gate downwind. NJ was clearly faster downwind and had a better lane on port being to weather the smaller fleets after a gybe set maneuver at the top mark. They gybed on the starboard layline to the left gate and it became apparent that they had a piece of us and owned the inside position at the leeward mark. We reached up to force a decision and minimize the overlap. As NJ gybed we bore off and dropped our spin early. Many of the farr 40 fleet where also converging on the leeward mark so our entire goal was to sail wide and have a tight exit from the mark and not get stuck on the outside. We executed this about perfect and we were able to sail inside of NJ and roll the on port. Then we matched tack with them and continued to inflict as much bad air as we could. As we continued to extend Natalie J did a 270 degree turn from starboard to port I guess to "clear a penalty" from a foul at the leeward mark with a farr 40. In reality this isn't how you clear a penalty, usually a penalty that occurs within 3 boat Lengths of a mark requires a 720 degree turn to exonerate. And with the exception of match races (where a 270 degree turn will clear a penalty) in all instances and classes at least a 360 degree turn is required.
From that point on the race was in hand and we covered till the finish. We finished 50 sec clear ahead of NJ. A nice way to end the event and take the regatta after a tough start to the day.
Thanks to Bruce Aikens and the crew of Talisman for having me onboard and to Wally Cross for setting it up. The Talisman had some real nice Quantum sails our 1.5 spin was very versatile and the code 1 and code 2 jibs covered the us well between the 5 to 12 knots we sailed in over the weekend.
Im currently standing by for breeze at the star district 4 champs in Gull Lake Michigan. So hopefully we get sailing here soon.
-Jack
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