Jack Langdon Race Report
November 17, 2024
by Martin Herbert aboard the Kay D
The forecast was for 10-22 knots of wind from the west, the start had 1/2 a knot from the east. Kay D was aided by an audible count down from Ogopogo at the start and was first across the line. She held first place for a glorious three seconds before the train that is Ogopogo ran over her wind and spat her out the back.
At the other end of the line, the Evil Pickle Fork was away clear and was scooting down the harbour. Our fearless Commodore, sailing Slippery When Wet, sailed high towards Goat Island and picked up a line of wind and shot into the lead. Getting belatedly into that line of wind, the Kay D was seduced into hauling up the spinnaker. After filling beautifully for about 45 seconds, it turned out to be not such a good idea. Working ourselves backwards seemed to be the order of the day as Steller Jay rolled over us. Then, to add insult to injury, Robyn Hood came in with a breeze from the other side, passing with style, and the Kay D was now officially in last place. Jill was so excited with the passing of the Kay D that she promptly ran into Steller J and had to do a 720 degree penalty turn. That put the Flying Fifteens neck and neck at the back of the pack.
Pturbodactyl was now clearly in the lead and, as we cleared the Sisters, the west wind did fill in and spinnakers bloomed. It was an exciting reach across to Prevost and U62, and the Kay D hit 8.5 knots in one gust and had to let the spinnaker fly in two other gusts to stop from capsizing. The Pickle Fork lead the way and made the mark with chute still up, flying it toward Captains Passage. Everyone else doused before U62 and delayed hoisting until past the bump of Prevost. Ogopogo was in second, then a close clump of Slippery, Steller J and Kay D. This was Robyn Hood’s first try at tight reaching with spinnaker and there was a learning curve.
Then the wind started to fade….
The fleet struggled to Ben Mohr with the leaders putting massive distance on your reporter. The black sails of Ogopogo and Pturbo blended in with the shore and it was impossible to tell how far they were ahead, but it was a lot. On the Kay D the GPS went to 00 then climbed to .3, but it was uncertain if that was a forward speed or the other. Lunch was served and enjoyed in James Bay as we watched the big boats round U62 and head for home. Fortunately the wind filled in again, and the reach from U62 to the finish was punctuated by blasts of wind that had the Kay D ragging half her main and still hitting 6.2 knots. At this point we were alone, as all the big boats were home and we had extended on Robyn Hood.
It was a great day of sailing, throwing everything at us and testing us to the max. I made it to the picnic table to enjoy some tales and stayed to give Jill and Kristi a blast on the horn as they finished. They sailed over to me on the dock beaming with delight, having also had a great day of sailing. What a great sport we have.
The Kay D finished at 14.06.20
PHRFBC Results
| PHRFBC | Finish | Corrected | Rating for | club | |||
| Rating | Boat | Skipper | Time | Time | Place | Next Race | points |
| 99 | OGOPOGO | Faget | 13:12:30 | 02:50:38 | 1 | 99 | 100 |
| 126 | SLIPPERY WHEN WET | Gang of 5 | 13:19:53 | 02:50:56 | 2 | 126 | 83 |
| 144 | STELLER J | Leitch | 13:28:50 | 02:55:04 | 3 | 144 | 67 |
| 205 | KAY D | Herbert | 14:06:20 | 03:13:57 | 4 | 205 | 50 |
| 0 | PTURBODACTYL | Tulip | 13:11:57 | 03:22:26 | 5 | 0 | 33 |
| 205 | ROBYN HOOD | Oakes | 15:00:20 | 04:02:22 | 6 | 205 | 17 |
Club Handicap Results
| Club | Finish | Corrected | Rating for | |||
| Rating | Boat | Skipper | Time | Time | Place | Next Race |
| 132 | STELLER J | Leitch | 13:28:50 | 02:58:17 | 1 | 126 |
| 87 | SLIPPERY WHEN WET | Gang of 5 | 13:19:53 | 03:01:55 | 2 | 84 |
| 20 | OGOPOGO | Faget | 13:12:30 | 03:15:36 | 3 | 20 |
| 176 | KAY D | Herbert | 14:06:20 | 03:22:02 | 4 | 179 |
| 0 | PTURBODACTYL | Tulip | 13:11:57 | 03:22:26 | 5 | 6 |
| 205 | ROBYN HOOD | Oakes | 15:00:20 | 04:02:22 | 6 | 205 |
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