Sailing Report- Saturday 30th November

2/12/2019

Sailing Report Saturday 30th November, 2019

“In any moment of decision, the best thing to do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing.” - Theodore Roosevelt

I have always liked that quote and sitting on the start line before Saturdays Navigators Trophy Race, I channeled my inner Teddy Roosevelt and made a bold decision. As it turned out it was not the correct decision, but that’s the beauty of the Navigators Race - you must decide.
I have no doubt that there are many approaches navigators use to prepare for the Navigators Trophy Race. Spread sheets are filled in with data, weather models and tide charts pored over, advice is sought from “old salts”, and then there are those more relaxed souls that just toss a coin or use rock paper scissors to decide which direction to sail on the day.

Grey skies and a gentle breeze greeted a bumper crop of 25 starters. It was great to see 11 div. 3 entries, a wonderful example of the enthusiasm within this group of MYC sailors. The majority of the keel boats headed west, whilst the majority of the trailables headed south on slightly shorter course. Whilst the wind freshened early in the race and even brought some showers, eventually the grey skies cleared for a sunny afternoon, although the wind did soften considerably.

Well done to the keel boats that headed west and also to the trailables that headed south, these seemed like the better choices on the day. But also, a special mention to those risk takers that bucked the trend and went in the opposite direction. This race would be really boring if we all went the same way. It was entertaining to listen to the radio reports at scheduled marks as there were some classic battles with lots of position changes in what was very tight racing over the entire day. One more special mention to Zip who took line honors in div. 3 over an hour ahead of the next boat.

As you can tell I am a big fan of the Navigators Race. I have been sailing in it since I was a teenager and it still gives me a buzz. In my opinion it is a unique part of our sailing program and it would be great to make it a major sailing event. ORCV has the Cock of the Bay race, GLYC has the Marlay Point maybe we could aim to make the Navigators Race something similar? Anyway, I will climb down off my soap box for now – editorial over. Now for the results.