Race Report

This month, 6 boats entered the race.

During rigging, we had light rain and a 1-2 m/s northerly wind. As the race committee, we set a temporary windward mark near the breakwater blocks. Our plan was to drop the leeward mark and anchor the committee boat once the fleet arrived to ensure a smooth start, but... while waiting, our engine wouldn't start. I turned pale thinking about how to handle a "drifting" scenario. If this ever happens to you, make sure to check your battery terminals!

Anyway, due to the committee boat's minor drifting incident, we ran out of time to properly set the leeward mark for Race 1. We hastily dropped it at a roughly 300-degree heading facing the Cape House and started the race right away.
In the 5 minutes before the start, the wind shifted 5 to 10 degrees to the left and back again. We somehow managed to start, with Tsutsumi-san leading the whole way. I was watching Taa-san—the only one among the trailing boats who sailed way out to the left—thinking he had fallen far behind, but before I knew it, he caught right up to the lead group! At that point, the wind had shifted a massive 30 degrees to the left. The forecast for the day called for an east wind, but it was actually coming from the northwest. The mountains likely obstructed the breeze, creating very difficult conditions. Race 1 also ended up being a long course, taking a full hour from start to finish.

For Race 2, we attempted to reset the marks, but the wind just wouldn't stabilize. We had to reset them over and over before finally getting the race underway. Since the first race was so long, we set a shorter course this time.
By now, the wind was blowing from the west and shifting about 30 degrees during the race. Because it was a short course, the Standard rigs were tightly packed at almost perfectly equal intervals, allowing me to take some interesting photos of a beautifully rare situation. With rivals so close to each other, the pressure from other boats on your heading must have been intense. The photo of the evenly spaced boats was taken on a downwind leg, and that nerve-wracking feeling of having your wind blanketed by the boats behind you is my absolute least favorite situation. The top finisher of this highly stressful race was Taa-san.

Since Taa-san, Tsutsumi-san, and Naito-san were neck and neck in the standings, we ran a 3rd race.
In this race, the wind shifted about 20 degrees to the south, but Tsutsumi-san adapted instantly to the changing conditions, taking the top finish and the overall victory!

The temperature is gradually dropping, making it a very comfortable time of year to be out, so we look forward to having you all come out to watch!
Also, we are currently looking into introducing a system using a smartphone GPS location-sharing app so that we can view and analyze race developments through data in the near future. We would greatly appreciate everyone's cooperation with this.

By Tsukasa