Here are the tracks for the three days of the race. There is a lot of going to and fro as each of the classes prepare for their time on the line. It's fascinating to watch each of the classes maneuver around trying to get into the best spot at just the right time to cross the line.

Friday morning we found ourselves one of the last boat classes to go off. We headed out early to observe the line and to practice.

On one of our first tacks the starboard winch jammed and lots of black pieces went flying about the cockpit.  Stu began taking the winch apart to find out the root cause. With starting time approaching he was able to clear the jam but the winch would not self tail. It would take two people to perform the tack to Port. Our tacking improved as the day wore on but it was far from optimal with the damaged winch. The Spinnaker flew well and the boat performed well for an overloaded cruising catamaran. We came in 4th place.

Saturday with the winch repaired, we headed out with the big boats for our start. Big 12 meter boats went off just after us. They caught up and passed even before we reached the first mark. Again, the spinnaker flew high and gave us a nice boost as we headed north and west up the coast. From there we were on a broad reach to just abeam of Marigot. The winds got fluky in Marigot Bay. We tacked a number of times along with a multitude of other racing boats. It was hard to figure which way to go to make the marks. Several boats got disoriented enough that they did not clear the required marks. We settled in to Marigot for another fourth place and an evening of Regatta parties and fun.

Sunday we were at the line bright and early for our 11:20 start time. We were getting in the grove. Each of us had assumed certain roles and our team was getting pretty comfortable with the boat operation. We got off to a nice start. After we cleared the first mark we raised the spinnaker and took off north west toward Anguilla Channel. We were well ahead of all the other boats in our class. Suddenly there was a huge wind shift and the spinnaker began to wrap itself around the jib furling into what sailors call a "May West." We're calling it Brian's Birthday wrap!  It took an incredible amount of time and patience for Stu and Jack to untangle the mess. Brian patiently tried to keep us sort of going in the right direction while the other two struggled to free and untangle the sail.

Meanwhile the race went on. When the sail was finally free and sailing once again we were back on track. Soon we caught up and passed other boats and were back in the race. I think this is where we hit our top speed in the race. 10.3 knots.  Shearwater sails well down wind!

The leg south was on a reach and we averaged 7 -8 knots. The race ended in Phillipsburg almost directly upwind. We tacked a number of times, slowly making our way east to make our mark. We learned to make a barber hauler to bring in the jib nearer the center of the boat to improve our pointing ability. As the wind weakened, it became an incredibly slow ending to a very exciting day.  The spinnaker tangle balanced out the high speed down wind to give us another fourth place and a fourth for the race.

We plan to sail this Regatta again next year.  We're even planning to practice a bit more before the start of the race.  We're inviting our fellow Voyage Boat Owners to join with their boats to prove that true cruisers can take honors on a Voyage Yacht.

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