Yesterday was a double first for me. First sail of the year and first sail as crew on Wharf Rat, the J24 I am racing on this year. Conditions were beautiful: 10-12 kts, sunny and warm enough to sail in a T-shirt (just).
Wharf Rat is owned and skippered by David Duquette. The crew include his son Cully and a couple of friends Brad and Steve, as well as yours truly. For most of us, it was the first time sailing a J24 and it took us a while to get the hang of it – When and where to move on the tack, how to sheet in, how to raise the pole, trim the spinnaker and how to gibe. David's an experienced sailor and stayed calm throughout despite the pressure of getting an new crew up to snuff.
We have work to do. Probably a month till we are handling the boat confidently. Then we can start getting fancy with tactics. There were no catastrophes and our tacks improved as the afternoon went on. Downwind was mostly OK. We only fouled the spinnaker around the headstay once.
Progress not Perfection.
Wednesday's first race is a tune-up race for everyone and will be a challenge. The racing at RYC is VERY competitive and we usually get 30 boats racing on a Weds night. We will be sailing A3, i.e. the highest handicapped spinnaker boats.
Good stuff! We’re getting ready for our first race of the season down here too. We probably only have about 15-20 boats come out on a good day but its still a good time. Good luck!