TEAM FLUFFY’s first buoy race aboard our new-to-us J35.
It was blowing well over 20 knots from the north when I arrived at the boat. Not a good sign.
During the hour and a half motor down to Long Beach, we saw breeze from all points, but it settled in at about 14 from the Southwest by our start.
Six boats, all rating 72 signed up in our class, but only four of us showed for the first of the three-race series.
The RC chose Course 34; S-30s-27-13-1-33-F @ 10.4 nm.
We were about a boat-length shy of the line at the gun, near the pin. Good enough. Sailed well upwind as the breeze built to the upper teens, but grossly overstated the first mark (skipper's folly). We then did two reaching legs (fast but boring) before exiting Queen’s Gate and running in a solid 20 knots from the west. This leg was a blast and the team really showed their Pedro (big air) lineage.
The drop was a disaster, narrowly averted as the spin halyard was smoked before the kite could rotate to the foredeck team. The chute hit the surf, but was hauled aboard before attracting any shrimp.
From there it was just about cleaning up the gear and finding the final mark.
All in all, a great first effort by TEAM FLUFFY!
Cameras: Insta360 X4 and GoPro Hero11. Sound: Two DGI lavalier mics.