Farr X2 JOG Stoneways Marine Insurance Race One & Two Report
Nick Bonner - 24th September
Race 1 upwind in 6-12 knots
This race was interesting as we were upwind against bigger boats that were fully crewed.
In the light airs at the start of the race we were really competitive, when the breeze got up before Lymington to about 10-11 knots we struggled at first. We left the ballast out as we were short tacking. When we found the right mode we were really quick and then the breeze died again to 6-8 just before Hurst Castle and we pulled away again leading our class on the water.
The leg from North head to Peverel Ledge was 12 knots upwind so the ballast was in. We lost out to all the fully crew boats as to be expected but against the 2 handed boats we were fast. Overall, only 4 boats had a better elapsed time and we were the quickest boat on elapsed time in the double handed fleet.
Our Class 1 start was 45 mins behind class 4 and 15 minutes behind class 2, and these fleets enjoyed stronger breeze and more favourable tide at the start.
Race 2 reach in 18-25 knots
A reverse of race in in terms of course. We elected for a J-3 and Genoa Staysail with a full main and ballast in for the first leg to North Head with a True Wind Angle of between 105-110 degrees.
We started about 5 mins late due to a complete timing error and my own stupidity. Luckily however, we did not have to worry about that as the boat performed fantastically and pretty much as soon as we sheeted in we hit 22 knots boat speed!! The boat was so easy to sail on this leg it was just a case of pointing at the mark and letting the boat do the work.
After Hurst we went for the Code Zero, although we were quite late with this call, and had an issue on the unfurl which I would estimate cost us another 5 mins between that and being late on the call. Again, the boat was easy to sail with breeze more aft at between 100 and sometimes 130 TWA and gusty due to the southerly breeze and the isle of wight! We had to move the boat around a little more in the lulls and gusts but this was easy and we ended up winning Class 1, the Overall result and the Doublehanded Class, all by a healthy margin. This was the Farr X2 sailing at its best and we completed the 27 mile race in 2 hours, with boat speeds peaking out at 23 knots!!
A great weekend of learning and Sunday really proving what a great boat we have.
Race results:
