The Mighty Johnson
Yes, the might Johnson 3.5. Loved by none and hated by many. BUT when the wind pooped out at the end of the 3rd day of the Seattle NOODs, who they turn to??
But wait a minute. Do I see young men on the front of a Rocket flashing skin in the hopes of a tan? In May? This can't be Seattle!! The home of moss and people who wear socks and sandals at the same time.
But it's true, the 1st annual NOODs will probably never be repeated. People were thanking me for bringing the weather from the Sunny Okanagan, but I think it was because it was the first time 6 Rockets had come together to do battle. Zeus himself must saw it fit to pull in all his godly markers to to make the wind and weather perfect for such a momentous occasion.
OK, OK I might be over stating it a bit, but it sure warmed my heart to see 6 Rockets on the line. At first there was a bit of feeling out period. (maybe too much on Mike's part!) Nobody had done this before. Would the boats be equal? What's the best way to tack and gybe. Do you foot, pinch, full sails, flat sails? How do you get that honking big chute down at the the leeward mark while on a full plane?
The first day was definitely a day of teething. Little things, like easing the main before you duck a Starboard tacker and giving the crew lots of time to get the chute down at the leeward mark. By the end of the first day you could see signs that things were being work out and people were starting to get their heads out of the boat. Full cudos to the race committee for putting 4 races in the first day with the attitude of "making hay while the sunshines". At the end of the day there were a lot of tired and thirsty people in the Mt. Gay tent. Those veterans of Whidbey quickly figured out to double up on the drinks and go to the back of the line guaranteeing maximum fluid replenishing .
Next day the wind was a little more kind and gentle and from the opposite direction. This put a little less strain on
the crew work and little more on strategy. A trend started, it was great to get to the windward mark 1st but the big gains were for those that figured out the downwind gybe angles and controlling the left. The boat that figured it out 1st was the team of Andy, Mike and Bev. Rarely was "For Sail" at the front of the pack at the first weather mark but because of their experience sailing Rockets at Whidbey last year, and some impressive jets, they seemed have the ability to come out ahead at the leeward mark. The other was Jonathan and crew. They had always had the jets but were starting to figure out the tactics as well. Racing was getting tighter and tighter! A mistake at the leeward mark instantly became a 2-3 position loss (I know 1st hand).So after another 4 race day, things were getting interesting. People were coming in and yaking about "mast screw tension" and "role tacks and gybes" and twist. At the tent that night, Jonathan actually wanted to show his fellow sailors from other classes, what was meant by "twist" on the dance floor. I don't think the Moore girls understood but gamely tried to keep up.
Day three got even lighter and probably was painful on some of the under powered, over weight lead mines that shared our starting line but it was business as usual with the Rockets. At the end of the second day you could see the light bulb had come on and was shining brightly in Paul and Matts Rocket. Sunday was the their day to show there stuff and capped it off with a bullet on the last race.
In closing I would like to thank the Dave Read for having the vision to bring the NOODs to the PNW, the race committee for packing in 11 races in three days, Andy, Mike and Bev for winning the regatta but mostly I would like to thank all of you that made the effort to take part in the regatta and lets do it again at the NAs at Whidbey.
posted by Alan @ 9:10 AM
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