AZ Yacht Club Governors Cup 2020
For some, the sailing season is all wrapped up for the winter. For others, the season stretches all year long! This weekend we took part in the Arizona Yacht Club hosted, Governor's Cup regatta. This is a pursuit race organized by a PHRF Handicap system. All competitors, from the Sunfish, to the Catalina 36 all get a handicap rating, and unique start time based on that rating. In theory, all boats are capable of finishing at the same time, just as if they were racing one design! While it's clear that there are always limitations to handicap systems, it's fun to chase down the competition and know that anyone you finish ahead of, you actually passed in the race!
The race had 47 registered participants, however six boats didn't participate. The other 41 rolled out on a beautiful Saturday morning in November to glassy water an clear skies. As we jockied around the pontoon boats at the launch ramp and looked out at the glassy water, I know a few of us were second guessing our choice to race. On our 1973 blue Hobie 16, we had a nice extentible paddle, plenty of water, snacks, lake map and a radio. We were ready for anything, but hoping for breeze.
The first start was scheduled for 12:30, and just before that a northerly breeze picked up a bit. Competitors climbed back in their boats and started cruising up and down the start line.
The start was postponed by 20 minutes
We had a downwind start at 13:07:37 and we were off! The difference in speed between the beam reaching at the start line and the broad reach off the line was agonizing! We looked down the lake at at the spinnakers flying in an attempt to see which way to go. Everything looked about the same, and we weren't making much headway on the slower monohulls. My crew and I got comfortable on the front crossbar, this was going to be a bit of a slow cruise.
As we got to the right side of the lake, we started to pick up speed and cut through the fleet. There was one G-cat, and one H16 ahead of us. We hugged close to the island, becuase it looked like the breeze was steady. The breeze held and we cruised around the two islands and the leeward mark. The wind was building a bit, we made a beautiful transition up to close hauled and settled in with enough breeze to almost fly the windward hull. We rode the long tack up to the shoreline before tacking out to the center of the lake. The G-cat seemed to be pulling away, but the H16 was getting closer.
As we got close to the windward mark it was clear the wind was dwindling again. There was strong breeze at the mark, and we watch the G-cat scoot away, but we were trapped in the glassy water with the other H16. With only the flicker of cassette tape, and barely noticeable ripples coming off the bows, we crept towards the mark. The H16 went a bit wide hunting for breeze and ended up with a lot of ground the cover. As we got close to the mark, we found a bit of breeze and were able to make the rounding and lock in on the finish line.
We finished 16th overall and 2nd in the cat fleet. We had a lazy beat up to the ramp, and got up to the lot, just as the sun was setting. There was a beautiful glow over the lake, with a light warm breeze during boat break down. The 16 was a decent boat for this light air event, it was very nice to have our colapsable paddle on board, and some water, snacks and a marine VHF to hear instructions. Hopefully we can get the boat tuned up a bit better and make a better run for the leaders next year!