Storm - Part 1

I go sailing in heavy winds with an unlikely partner.

The storm is here. Trees are falling, traffic lights are out, planes are grounded and train tracks are blocked. The national weather agency has issued their most serious weather warning and only half of the Winkle employees have shown up at work today. Some of those who did show up are now unable to return home until late tonight when the trains tracks will finally be cleared.

To stay with the metaphor, I have chosen to ride this storm as best as I could. It started on Saturday. The wind had increased steadily and I could feel it hard against me, while driving my bike to Sloterplas. I was going to the Orionis Club Championship. I didn't know who I was going to sail with, because I had been sailing with different people on Wednesdays, all beginners and none of them had expressed any interest in this event. Anyway, I went there thinking that there would probably be someone else still looking for teammates and if not then I could always help organize the event.

When I got there, I met Boris, Doortje and Rochelle (first year Orionis members whom I knew from earlier) and 15 or so older members. That made it pretty obvious that this event was only for the most enthusiastic competitive sailors. As we stood there huddled up in our little group of first year members, I saw some of the others start to clean the bottom of their Laser Vagos. They were really dirty, so I commented that doing that would certainly have a big effect. Doortje was quick to pick up on that and suggested the two of us form a team and start doing the same. I must admit, that I had some doubts at first, but I didn't reject her. I knew that she was a somewhat selfish girl and that I didn't like her much, but also that she had sailed competitively before. If you have followed this whole blog you might recognize her as the girl I badmouthed earlier on this blog. I am a little ashamed of that. I believe you should tell people directly if you have a problem with them instead of sharing it with others. I will defend myself by saying that the post was actually never about her, but about me and how I was unable to handle being with her in a constructive way. I just left her as fast as I could. That's not how I like to interact with people. I don't flee, I adapt. But with this girl, I guess it took a little longer than usual to understand what was going on...

Well, that was a little sidestep, but a lot went through my head when she asked to team up with me. Basically, I knew that I wouldn't be able to find a better partner than her, but I was also a little scared that we would not have a good time together. So I pulled myself together and asked for what I wanted. I told her it would be fine by me if she wanted to steer, but that I also wanted to in some races. As you could probably expect (but I honestly wasn't sure how she'd react) she agreed right away. After that we worked efficiently to get our Vago prepared for the race. We scrubbed the bottom, lightened it for 20 litres or so of water (maybe that's why it used to be so unstable, with all that water splashing around inside it) and readied the sails. After a short briefing by the organizers we left the harbor.

It was quite windy, around 10 m/s in the gusts when we left the harbor, but I immediately suggested that we put up the gennaker. I knew we wouldn't have much time before the races, so we had to get our teamwork going. She was a bit hesitant, but she agreed and we quickly picked up speed. I realized that she had never sailed with a gennaker before and tried to teach her the basics (higher for more pressure, lower for less), but I didn't get to finish that lecture before we were in the water. To her credit though, she understood exactly what had happened and did better right away when we got the boat back upright. I guess that was our first bonding experience of the day, as it was quite intense to suddenly crash, get very cold, work hard to get the boat back up, crash again and finally get back up. We were both breathing heavily after that and there was a silent understanding between us, that we had to do better than that from then on.

When we were about to start our first race she confided that she was not a good starter, so she would appreciate some help with the tactics. That was a good opening, because then I was allowed to tell her about my basic strategy well in advance and then guide her into a good position for the start. But we were not the only ones who knew how to start. All boats crossed the line in time and two managed to make a port tack start at the pin end and get in front of the rest of us (6 Vagos in total, the rest were sailing Valk). We lacked speed on the upwind and ended up last at the top mark. We put up the gennaker and with that we overtook the secondlast boat. They had chosen not to bring a gennaker, because Rochelle the crew was inexperienced. On the second upwind we did reasonably well for speed and overtook another one. On the last leg towards the finish we put up the gennaker again, but we were overtaken by the boat with Rochelle in it, who went directly towards the finish line (we were going at an angle, because of the gennaker). That was a bit frustrating, but no more than that we could complement them after the race. Well done (but we would not let that happen again). In the second race I was at the helm and I decided that I wouldn't let them get away with a port tack start again. So I met the two boats, who had chosen the same tactic again at the perfect time by the starting line. I knew I could force them to go behind me, but then something unexpected happened. The Valks rounded the pin end, which was part of their course. I'm not sure what the rules are around that exactly, but I didn't want to interfere with their race, before my own had started, so I gave them room. That was all the other Vagos needed and they slipped away by starting between the Valks and the mark. We still got out of the start fairly well, and I could feel that I had a better speed on the upwind. I think it had to do with the mainsail trim, which the helmsman is also responsible for. We did well and in a close race we ended up third. In the third start we crossed at speed at the right time, but so did several others. We found a good track to the top and got there right after the leading boat. They had won both races so far and you could see from their boat handling that they were pretty good. For some reason they chose not to put up the gennaker and we gained a little on the on the first downwind. When we met at the top mark they had gained some distance to us, but for some reason they again did not put up the gennaker. We did, like on every other downwind leg, but this time was different. We caught a massive gust and got the lift necessary to get the hull out of the water to plan on top of it like a flat rock that you throw so hard it skips on the surface. We passed them so fast they didn't even finish putting up their gennaker before we were ahead of them. In the midst of all this, we were approaching the downwind layline fast, so we had to jibe. I told Doortje and I remember the sound she made as reply clearly. It was the kind of mmmm sound you make to say yes, but with hints of real fear in it. "I know, but we have to" I replied and so we jibed. We did a swift change of course to get the boom across and then immediately steered counter to avoid being overcome with pressure from the gennaker. Seconds later we were flying towards the finish line at by far the highest speed we had yet experienced. We were completely ecstatic. Winning is a great feeling, but then take that and add in the excitement of sailing so fast and relief from completing the jibe without capsizing only moments ago. It was perfect.

After that, we had a break on the middle of the lake. We attached all of the boats to a floating bridge that the organizers had brought from the harbor and had some snacks and some water/beer. That didn't last long though, as the anchors had come loose and the wind was pushing us fast...

And the rest will have to wait for another day. I'm now sitting inside under a blanket in the most awesome apartment. I'm writing this post as the storm outside is quietening down and the thunder is taking over...