Disastrous Day Racing

After the success of last week the team aboard Puma Logic were highly motivated and gunning for another great result. With a forecast promising 20 – 25 knots of wind everything was looking superb. This is perfect conditions for the Reflex 38 and some exciting downwind sailing to look forward to.

Everything was going according to plan up till about 15 minutes before the start gun. A problem with the top batten meant that the mainsail needed to be dropped and repaired. This was done effectively and hoisted with eight minutes to spare. Puma was back on track.

Going into the start routine Puma was feeling good, she was well balanced and flying upwind. All the pre start procedures were well executed and the line sussed. The line had a very big port bias meaning there was only one place to start; at the port end of the line! Jammy Dodger had the same idea and we were surprised that the majority of the fleet were lining up at the Committee Boat end of the line.

The gun went and we were on the line on the gun. But where was everyone else? There was just us, Jammy Dodger and a few other boats in the area. Why was everyone else at the other end of the line? Even more confusing was the Race Officer commenting on the VHF that there was a big Starboard bias in the last minute.

It very quickly became obvious that something was not quite right. After about five minutes we realised that the race committee had in fact laid two orange marks in the vicinity of the start. We had not used the one which they intended to constitute the start line. Disaster; and there would not be enough time to get back to the start area to cross the line before the five minute time out. We were left with no option other than to retire from the race.

After retiring we notified the race committee that we would be putting in a ‘request for redress’. This is effectively a protest against the race committee as their actions have resulted in Puma not gaining the result that she should have done. The hearing will be on Sunday after the last race. If we are successful then it is likely that Puma will be awarded average points for the race which will keep us in a solid third place.

At the moment Puma is still in third place on equal points with Prime Suspect and Tarka. So long as Puma beats those two next week then we will finish in third place regardless of the outcome of the hearing. The pressure is now on and Sunday should provide an exciting and tense conclusion to the Winter Series.

Puma Logic Wins Race 6 at Winter Series

All the signs were not good for Puma Logic on Sunday morning. The forecast was for very light conditions, just what the Reflex 38’s hate and then the No 1 genoa was damaged during the pre start manoeuvres, resulting in the incorrect headsail being used for the first beat. A huge tactical error which took Puma the wrong side of the beat really did not help either! The net result was that Puma went around the first mark in 17th place. Not looking good!

The team did a fantastic job and with a great tactical call on the first kite leg Puma was back in contention and rounded the next mark in 8th place. Great boat speed throughout the rest of the race and no major crew errors saw Puma pick the rest of the fleet off one by one to win a superb victory. This was a perfect demonstration of how to go from the back of the fleet to the front of the fleet in two hours. Top effort!

Puma is now in a solid third place in the series and when discards are applied she is just two points behind 2nd placed Jammy Dodger and four points behind 1st placed Jump. There are just two races left in the series so it is all still to play for.