Racing?

2006 found me making frequent trips to Wales. After several weeks and Spring quickly passing me by with no time to spend on Take Five, I was getting the itch to go sailing. I stopped into Marine Scene, a local chandlery in Penarth, overlooking Cardiff Bay, and bought a few things. Inquiring about any locals going sailing during the upcoming weekend quickly found myself invited to crew aboard a J/109, Jackhammer, down at the Cardiff Bay Yacht Club, but this wasn't an invite for crewing on a boat going out for the weekend!

CBYC is situated in Cardiff Bay and well protected from the extreme tidal swings of the Bristol Channel by a three lock barrage. The Bristol Channel is second only to the Nova Scotia's Bay of Fundy (Minas Basin) , but we're still talking up to 15 meter Spring tides! So where was this bloke with the J/109 that I was supposed to hook up with? Saying hello to each sailor as they passed down onto the water made me wonder who exactly I was going to sail with that day. Finally a salty looking man looked at me and said that I didn't want to sail on that J/109 and should come with him and crew on his boat! Not wanting to insult him and really not having confirmed my ride, I followed along. "Great," I said to myself. "What kind of bathtub was I going to be jumping into next?"

Walking up to the mystery boat, Tom Hazelwood introduced himself as he smiled at his classic dark blue Tripp 40, Ego Tripp. This was going to be a sail I wouldn't soon forget!

Soon, the rest of Tom's crew showed-up and Billy took the helm and steered us out to the barrage. Once we hit the channel and hoisted Ego Tripp's main and genoa, it was off the races! It was my first time experiencing the countdown sequence, 5 ... 4, 1 ... and the start of my first race! The wind was blowing 12-15 knots that day and the sail was perfect. The tide helped us move 13 knots upwind! This was racing and I was hooked! There had to be a way that I could get involved in racing back on little old Lake Minnetonka.

CBYC runs IRC, PY, and J/80 sportboat fleets. Through that summer and the one to follow, I made some wonderful friends that I shall never forget racing on the Bristol Channel. I became known as "the American" at CBYC. Thanks for the invite to your backyard barbie, Tom, and crewing for you on Ego Tripp! I'll bring the wine again any time. Thanks for schooling me on proper English, Steve Parker! Ta ra!






A reefed Jackhammer (J/109) running downwind in Force 5 wind just ahead of Red Sky (J/80) during the pre-start of a race in the Bristol Channel near Cardiff, Wales.


Later the breeze freshened to Force 6 in a long beat up the Channel...

Grinding on the winch on the low side of boat is no fun when going over those rollers coming down the channel. After coming up for air and to see the horizon, I tossed my cookies :-) You always seem to feel like a champ afterward so I took some photos.


Cheers mate!