The Red Baron crew as we power past Barba Roja
A nice day to be out on the water after missing last week due to forecasted high winds and rain. Dion asked me to take the helm on Red Baron to practice for next week when I will be skippering the boat on his behalf. A line of gusty conditions shortly before the race had us quesitoning whether to carry the big genoa, but ultimately the breeze calmed shortly before race start. Unfortunately as a result we ended up rather late to the line, but got the boat powered up quickly and made back several places by the first mark. It took some time for me to get my bearings back at the helm, but by the second leg I had most of the feel back. We sailed a tidy, if not particularly fast beating leg, and rounded into a run. We went wing-on-wing for much of the leg, save for a brief set of gybes, and chased down a rival J/70. We rounded into the final leg, a close reach, and were able to power ahead of the smaller boat. Unfortunately, when the results came in, their non-spin rating difference got us in the end, but it was a fun matchup for a great afternoon on the water.