Full send on the Meatball
Yesterday's wind stuck around for the Dinghy Distance Race, and for some reason I decided to race it anyway... Conditions around 20 and sea state to match. RC used the river course, which while better overall resulted in a 7mi beat upwind to the turning mark. I feathered and played the main the whole way north, but it was a challenge balancing speed, likelihood of capsize, and wear on the rigging and sails. Things seemingly settled down on the downwind mark, and after some encouraging from Dewey we decided to set a spin. I was pretty aggressive on the helm, but we still almost capsized in a round up, so close the whole centerboard was out of the water. Dewey heroically saved it somehow, and we went without a spin for a while. Things settled down towards the bridge and we set the spin again for a fast run to the finish. We spun out again about 100 yards from the finish line, and finished under main alone. A wet, physical, demanding day on the water, and not really very much fun, but we survived to sail another day.