Prospector

Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup

Porto Cervo, Italy

8 September 2016

A Maxi racer is a big complicated piece of machinery. Inevitably small things go wrong. The challenge is to make sure that a small thing doesn’t turn into a big thing. We failed that challenge today.

 

After yesterday’s blow out and no race, today dawned beautiful with a steady northeast breeze of 15 to 20 knots that was forecasted to ease during the day. The race committee set us to another coastal race and we warmed up as usual sailing upwind and getting a feel for the day. All was well until we noticed that the hydraulic cylinder that adjusts the head stay was failing to hold pressure causing the mast to rake backwards in the boat. This…in case you hadn’t yet deduced it…was the small thing.

 

No big deal and the boys set about swapping out the hydraulic line and recharging the cylinder. Unfortunately the repair couldn’t be completed in time and we had to do an emergency ersatz lashing of the head stay figuring we would deal with it later in the race. Time waits for no man in yacht racing and we pressed on in the starting sequence. The pin was strongly favored and we fought for position down there. We weren’t perfect but Peter Isler put us in a decent position and we tacked away. Despite a less than ideal rig setting, we picked our way up the first beat and got to the top mark in first.

 

We gradually ground out a decent lead on the second leg and just as we were getting ready to set the chute as we rounded a rocky outcrop, Matt Landry decided he was too hot and promptly fell overboard when the top lifeline broke. Very fortunately the winds were light, the water agreeably warm and it was broad daylight. We quickly executed our man overboard procedures and got him back into the boat in less than ten minutes.

 

Once aboard, he got back into his job immediately and we got the chute up and headed back down the track still definitely in the hunt. Once we settled down, the boys turned their attention back to getting the head stay as we say – sorted. Just as we prepared to jibe, Dave Tank our foredeck expert looked down and saw the carbon fiber eye of the head stay where it attaches to the boat had somehow shattered and broken while we tried to effect repairs.  The big thing.   And our race was over.

 

We stabilized the mast quickly (if that had fallen over that would be a really big thing) and tried to figure out what do next to get it repaired. Larry and a contingent were nearly immediately picked up by the support RIB from Spectre. A very heartfelt thank you to them. While they whisked ashore to grab tools and vehicles, the rest of us turned the boat towards the shipyard in Olbia 20 miles away where as luck would have it, we have a spare head stay on an old mast. 

 

We got the boat there in good order and promptly stripped the head stay off the old mast. Nothing is of course standard on these boats and while it doesn’t fit perfectly, as of this writing, the crew thinks we can figure out a way to manage the connection points and get back out on the racecourse tomorrow. Fingers crossed.

 

So a small thing…a tiny leak in a hydraulic line just before the start, turned into a big thing with a broken head stay an hour later and with that we were done. Another small thing, a sheared pin on a lifeline put Matt Landry in the water. Had that happened at night, in a big sea and cold water…that little thing could have turned into something much worse.  So a day of lessons for us starting with Murphy is alive and well.

 

After such a strong start, we are of course disappointed. But we aren’t out of it yet. It’s a small class and the damage was contained. Our best bet is to do what we do, go out and race the best we can and let the chips fall where they may. Just please no more small things tomorrow.

Racing was abandoned yesterday due to a northerly gale and rough seas. 

Here is a link to the Regatta write up of yesterday's decision to abandon racing:

http://www.yccs.it/en/regate-2016/maxi_yacht_rolex_cup__rolex_maxi_72_world_championship/comunicati/wing_gods_stop_play_again_at_maxi_yacht_rolex_cup-254.html

Most of the Prospector team took advantage of the early lay day with a range of activities, tennis, walks, around Porto Cervo, drives to other towns in northern Sardinia or tending to work.  The travel squad of 16 had an amazing lunch in a restaurant on the beach in Porto Pollo.  Very reminiscent of our Nikki Beach outing in St Barths at 1/10th the cost!

Tery, Quinn, Lucien, Scotty, Dave Scott and Dave Tank went to Portisco and worked on the boat.  On a 68 foot high performance sail boat the work list is endless.

Knowing we faced a long day on the water with potentially two races, everyone headed to bed early to rest up.

The evening highlight was a private concert performance at the villa by Peter Isler and Robbie Kane.  A great wrap up to a great day.

The wind is blowing 25-30 out of the NE this am.  With a long fetch from Genoa the seas have become very rough, building to 2-3 meters off Porto Cervo.  The Race Committee announced a three hour postponement last night.  First warning signals now at 1430 vs 1130.  We are the sixth start today at 15:30.  The race committee is going to try hard to get a race off but the forecast doesn't look good.

Porto Cervo Marina is pretty exposed in this wind and wave direction.  For safety reasons Tery and some of the crew took Prospector to Portisco, a more protected harbor, 9 nautical miles south of Porto Cervo.  Crew breakfast has been changed to crew brunch, minus the alcohol in case we do go racing.

Here is a link to the Regatta write up of yesterday's race.

http://www.yccs.it/en/news-pag/maxi_fleet_takes_off_in_porto_cervo-185.html

Prospector

6 September 2016

Rolex Maxi Cup, Porto Cervo, Italy

We won our first race. Simple as that. Surprised? You better believe it. But not as in we didn’t have the boat or the team to win. But more, we bought a boat two weeks ago, most of our team has never sailed a maxi (ok, mini maxi but it seems damn big to me), let alone competed in one at this level and winning wasn’t on the table. Yet we won.  You can check out the results here:

http://www.yccsfiles.com/results/myrc16/m16mmr_1.html

I won’t spend a lot of time with the blow by blow of the race both because it’s boring and for me as the driver, I barely look around so I have little idea about how we actually did it. The course was a “coastal race” up and around one of the beautiful islands just off Porto Cervo. The day started off windy, with a pretty big lumpy sea and just getting off the dock was an absolute mission.

Getting out to the racecourse, we were a bit late and we did a few race tacks and then rolled right into the sequence. Larry had the course dialed in and Peter Isler calmly talked us onto the line with a terrific start. Head down, we sailed the first upwind leg focusing on boat speed and staying ahead of the competition. We rounded the weather mark in first place, set the chute and never looked back.

The course was stunningly beautiful as we wound through the islands and narrow channels passing boats that started in front of us. While the scenery was gorgeous, the navigation is a challenge. And one Larry was up to even as we passed rocks that felt like we could just reach out and touch. Such is sailing in the Med. Despite a few ragged practice days (to be expected in a boat like this, with a new team), the boys got it done as we made each turn amid the controlled mayhem of sail changes and chute sets and douses. Everyone was terrific.

Prospector is a super fast boat and an absolutely unbelievably great platform. But she is a man-eater when the wind is up. Eight guys grind up the spinnaker. You can’t hear yourself think when sheets are being eased. Literally every job is hard work. Ok…my job isn’t that hard…but I pretend it is. So it’s exhausting, particularly the first race but the smiles and satisfaction of winning are worth it.

To say we are less than cocky about winning our first race is a massive understatement. It wasn’t luck. We sailed a good race in a great boat but we know we have a ton of work ahead. There are other great teams here and we know that repeating the Cinderella story of our first race is a tall order. We are here to learn and learn we are doing. We will do that first and let the results fall where they may.

I am sure by now you are wondering about the heading – Beverly Hillbillies. As some of us know who are a certain age, the Beverly Hillbillies was a great TV show about a family of hillbillies that moved to Beverly Hills. That’s us. We even have a cement pond at our crew house. This is the most unbelievable collection of yachts I have ever seen and one that couldn’t be replicated in the U.S. The yachts are huge, sleek and managed by crews in matching…well…everything. Among this fancy pants crowd is the Prospector team. Our boat is on the smaller side. Yes that’s right. We are tiny as compared to many of the teams here. I at least feel like at any moment someone is going to walk up and ask us “what are you doing here”? Yet they don’t. Just the opposite. Many folks have come up and said they know who we are and are glad to see us with a new boat.

Pretty heady stuff for some hillbillies from Shelter Island and while we might not fit in just yet, we won our first race and here we are.