Polar Bear – Dec 21st

The rain stopped, the fog burned off and we even got a little wind for the December 21st Polar Bear races. We had another great turnout with about 30 boats and their crews coming out. What a great way to wrap up 2014.

The race committee set a QC, freighter, finish course for all divisions for the first start. Div 3 and 4 started first with a shorter course, with Div 1 and 2 starting 5 minutes later. Although the wind was shifty, the fleet rounded QC quickly and headed to the freighter. With the freighter more or less perpendicular to the wind, many boats found themselves slowing to a crawl as they tried to round the freighter. All the crews could do was to try and ghost out of the wind shadow into clean air. Slowly but surely the boats rounded the freighter, got clear air and headed to the finish.

The race committee quickly called another QC, freighter, finish course, albeit a shortened version. This proved to be a good call, as the wind started to die during the race. It was a pretty tough race, with the wind shifting around and being very variable. It is reported that one boat (GJR) got a little too close to QC and is now sporting an exciting new racing stripe. Despite the marginal conditions, all boats finished the second race.

It was a great day to get out on the water. A big thanks to Windyfeat for stepping up to be committee boat and thanks to all the great RC volunteers.

We hope everyone has a great holiday season and we’ll see you in the next year.