by Jennifer Harker

Coming off the water at the end of Day 3 of the North American 5.5M Regatta the energy was palpable and the excited talk was all about the middle distance race.

After nine nautical miles the race saw three boats pushing for the line to cross within three seconds of each other.

“It was a drag race out there today to the finish,” Dave Harker said. He was aboard Nantoria CAN 22 who would put up a fight with two other evolutions to finish second. (Although a classic, Nantoria continues to race as an evolution to even out the classes – and challenges her speedier competitors every race.)

“It was an awesome day,” O’Kelly CAN 79 crew Stewart Bletcher said. “It was the most exciting competition of the week today, that’s for sure. At the beginning of the distance race I wanted to get on the radio and say do we want to change our minds about having the race, but once we hit the wind line we just left the fleet.” O’Kelly was just edged out by Nantoria to register a third.

O’Kelly’s crew Chris Gooding was equally enthusiastic. “It was a great day of exciting racing. The highlight was three boats within three seconds of each other. The second race was so evenly paced the whole way, exactly the same speed. It’s difficult to get past Lister [Nantoria] on a good day, he held us there. As far as racing goes it’s about as good as it gets, love it.”

Larry Donaldson described Jalapena USA 96’s race. “We were a silver bullet. In three seconds three boats finished. It can’t get any better than that.”

It was a bit of a different race. “It was a triangle race with no downwind,” Donaldson said. “No kite left a boat. Strange.”

Strange or not, it was tight racing all the way that saw 15 to 18 knot winds – after boats were stuck in a lull at the start. “Lister was ahead at the turn at Snake Island by a boat length and a half. We pinched at Snake, and just made the mark.” Donaldson said. “I tapped Peter, ‘out’ I said, he got out to hike and we managed to just make the mark.” It put them in an excellent position and it was merely a matter of time before their superior speed would hunt down and nose out Nantoria at the line for a first place finish.

It was a far cry from the morning’s course race which saw a cautious start to the day with clouds, instability all around and storms on the radar. With his local knowledge and observation the resident 5.5M local meteorologist Jeff Brook interpreted the information and predicted despite threatening thunderstorm his reading was they would travel further east or slide south – which turned out to be true. 

In Race 1 Jalapena USA 96 got off to a speedy start, but Firestorm USA 87 reeled her in on the downwind leg and kept position through the next upwind. It looked like it would be Firestorm all the way in the run to the finish, but in the last 10 metres Jalapena picked up speed to squeak out the win.

Purple Haze USA 51 was off the line quickly and turned inside of Mavi USA 103 at the first mark and only Nantoria CAN 22 passed her on the downwind leg.

With unstable weather, what wind there was disappeared and it seemed more like a slow motion movie than a race. At one point seven boats were all within a few metres of the mark with no one able to get the advantage and move on quickly. 

Despite the mob scene there was no bumping and grinding which is always a challenge with the wider turning radius of the classics mixed in with the more nimble evolutions.

Purple Haze would be first to the horn for classics, followed by Mavi and Summer School CAN 31. Purple Haze was the second across the finish in the distance race for her best day of the regatta so far. Inga Cowan said, “It was much better than yesterday when we couldn’t seem to get past Mavi.”

On Mavi Alyssa Loughborough said, “It was quite exciting, to start in zero and then up to 15 knots. The nice thing in heavy air, once everything is set you just hang on and go. The boat handled quite well, nothing broke. When we came in there was nothing to fix today.” For those who know and love the wooden classics, that’s really saying something.

“The first race was a bit trying,” she said. “The second race start was the same, but once out to open water it was excellent.”

Novice sailor Romain Pisani was onboard Nantoria as the North American group continues to focus on introducing new people to 5.5M racing and sailing in general to help reenergize the fleet.

Pisani was enthusiastic about his day which included a drifter of a first race, then flying along in 15 knot winds in the middle distance race – and being part of the photo finish. “It was fantastic. It was definitely a fun way to spend the day.”

It was a positive learning experience for him. “John is a really good sailor and took time to explain things to me.”

Pisani got a close up view of the action. In one tack Nantoria would cross Jalapena’s stern by inches in almost three foot waves. “The whole race was pretty tight. I am very thankful to have been able to do this. I want to do it again.”

Over on Jalapena seasoned sailor Peter Cowan is experiencing 5.5s for the first time. “It’s been great. Of course I wasn’t told the first day I would be boat building but it was a good thing as you know where everything is because you’d drill it in there. We went from just drifting to getting very wet heading from Flat Point to Snake today – the good news is everything I drilled and attached is still there.”

Residing in St. John’s Newfoundland, work meetings took Cowan to Toronto, enabling him to join family for the regatta. “The 5.5 is a very sexy boat. You couldn’t ask for a better looking boat, the line of it. There’s enough room to walk around but it’s small enough the sails are all manageable and if something goes wrong you can pull it in. You have that hands-on connection. It’s such a fun boat.”

Taking a look at the accumulated results O’Kelly skipper Don Cameron said, “Things are just as tight as ever in the standings. Mavi is hot, Purple Haze is second.”

The evolutions are also bunched with Firestorm sitting at 18 points and Nantoria and O’Kelly tied at 21. After missing the first day of racing Jalapena is still within striking distance with 23 points.

Sailors will be revved up for the last day of racing with first place still available.

photos

Novice sailor Romain Pisani (second from right) experienced a drifter of a race as well as flying along in 15 knot winds for one of his first sailing experiences onboard Nantoria CAN 22. He said it was fantastic and enjoyed learning to read the sails.

Matt Cowan, Inga Cowan and Chris Hatton had an excellent day aboard Purple Haze USA 51 with a first and a second, battling with Mavi USA 103 who had a second and a first on the day.

Day 3 began with a drifter of a race which at one point had seven boats within a few metres of the mark and no one going anywhere fast. Conditions changed quickly and brought 15 knot winds for the afternoon’s middle distance race.

Firestorm USA 87 and Jalapena USA 96 continued to battle for supremacy throughout the regatta. First place is still up for grabs heading into Day 4.