Morning Star Racing

My New Year resolution-100 days on the water. Day 1 – photographing Annapolis Yacht Club’s Hangover Bowl on New Year’s Day.

Here are a few pictures of my mast mounted instruments. I used the same brackets from Veloctek which I used to mount their compass. The brackets are very solid. As you see in the pictures I needed to add some stainless steel washers and longer fine thread bolts to attach the display board. The bracket attachment is a slug that slides in the bolt rope groove. I ended up removing some aluminum to widen the opening to allow the slugs to slide in the groove.

Brackets were on clearance at West Marine.

Pictures from BCYA Facebook page.

We tried to port tack the fleet but just didn’t have enough to cross the first starboard tacker so we had to duck a few. Rounded the first windward mark with just three of the fast boats in front of us. Great crew work and a busy night for the foredeck.

Mast mounted instrument displays are fantastic.

Pictures from race committee boat posted on BCYA’s Facebook page.

We had the worst start of the season but we sailed in clean air and hunted for the 3knot puffs in a very light air race. Fleet went right and sailed under a large cargo ships wind shadow. We went left for clean air. We put up the old spinnaker and headed dead downwind gybing for wind. Stacked the crew at the mast to lift the transom out of the water and we actually were fast for the second week in a row downwind. I think I’m going to order a good spinnaker for running. The all purpose spinnaker ordered last year just doesn’t do it.

My bad start getting squeezed out. Pin favored by a lot and I didn’t want to be the small boat in the wind shadow of all the big boats.

I need to go faster downwind. What has everyone else figured out to make the boat go faster downwind?

A little early but a solid start. We were able to pinch off the two inside boat upwind and were looking great until I sailed into a big wind sheer. Wind at top of mast 30 degrees different then water surface.

photos from bcya Facebook page

Made from fiberglass reinforced closed cell foam. Painted Yanmar grey.