When a Classic Provides A Bit of Excitement...and low on the learning curve with the Grimstad Jolle

I didn't want to pass up the invitation to helm a wee classic boat again at a club down the coast This was despite over 20 knt gusts forecast because I had been out in more than that in the Grimstad Jolle Jolle translates as dinghy but is a little wider in interpreation as these are a small keel boat. Long Keel at that too! However, they are light enough to make them far more frisky than many a lumbering design of yore. All went pretty well, a fiasco not getting the main down was a big lesson at the end of the regatta, but more on that later. Where I am on the curve with this boat? I had set out to get off the start line, go right and sail accurately round the course. Even a late start was acceptable. As it happened we were nearly on the pace and got a great line for the 1705 start, rolling over a competitor who had thought he could luff us, but I just seemed to instinctively know hwo to get ahead of him. He did though disrupt me enough to shave about 8 seconds off my start which could have been a real blinder because the fleet were low of the "boat" end. The wind picked up though and we struggled to find speed vs height . THis was just a puzzle to me now, not a frustration. We lost two places to then just be covering one guy behind who was dreadful. We lost a fair bit on boat speed being maybe half a leg behind the rest and woman friday reluctant to sort out the spinnaker halyard and hoist it. A bit of spreeing of the jib and we were soon holding pace with quite a few of the spinnaker boats, allbeit a little less VMG than their DDW course. A good rounding at the bottom of the stairs and having climbed up to the landing, the weather mark that is, we barely overstood and were in a nice 60 degree cone on the way up. This too came kind of instinctively. I just knew where we were and a quick glance at the boats confirmed this But having a little too much in the bank didnt hurt either, only once of four roundings were we bearing down on the mark cracked off Off wind prove entertaining. The boats surf readily and in some spurts of speed we started catching a spinnaker boat who wernt using the waves. I tried to settle on the jib spreed out but found the combination of wave chasing difficult. Final down hill rounding completed we were still well off the pace with the best part of a whole leg behind, but that was a function of no spinnaker and not enough know how on the boat speed vs height Learning goals then would be - Knowing the keel fly speed, by feel Knowing how to build speed and maintain height Having a bloody compass maybe or just being more aware of the angle of dangle Teaching the crew more about pre race checks so the Spinnie halyard would be in place. Also starts, I think I know the game there, line up early and try and hold a lane, so in effect you can disrupt this big time if you stand on basic safe and luff when needed to force boats round you with say 20 seconds to go. The start is effectively 30 m or so behind and to the right of the actual line as these boats are sailed hull speed or die and that is the known game so everyone does it and jostles for the line when they choose their lane 15 to 30 secs out. Otherwise the take out in the races, 2 , was that, wow, yes a lot comes intuitively to me. The 60 degree cone is just something you know from sight. THe lay lines too. Tuesday it was front shoulder, tack. In light winds or very shifty stuff, it would be back shoulder, tack onto the winward mark layline. Generally not so happy with VMG or boat speed up wind, but very pleased with both off. Then came the fiasco. It had all gone so well. THe guy has the poor man's side of the pontoon, being lee of the prevailing wind. However we had two paddles so seemed no creek of the no 2 would be possible. How wrong I was. Guessin the main would come down pronto I came in pretty close to the marina - and it didnt come down and crew seemed to not be helping. There was a fankle maybe or feet on the halyard, but she just wasnt pulling on the luff. I got a sinking feeling but reckoned we had enough space to tackle it. Nope. We drifted beyond the point where jib alone was too far gone down wind. She had said we couldnt sail round the holm. Now here inexperience and nervousness showed. We were trapped in a funnel. The only thing to do was ...paddle ! but no good. Too much windage from the hull and jib. After some flaffing we tried main up, but it had twisted somehow, guess we got it down and it blew round. Eventually we grew tired and I bailed out to a leewwar mooring with a handle on the bouy luckily, just after narrowly avoiding a grounding by gybing round. Lucklily not everyone was off to See Norway vs Ivory coast and the club motor boat helpe us in, Ignomosity, but the crew needed some emotiuonal support not criticism I am so terribly reasonable in my old age but that is mayube a very good thing. Bark but no biting while all the fiasco was unravelling So that is another learnign point, crew must be better at doing things like prepping halyards for up and downie!! I would have been very, very staifsied otherwise.