sailing through the storm
Last night’s race was going well. We were catching up to the first place boat. Then the storm caught up to us. The race was cancelled and we all sailed through the storm with no serious casualties.
In the first leg of the race I saw the ominous darkness to windward and a flash of lightning in the Dundas valley. I had the feeling that the race would not run its course. Approaching our third mark the race committee made the call to abandon. We managed to reduce sail to only the main and close up the cabin before the brunt of the storm came with its stinging rain pelting the sides of our faces. The storm didn’t last too long but we were soaked so it seemed like forever.
Visibility was reduced but not too bad; we could still see the shore and other boats. I looked back to our expert helmsman Dave who said “This is good shark sailing weather!"
Here is a graph of the wind:
Note, in my (humble) experience, 20 knot winds are a lot to handle. You can see where the storm hit at about 7:15, averaging 32knots.
Casualties included a lost batten in the main sail and many bruises. I feel sore today.
That does not sound fun at all…to me…perhaps when we come out with you we shall have to look at the weather. Although, I admit I had myself a good giggle at your description of the rain pelting the sides of your faces.
Glad there were no casualties.