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Philpott
01-28-2013, 06:10 PM
Bill Roberts
4:49 PM (17 minutes ago)

to me, BAMA
SSS Race Committee and BAMA Racers,
What an incredible Race - the 2013 TBF. This is the fifth year that Brock and I have done the TBF and this one was unquestionably the best of them all.

We want to congratulate and thank the SSS Race Committee for taking on the huge task of organizing and managing a race with 356 entrants so that we racers could go out and enjoy an unforgettable adrenalin rush. For Emma, the conditions were ideal for having a great day. As we have done every year, (after a slightly slow start to avoid the prospect of penalties) we went clockwise.
After rounding Blackhaller, we flew the screacher and had the rare experience of a straight shot through Raccoon. Emerging from Raccoon, the wind built and I think we passed every boat that was ahead of us and heading north. On rounding Red Rock, we had trouble building to full speed and were passed by Papillon and a couple of other tri's. We discovered that we had broken the second from the top batten on the mainsail and that part of the sail twisted excessively, apparently dumping power. To compensate and try to get back in the race, we flew the screacher (in winds that were a bit heavy for that sail ) all the way across the slot. The gamble appeared to be working as we gained on all of the boats that had passed us near Red Rock. However, as we approached the Bay Bridge, we had to pay for the sins of our gamble. A mighty gust caught the screacher, the lee hull submerged, Emma stopped dead, her transom lifted high out of the water seemingly near the point of no return, but then settled down unharmed. (what a strong and forgiving boat she is) After a couple of minutes of trying to get wind back in the sails we were off toward the finish line. We chased Papillon and Humdinger through the pounding waves but could not overtake them. Both Drew and Larry appeared to have flawless races. Congratulations to them and to all of the racers who came out to enjoy that sensational day on the Bay.

Best regards,
Bill Roberts
Emma Corsair 31 UC

Travieso
01-28-2013, 06:26 PM
From JetStream:

http://jetstreamracing.blogspot.com/2013/01/2013-three-bridge-fiasco.html

BobJ
01-28-2013, 06:45 PM
I got up early and drove to GGYC. Lots of people were already there. Some lady with red hair and a funny accent was running around talking to the people. I had a doughnut. Then people started calling on the radio. A shotgun went off and a bunch of sailboats went by. Some guy named Max called the red-haired lady to see if everything was okay. I had another doughnut and some trail mix. Another lady left to go look at artwork at a museum but she came back later. A guy brought pizza so I had some. A bunch of boats went by again while people wrote stuff on pads of paper and honked a horn. One boat tried to crash into the rocks outside the window. I had another piece of pizza and some nuts. Then I went home. It was cool.

Philpott
01-28-2013, 08:04 PM
Thank you, Bob. That's how I remember it, too. Jeesh.

pogen
01-29-2013, 10:22 AM
Here is my writeup: http://neversealand.downtothesea.org/2013/01/28/three-bridge-fiasco-2013/

We were way overpowered on the last leg. Not mentioned in the writeup is the daylight that we were starting to see in the seams on one or two of the panels in my very old #1 genny. :(

Our thanks to the race deck, sorting all those white sloops with similar names and sail numbers must really be the "fiasco after the Fiasco".

Jan Brewer
01-29-2013, 11:43 AM
Duh, y'think? I like that Dave, we are THE fiasco!