Participated in the Autumn stage of the Baltic Cup regatta. 96 yachts entered the race, there were 110 declared participants in just two stages.
I took 5th place in my scoring group (20 yachts) (7th place according to the results of two stages, because I did not participate in the summer one)
The race was a route: a triangle and a loop. Start with a full backstay of the port tack.
Unfortunately, I was racing alone. The most difficult thing was to put and remove the spinnaker. On turns, the spinnaker boom also did not dare to rearrange, leaving the tiller and running to rearrange the spinnaker boom to the forecastle was risky, so one tack was "crooked" with the spinnaker boom to leeward.
I did not dare to lift the spinnaker before the start, I lifted it after the start.
After rounding the first sign on the course, the windward got into an unfavorable windward position near some yacht. I couldn't throw the tiller and go to remove the spinnaker boom, which caused me to turn and almost lose speed. I lost almost a minute.
At the next segment of the distance (the starboard tack backstay), the spinnaker did not even try to lift. It was lowered from the starboard side, and there was simply no one to move it to the port side.
On the segment from the 3rd sign to the first (loop), after lifting the spinnaker, he got entangled in a bra-shaped rod. There was no way to untangle it from the cockpit with braces. I decided to throw the tiller and go to the bow to untangle the spinnaker with my hands. It's a shame that some people laughed at me, passing by and seeing the "bra" from the spinnaker: "Beautiful sail!" - They did. But I would like to see what they would do if they were single skippers. It's even physically difficult when you don't have time to put the brass in the stopper and have to hold it with your hands, steer with your foot. And on gusts or waves, steering with your foot and working with braces with two hands is a super-athletic exercise.
But in general, the atmosphere of the race was excellent: pleasant weather, everyone was in a good mood, a huge fleet of motley yachts, an interesting distance, which allowed using both tactical and strategic techniques of racing.
The main conclusion is this: you can even race alone, of course, you need to retrofit the yacht, but still you can!
I am very grateful to the organizers of the regatta: Baltiets Yacht Club http://www.baltclub.com / for the super organization and the opportunity to participate in such a wonderful event!
