The first of a six race series of sailing boats competing in the Cruisers Round the Sound Race Series began on Saturday after two earlier postponements with nine boats taking part.
The weather forecast was mixed but despite some heavy rain in the morning the race got under way shortly after one. The 14 mile course started off at the Sailing Club in the south west corner of North Sound.
Boats then round a mark off Booby Cay in the North East corner, coming back to a mark off Governor’s Harbour, returning to the start line and then finishing at Kaibo. The lead boats were able to hoist spinnakers on the first leg and quickly established a sizeable lead.
Shanti was late for the start having been delayed at the dock with technical problems involving sandwiches and beer but still managed to make up places on some of the back markers.
The wind was light and shifty but the succession of minor squalls coming through all afternoon provided wind from time to time. On the final long leg to Kaibo the wind did die out and the strange spectacle of sail boats drifting along, seemingly going nowhere was an amusement to the motor boat brigade.
All the crews came ashore at Kaibo to have some refreshments and talk the day over in true sailor style.
The Cruisers Race Series is designed to attract true cruisers. There are plenty of sail boats around Grand Cayman that are not race tuned specials. They are generally slower, older and equipped more for comfort and weighed down with lots of spare equipment which would be off loaded by true racers to save weight.
The emphasis for these boats is on the fun side of getting around a race course.
Carl Salmon of Harbour House Marine said: “Different boats of all shapes and sizes are able to race against each other using a handicap system whereby actual finish times are “corrected” according to a formula to decide placings.
“In the cruisers race series these are altered after each race so that theoretically the slower boats should be able to compete with the fast ones in the next race. It is similar to a golf handicap. In this way we hope to encourage more and more boats to take part, knowing that they are always in with a chance.
“The series is sponsored by Harbour House Marina who have donated some generous prizes for the eventual winners. Thanks go to Simon Farrington for running Race committee and to Mike Farrington for laying the marks.
“Congratulations to Bruce Johnson in Blue Runner on winning the inaugural race, followed closely by Clive Bodden on Yahoo Yahoo. Jonathan Cuff in Pie Seas 3 took third place.”
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