 |
| Garrett on OneEighty |
 |
| Fairhope Yacht Club before the race, Quinn in the blue |
|
| The Band plays on at FYC race party |
We had not been back from our long trip two weeks when we saw the reminder of the Dauphin Island Race to be held on April 27-29, 2012. Still tired, we decided to go anyway since we had missed the race in 2011 because of the Alabama Tornados on April 27, 2011. Though we had paid our fees last year, the day before the race Quinn lost his marina in the tornado that swept over Tuscaloosa and we were all of a sudden focused on new objectives. This year we had no reason not to go. The boat, OneEighty was in relatively good shape after completing the long cruise, at least we knew everything that worked, and we, by that time, had a pretty good feel for how she sailed. We called a friend of the family, Garrett Gozdur, who loves sailing more than anyone I know and the three of us, Quinn, Garrett and I set off for Fairhope Yacht Club. Garrett is also a teenager, so he was elected to go on deck to do all the athletic stuff. We made the skippers meeting, dinner and band Friday night at the FYC and Saturday morning headed out to the start line which is in the Northern Mobile Bay between the committee boat and the start bouy. The race is from that point, around Middle Bay Light, and on to Dauphin Island. After the race, all the boats raft up at the island and we eat, party and have the trophy presentations. The race was a perfect day for us, winds were 13 to 18 knots on a reach. We sailed the best we could, and let the boat do the rest. She was like a race-horse sprinting for the barn, and we picked up a second place trophy in fleet, our best finish ever.
 |
| OneEighty at Sunset, FYC |
 |
| Race Day. Trying to catch Orca. We did. Passed her. |
 |
| Garrett working hard for a victory |
 |
| Garrett not working hard |
 |
| Anchored up at Dauphine Island after race |
 |
| Winning crew safely at home |
