From: mar@physics.su.OZ.AU (David Mar)
Newsgroups: alt.callahans
Subject: A-sailing we will go!
Date: 10 Oct 92 12:45:08 GMT
Organization: School of Physics, University of Sydney, Australia

Danger Mouse emerges from the Folks Room, refreshed after a warm shower.

"Wow, did I have a great day today! A friend of mine had invited a bunch
of people to go sailing with his father on the Harbour today. We were
told to bring food, so I made up a big batch of fruit salad (nine different
fruits!) and packed some of Nicarra's chocolate brownies and made my way
to the appointed meeting place by 11:00 this morning.

"Shonias was there (in case you are wondering why she hasn't been around
lately, her honours thesis is due in about four weeks. 'Nuff said), as
was the Bellman and a whole bunch of non-callahanians. By dinghy from the
boatshed to the yacht, we all had fun watching the Bellman attempting to
row by using physics rather than know-how - very entertaining. Once
aboard the good ship _Anonyma_II_ we impressed the captain with our
knowledge of nautical terms such as 'the front of the boat', 'the left
side', and 'downstairs'. The yacht itself was about ten metres long, in
case you are wondering.

"We motored out of Gore Cove, having been informed that we were not along
for a mere pleasure cruise, but were in fact going to be participating in
a Sydney Amateur Sailing Club race! With handicap, our scheduled starting
time was 13:36. We had enough time before then to find a nice spot near
the zoo to anchor and have some lunch. The gourmet lunch (including brie,
pat'e and three different cakes!) over, we hoisted the mainsail and
headed for the starting line of the race. During the pre-start manoeuvres,
we spotted our rivals. There were three other boats in our class racing
today, and all of them had handicaps allowing them to start before us.

"Another nifty pre-start manoeuvre was circling back and grabbing the
straw hat of one of the passengers with a boat hook. She'd lost it to a
gust of wind, but luckily we had enough time to retrieve it and still
make the starting line in good time.

"And we were off! It is an exhilarating feeling, sitting on the windward
side of a reaching yacht, feeling the warmth of the sun and the chill of
the wind and spray. Sydney Harbour is a beautiful place, and one of the
best ways to experience that is to see it from water, from a boat which
is crossing its waters under the power of wind and sail. Hundreds of
yachts sail on the harbour, ferries ply it, motorboats and cabin cruisers
carry their wealthy owners around on it, water taxis transport people
across it, enormous cargo ships plough through it, and even the
triple-masted square-rigger _Bounty_ sails on it. The colour on the water
is set off by the harbour foreshores, which mostly consist of leafy
bushland, with the occasional harbourside mansion.

"Having several people who have never sailed before on a racing yacht is
an interesting proposition. We learned very quickly what to do during a
tack - namely brace yourself and keep your head down! As the boom swings
across the deck and the genoa sheets go flying, the 35 degree tilt of the
deck reverses direction. Windward becomes leeward and passengers need to
be careful not to go for an unplanned swim!

"Several tacks later, we had spotted our nearest rival, just about
rounding the first marker buoy. She sets her spinnaker and begins running
with the wind. One final tack and we do the same, in hot pursuit.

"The running portion of the course is much calmer than the reaching. The
deck is level and the wind, pushing us from behind, no longer feels so
strong. Toward Shark Island and Rose Bay, we approach the second mark,
rounding it just behind the other yacht. Now, it is another reach across
the harbour to the third mark. The spinnaker is pulled in, the genoa set,
and off we go!

"This reach is full of excitement, as we spot, amongst the hundreds of
other yachts out sailing today, another one of the boats in our race. It
is further ahead of us than the first, which we seem to be pulling back
with each tack. Before long, we are ahead of it and catching up on the
second boat. It is hard to tell who is leading in a yacht race, since
position depends critically on the wind direction. But we get a clear
indication when the second yacht crosses our bows on a port tack, us
being on starboard, with only a metre or two between the boats. With two
tacks before the marker buoy, we manage to overhaul the other yacht and
circle the mark in parallel. Spinnakers are set almost simultaneously,
and the two boats run back to the fouth mark side by side.

"But we have set our spinnakers on different tacks and so diverge as we
cross the harbour. Halfway down, we gybe, turning our course parallel to
the other boat and making for the marker. One of our crew is trimming the
spinnaker, having to look into the sun to see it. He asks to borrow my
sunglasses, which I toss to him. Unfortunately, he is wearing gloves and
the glasses bounce out of his hand as he tries to catch them... you
guessed it, straight into the drink! Oh well, nothing to be done about
that, but look! We have caught the other boat and will round the mark
before it. The spinnaker is pulled in, the genoa set, and we reach for
the finish line. One leg to go, and the only boat now ahead of us is
nowhere to be seen.

"After a couple of tacks, we spot the final boat. She is ahead of us -
can we possibly catch her before the finish line? Things get serious on
board. The skipper, until now happy to banter with us landlubbers, orders
us to shut up as he steers our boat through the flotilla of other craft
on the water, gauging the best time to tack. The crew trim the sails with
a passion, urging every possible bit of assistance from the action of the
wind on the cloth. Making no compromises, the captain steers us to within
inches of smaller vessels, making the straightest line across the water
he can.

"We spot the Amateur Sailing Club committee vessel and the flag which
marks the other end of the finishing line. Two more tacks and we can make
it - but the other yacht can do it on one more. We make our second last
tack, but she makes her last. The gun is fired and the race is won. We
complete our final tack and cross the line forty seconds after the first
boat.

"Starting last on handicap, we finished second, only forty seconds behind
a boat which started four minutes ahead of us. Not bad for a boat on which
less than fifty percent of the people had ever been sailing before!

"So, after three hours of racing on the harbour, we lowered our sails and
headed for home. With salt on the skin and a touch of red on the face (I
should have reapplied the sunblock after a couple of hours) and without
my sunglasses, I can say that I haven't had that much fun for some while.
But I tell you what, a day out in the wind and sun sure does tire you
out - even if you didn't do much of the work on board! So, time to catch
some sleep. And tomorrow I'll go buy a new pair of sunnies!"

- Danger Mouse.
Newsgroups: alt.callahans