June 21, 2019
No trifles!
Irina Gracheva – about the 34th Mini-Fastnet race, in which she paired with Konstantin Grenada-team took 19th place out of 57th in the serial fleet and 36th out of 79th in the overall standings:
To be honest, a great photo from Simon Jourdan, taken during the prologue race, fully reflects our condition during the Mini Fastnet race.
The average spinnaker, which we put on the photo, was torn during the prologue and sealed just before the start of the Mini-Fastnet.
As you remember, I lost the combat middle back in the previous regatta, and now I was racing under the old one. It turned out that the fabric is so tired that when cleaning in a strong wind, the foot of a foot just tore off along its entire length.
Therefore, at the very beginning of the race we had to carry not optimal sails and lose.
New spinnakers in the manufacturing process from Ullman Sails!
And I took a very bad start. Just late, not calculating the time. And all the way she reproached herself for it. Having appeared in the latest echelon on the starting line, you clearly see how much you lose, without having a clean wind for a long time. Start supervazhen even long offshore. No trifles!
After passing the lighthouse Fastnet, it turned out a kind of restart – the fleet got together again. The new wind came, as expected, from the east. And we took a better position.
The main stage was more cheerful than promised. Instead of 11–15 knots, the length of the barrel was about 20. It was possible to work on the autopilot settings for such conditions with a large spinnaker!
In this race, 80% of the serial fleet consisted of new boats – Pogo 3, Vector sko and Maxi sko. It was very interesting to see how they would show themselves and whether Maxi could finally compete with Pogo 3. The race conditions were very similar to what we would have to meet at the Transat itself.
So far, the entire podium has remained behind the Pogo 3. But so far, the most powerful riders are sitting on this particular project, and the Maxi owners have not had time to study their boats and train themselves. One feels that the project has great potential, and it is this boat that should be taken on the next Mini Transat project!
Words of gratitude:
– to my co-skipper Konstantin Grenada-team for patience and perseverance; Winches Club and organizers for great races and always warm atmosphere; our fans and relatives, supporting us; our wonderful partners and sponsors!
164 June 21, 2019 # 9162
Chief Editor
trifles
What do you think?