Briefing the team aboard Hydrocarbon this morning going into the final race of the St Maarten Heineken Cup I made it very clear that stress levels on the boat could potentially be very high, ‘we have every everything to loose and the others have everything to win&r
squo; I told the team.
Going into the final race we had a healthy but very assailable lead. A four-point advantage could easily be squashed with one bad tactical decision, one bad manoeuvre or a lack of concentration for just minutes. Tim
advised everyone that many of the boats would be gunning for us and watching our every move!
The pressure was mounting as the clock ticked forever closer to the start gun, the signal that would determine our destiny in the Heineken Regatta. As predicted there were a few moments when words were exchanged, both in the start sequence and as we settled into the race on the first beat. After a great start we struggled for boat speed on the first beat and the tension mounted. However, we managed to round the first mark in third place and all was looking good.
The forecast for the day was for very variable and light wind, which promised to be a tactical nightmare. Tim suggested that this could be the ‘lottery race.’ But everyone knows how good Tim is in these conditions. It has even been suggested that he is a genius in light winds! I would not want to fuel his ego by admitting to that though!
The race certainly did no disappoint and the positions were up and down like a yoyo! For the first part of the race we were holding a solid 2nd place but then as the weather did its stuff we found ourselves in 7th place. As you can imagine, stress levels built to a crescendo and it took our race veteran, Brian to calm the situation!
I suspect I would not be lying if I suggested that everyone on board was beginning to think all was lost! We needed a 4th place to secure the series victory! Brian calmed the atmosphere brilliantly and we once again settled into the race. Remembering that Tim strongly urged us not to give up until the very end we knuckled down and got on with it.
It was then our turn to get the breaks and Hydrocarbon kept in the new breeze, built her boat speed and sped away from the competition hugging the beach. By the penultimate mark we were hot on the heals of Passion, our closest contender for glory and were sufficiently close to have the advantage on corrected time.
One fetch and a final run to the finish; all we needed was a clean and well executed finale to the race and we all knew it would be us out celebrating! However, there was no room for complacency and all eyes were focused on the boat and our performance. A good thing considering there was a problem on the foredeck that could have been disastrous. Luckily it was noticed soon enough and resolved in good time.
Only on the final few moments of the approach to the finish did I actually start thinking that we may have won the St Maarten Regatta! The atmosphere on board as we stormed across the line was electrifying as a huge cheer went up. We had won the race and the regatta in style, three 1st places and a 3rd; what an amazing result for Sailing Logic’s first Caribbean regatta.
Now it is time to go and bask in some glory as we head to the prize giving. The Heineken will be flowing and the rum will be enjoyed by all. I have no doubt that if we do not see the sun come up we will feel we have not done the party justice!
