Seapilot2Star 2015 with Joan - third leg and finish

Leading the class after rounding Blå Jungfrun

The third leg offered some exceptional downwind sailing with Joan when almost every move we made was a sucess. We managed to climb to fourth place overall and second place in our class. We almost had the gun for the first boat back to Oxelösund but was passed by PacMan 0.5 Nm from the finish.

The wind started on SW 10 knots and turned to S during the first half of the day and then back to W and NV interrupted by some turbulent periods due to dissolving cumulus clouds in the evening drifting out over the sea. Wind speeds mostly in the range 10-17 knots.

Rikard at the helm towards Gustaf Dahlén

We started at 10 AM and made a good start and hoisted our A2 and left the rest of the class behind by 10 minutes on the first reach out to the island Blå Jungfrun. After this it was downwind with A2 on optimal angles most of the day. We stayed away from the shore to avoid interference from see breeze effects on the westerly wind. In the evening the dissolving clouds drifted out over the course and there was an hour with unstable winds before the forecasted W-NW set in. When the new wind came we were already among the first boats in the whole fleet and after som tacking with the genoa we hoisted the A3 and aimed for the lighthouse Gustaf Dahlén. In this process we managed to chake loose from the overall leader Silfverfågel. The A3 was the perfect sail in the NW and we managed to carry it all the way to the lighthouse. After this upwind with the genoa to finish, battling with PacMan that caught up one third from the finish.

Silfverfågel with dissolving cumulus in the background

After finish the traditional shower, sauna, egg, pyttipanna and a beer and then straigth to bed after more then 17 hours of sailing. A memorable edition of this now traditional shorthanded race in Sweden. We are very satisfied with our result although a top three in the total was within reach.