Harvest Moon Regatta 2022

[Simon Sexton]

Hey Y'all,

Greetings from Galveston, TX, where we're finally getting some cooler weather (upper 70s! Wow!). The 35th annual Harvest Moon Regatta is just two days away, and I'm beyond excited to share with y'all the experiences I've had so far and will encounter along the way. The boat I'll be racing aboard is a 2020 C&C 30 One Design, shipped here straight from her previous owner in Chicago. "City Girl 3" will be re-christened "Gone" tomorrow by the end of the day. So far, the process has been challenging but rewarding. On Friday, 9/30, "City Girl 3" arrived on her custom built trailer and was launched with our crane here at SSBG.

The lifting process was extremely meticulous due to the need to keep the boat as level and flat as possible to avoid fracturing the thin keel. Additionally, our crane was maxed out and had just enough height to lift the boat one centimeter off of the bunk.

The bunks were then lowered and the boat was splashed, but the water wasn't deep enough (depth was 5', the boat draws 7'). This took lots of shouting and arguing before the agreement was made that the keel had to be lifted up to a shallow enough position using the crane. The keel boot was then installed, and "Gone" was then rigged with her 40+ ft. carbon fiber mast. This was also a daunting task, but the finished product was worth the strife. Later yesterday evening, Suede 41 "Alessandra" arrived for a quick haul out and hull scrubbing as well.

All went well, and both boats are now ready for their shakedown sails today to prep for the big upcoming weekend.

I'll be sure to post an update to this forum topic after the race this weekend with photos and maybe (if I'm lucky) a video or two! Wish us luck!

Sincerely,

Simon Sexton

 

[kappykaplan]

Looks like a fast boat, Simon. Good luck in the race!

 

[jon hansen]

fun report

we expect a FOA

 

[Lia Harbor]

Quite the story. Good luck!

 

[kloudie1]

Looks like a hoot, Simon.. good luck to ya!
Here is the info: Home - Lakewood Yacht Club (harvestmoonregatta.com)
Note that a tracker is mandatory and included in the entrance fee. The trackers aren't available yet on the web site but should be at race start, scheduled for 2 PM Thursday, 10/6/22

 

[HMT2]

Have a good race Simon! Looks like great weather for this early in October,

 

[jmce1587]

Will look for you at the start line. On a lagoon 42 Jewel. Good luck this week.

 

[Scott T-Bird]

You're gonna need a new skyline on that boat!

 

[PaulK]

Neptune may wreak havoc unless you perform the proper re-naming ceremony!! (Google is your friend) Many people suggest using wine or champagne, but we had great results with rum. (Won the club championship three times.) Good luck!

 

[Simon Sexton]

Hey Y'all,

Good morning, hope all of you are having a wonderful Monday so far! Just wanted to share the results of our finish in Harvest Moon Regatta. Long story short, we didn't do quite as well as we'd hoped. We did, however, finish strong and sailed pretty well considering we never got any practice on the boat (that's right, zero). I've gotta say...WOW...what a boat.

Captain David Gaston is a paraplegic who runs a non-profit organization called Turning Point, which specializes in getting other disabled folks out on the water and playing sports to stay active.

This Corsair 31 flew past us just half an hour after the start at 30% more boat speed. How humiliating...

We hauled our sheets in and tried to luff him up, which just made him laugh (as can be seen in this photo). Even with a luffing jib, the trimaran shot ahead effortlessly at 13 knots.

I've never steered a boat so balanced. There was almost no weather helm, and the boat only moved faster when heeled over with the rail in the water. It took some getting used to.

Steering and trimming main for 20 hours takes a toll on a guy...even this morning here at work I'm draggin'. As you can see, David had to wedge himself in place to keep from sliding to the low side of the cockpit. Next time, we'll be rigging a harness system for him.

This gorgeous C&C 34, Redhead, took a smarter line and passed us in the night. Here, we're taking our place back and finally starting to gain positions with our kite up.

Sunrise. Finally. The wind began to switch out of the North, which meant it was almost spinnaker time.

The C&C 30 is one of the easiest boats ever to sail under spinnaker (in my experience). The boat gives the helmsman plenty of forgiveness before a broach even starts to occur.

We fought this J35, Greek Fire, for the last hour of the race. While they took a direct approach to the finish line, we decided to try hot angles and jibe our way down with the asym. Due to the angle of the gate, they finished six seconds before we did. What made it even better is that the kid in the blue shirt standing in the cockpit is one of my sailing students from a year ago who graduated from my program. It made me so happy and excited to see him race so well. What a blast!

 

[kappykaplan]

Happy to hear you had a good sail!