Crew race 2026

The crew race this year was a change of pace for me as I was invited to helm a past commodore’s boat. PC Tom Garvey was kind enough to offer me an invite to helm his lovely boat Zephyrus, a Beneteau 31. The crew race for me is typically the chance for my ladies day crew to become familiar with the boat and racing. This year Commotion is already tied up and ready for hurricane season.

Our crew on Zephyrus had years of racing experience and we were all looking forward to a fun day on the water. We went through the bridge at 10 or 10:15 and motored out to flat water, cat paw breezes on the ocean and overcast sky. There was a southbound current all the way out to at least HI which meant the beach route was favored to the southern marks. We motored to the start where Lady Gray was anchored. We milled about with Contrails, Feelin Nauti and Good Nuff waiting for the start. Our radio changed channels on us unbeknownst to us, so we did not hear the delay of start from 11 to 11:30. As we approached 11, we were confused as to why motors were still on and boats were on the wrong side of the start line. A radio call to the committee boat solved the mystery and we sailed away to calculate our start position.

Contrails and Good Nuff were on the start line at 11:30 and off they went to the south hugging the beach. Zephyrus was about 45 seconds late and once across the start we hugged the beach. We finally had to tack out prior to HI, and we ran east for a while before tacking back. There was a discussion about whether we need to cross HI in any special way and realized we did not have a concern on the southbound leg. Good Nuff and Contrails were moving along nicely a ways ahead of us. Both boats were able to continue their southbound leg down the beach using the current to gain a push. The wind was filling in, hitting 6 & 7 and dropping back to 4-5. Challenging to sail but fun with a light boat. Our crew decided we didn’t want to deal with the dive boats that Good Nuff and Contrails were having to avoid so we tacked out. This was a positive move on our part. The wind filled in and we were flying along with 12 kn of wind. We were lifted to the VIES mark and on the correct tack to round it without having to do too many maneuvers. We found ourselves close to the mark and were ahead of Contrails and within 1-2 minutes of Good Nuff! We have made up a lot of ground.

Virtual marks are PAIN but necessary due to our limited ability to drop rounding marks. All the boats had “discussions” as to where the mark was, did we pass it, did we round it, etc. Good Nuff sailed past it and back at it and finally rounded it. We counted off our angle and footage, and we came up and around, tacking and gybing to “get around the mark”. Contrails sailed past it and came back. We found ourselves next to Contrails and the battle for second place began.

We tried wing on wing, poling out the jib with Dave Hoffman doing an amazing job of rigging the pole. Driving downwind is so much fun in light wind. Watching the tabs and keeping the boat in the correct position. Contrails took their usual beach route which paid off even with the southbound current. Zephyrus bet on the gulf stream giving us a northbound push but the southbound current was pretty far out that day. Good Nuff took the middle route, found wind or fast lobsters to pull them in , whatever it was, they charged to the finish. Kudos to Fion for her excellent helming of Good Nuff and the crew for supporting her.

Thank you all for participating in the crew race. We had 2 boats looking for crew, so hopefully next year we can get more boats and crew matched up and everyone on the water.