The Race of a Lifetime Contributed by Marsha Smith

Article as it appears in the featured articles of Black Outdoorsman Magazine.

The Anegada Pursuit race was months away, but as the start date grew closer, I was like an excited race horse in the starting gate who could not keep still. No matter what the jockey does, the horse is only focused on the gates opening. This can become draining when the gate isn’t opening for six months.

The anticipation had been building for six months and now that the time had arrived, my heart was bursting with excitement. No longer could I contain myself. With only eight hours before dawn, I twisted and turned in bed; wriggling my toes with the sheer realization of what I was about to do. Just a few hours ago, I had lain out my long sleeve white shirt, khaki shorts, deck shoes and gloves neatly on my bed. As I tossed back and forth with pent-up energies, I am ever so careful, not to get them all crumpled. This however, made the space on the bed seem that much smaller.

Oh! Before you knew it, the day was finally here. It was almost daybreak when I jumped into the shower. You would think I was “Speedy Gonzalez”. Two minutes, and I was out in a flash, grabbed my sailing gear that I was just aching to wear, dressed and quickly grabbed a cup of green tea and a bowl of cereal. Yeah, that was good, but not as good as the adventure I was about to undertake. I headed straight for the dock and made it there in less than 20 minutes; just in time to witness the arrival of my team mates who were all ready for our big adventure.

Marsha’s Fan Club

There before us sat the exquisite yacht in all its glory. It was a compact forty-nine footer, built in 2005 by the talented craftsman Jeanneau. My only thought was to board the yacht and head out of the marina. The team executed our game plan for the morning. First, I removed the sail cover to reveal a brand new sail. It was as crisp as the air around us; Susan removed the bimini while Loren strategically placed the main anchor in the saloon to create weight balance which was integral to the race. Next, we emptied all the water tanks and drained some of the fuel to lessen the weight. Gary then dove in to buff the boat bottom one last time and to make sure there was no growth to slow us down. SV Lazy Days was ship shape. Oh the excitement, the joy and the anticipation!

There was no time to waste. We grabbed a sandwich each, lathered in SPF 45, while the dock staff untied our lines. We were all focused, with one plan in mind; that was to return with a trophy. Now finally the moment I had waited for, for so long was here. With engine running, Tim raised the main sail, and I made way for the channel in order to locate the start line early enough as well as to figure out a strategy for the race. The wind was blowing from north east at 20 knots with gusts of 25knots. This made for a perfect a day to race on the Sir Francis Drake Channel. In about 5 minutes of being out in the channel one crew member spotted the start line so we headed for it. We had 30 minutes before the beginning of the race so we decided to get some last minute practice in. As the captain, I had to assign each crew member to a post. I would be at the helm, Max was our tactician, Tim would work the mainsheet and the other 5 crew members would help with odd jobs. Their primary job however, was to sit on the rail to create balance.(No! I will not to refer to them as rail meat, as everyone is key to our anticipated success).

It was time to unfurl the jib, and Max tended to his duty. He rolled out that 120 jib perfectly for the current winds. Oh what a beauty! It was out in a flash and the boat immediately began sailing. I stopped the engine so we could listen to the wind sing. Yes the boat was happy, all the sails were aligned, full of wind and she was moving nicely. Max and Tim trimmed both sails just to make it even more perfect. There were no creases left in the sails and the tell tales were perfectly horizontal. We looked at each other without a sound, but the excited expressions on our faces, summed it all up. We were ready to race!

Let’s raise ‘em

Fifteen minutes before the start of the race and we were sailing nicely back and forth just to check for any last minute kinks that may need to be sorted prior to the race. We tightened the sails for maximum speed then loosened them temporarily to make sure they were responding well. This was also a good time to check to make sure there were no lines chaffing and everyone was on queue and in position. We tuned to channel 6 on the VHF radio to listen for the first start which would have been 10 minutes before us. We turned the radio on just in time to hear the call for the first fleet and the confirmation that the course was to sail up the sir Francis Drake Channel to Anegada “The Drowned Island” passing the Dog Island to leeward; this was exactly 9: 45 am. On the VHF radio, the voices of the other competitors were quite audible. They were shouting in what I would refer to as taunting terms, to other boaters to head up among other sailing terms.

It was quite tense but we had a plan. We did not want to get caught in the drama at the start line. With 60 boats racing in our class, we did not want to get caught up in the rush so we decided to make a bold move. Not one that many captains would choose to do but with careful calculations, we knew we were onto something. We noticed all the boats that started in the race before us started on a starboard tack. Our decision was to go through the line on a port tack. The disadvantage was that if we did not clear the fleet in time, we would be in big trouble, as, a vessel under port tack, has to give way to a vessel under starboard tack. Getting closer to the start, everyone was watching the other to see what they were doing. Our plan was to time the race 10 minutes before our start and be at the starting line then. This we accomplished, with exactly 10 minutes to go, Lisa, the newest member of our crew, set the stop watch as we headed away from the starting line with all lines extremely tight on a starboard tack. We were already racing even before the race began.

At full speed we sailed away and exactly five minutes later we turned around at the same speed knowing that if it took us 5 minutes to sail away from the starting line, it would take us just about the same to get back to the line and we would have been on queue to make it through the line right at 5 minutes before 10 am which was our official start time. This was our practice run. As we came closer to the line we could see a large cluster of boats, everyone trying to get through to the starting line at the same time. This created dead air around the sails and boats were trying their hardest not to miss the start or crashed into each other. We were in a good place as we were considered to be the underdogs. As we came screaming up to the start line from the outer corner, we were careful not to hit anyone and not to miss the line. We were looking good, I spotted an opening but could I make it? Would there be enough room? Would I get creamed by the other 59 boats now heading towards me? There was a sudden adrenaline rush. The crew was working and we were determined not to back down. We cleared the mark right on time and had sufficient room to spare. Soon we were through the line. The race had started. Yes! We did it. That one crazy move we had made earlier had set us at the front of the fleet. We were in a good position but with such a long distance ahead we dared not become complacent. Once clear of the fleet, we executed a starboard tack. It was clean. We were in sync and the helm felt real good in my hands. With 5 boats threatening our lead, it was going to be a tight run. After 3 tacks we realized that we were very close to two other boats that were technically much faster boats than ours. We however did not have the luxury of sitting back on our laurels because of any seeming setbacks. One mistake and we could be out for good.

On the third tack the jib sheet tangled preventing a clean transition and as a result we lost a little speed, enough to drop us down to second place. We remained focused that all was not lost even though a second boat just went by us. No! Although we weren’t in a good place, we were still very determined. As a result I decided to tack and head north east, away from the boats that passed us going in a north westerly direction. The decision was in an effort to get away from those two boats that were now leading. The crew could now refocus. We sailed in the opposite direction for about 20 minutes then made a starboard tack to avoid the island directly ahead. We were moving along nicely and noticed the current was pushing west at 2 knots. As we got closer to the other boats I noticed he was a little lower in the channel than would have been expected but it wasn’t enough for us to rejoice. It just meant there was hope for us. The sailing continued and we tacked back and for the sir Francis Drake Channel for another hour trying to make our way to the western pass of Dog Islands.

Fleet of Sailboats

In order to make the mark the boats ahead headed into Savannah Bay to achieve a better lift from the wind but I refused to take that route. I did two short tacks and stayed north of the channel for as long as I could. My reasoning was that I knew there was a wind shadow just off Savannah Bay and that would slow them down tremendously. I was right, the boats were stalling and they were now almost at a stand still. I seized the moment to try to make the opening and round the mark before they did. We were once again in the lead and with now just one straight run left, 45 degrees heading from the Dogs, I could taste the victory but I knew it could be any body’s race still, so I kept my composure and my focus. The competition was still tight because the boats in the fleet not too far behind, saw exactly what happened with the wind off Savannah Bay so they followed my lead. We were now being chased by a fleet of about 10 boats that broke away from the pack. Still we were making good way. We had another one hour and forty-five minutes to go so I just had to do everything right.

Finally I could see Anegada, I quickly glanced at my watch only to see it was 1:00 pm. The team had worked extremely hard to be here and I couldn’t afford to disappoint them. The sails were perfect and the victory now lay in my hands. I was steering the best I could and just silently praying that the sails held. I had located the entrance mark. The depth was 20 feet and the race ended at the red entrance mark. We still had several boats hinging there way closer, but I kept them off the best I could. As we got closer, we were anticipating the sound of the horn. This would signify we had come to the end of the line. We could see people on the committee boat. They were waving, laughing, screaming and cheering us on. We were simply bursting with excitement. “Just blow the stupid horn!” Max shouted.

Just as he said this, there was the blaring of the horn. After a quick glance, I realized that three boats were behind us and in less than two minutes the horn went four times; it was a very close race. “We won! We won!” the crew shouted. “Yes we did it” I confirmed in a rather humbling tone high fiving my team mates all around.

I turned the boat into the wind, lowered the sails and headed in to harbor. We were so full of joy. My heart was overflowing with pride for my crew mates. In no time we dinghyed ashore to join the other fleet that had set sail earlier to celebrate our victory. We were later joined by our fellow sailors everyone had a story but not everyone was as excited as we were. We stayed on for the prize giving ceremony which was held at 4: 30 pm. As we anticipated with excitement our trophy, we fought to contain ourselves. It was soon time and the announcer bellowed, “This trophy goes to the winning team and best performance goes to Captain Marsha and crew of Blue Odyssey Vacations.” We were so proud; we all walked up and collected the trophy.

Marsha’s Smith’s crew after party

We earned it and we were ready for the next big adventure. We partied for a little while then headed back to our boat. We were still grinning from ear to ear. As I turned and jumped in the dinghy, my attention was inexorably drawn towards the horizon. The most spectacular sunset I had ever seen was in all its glory. The sun was a massive gold ball and it had sunk so low in the sky, it was as if it was just sitting on top of the ocean. This was a fitting end to a perfect day.

Captain Marsha Smith

About Marsha Smith:
Marsha Smith is a yachtmaster and Yacht Charter Consultant at Blue Odyssey Vacations in the British Virgin Islands. Jamaican born, Marsha has sailed across the Caribbean guiding individuals and groups just like you on "sailing vacations that renew your spirit."