Harvest Moon Regatta

Ricky Carroll

Crewed on Phoenix, a C&C 35. Great crew, several very experienced helmsman. I helmed the boat to the start, about 35nm, then did light duty on the wheel. I was the primary trimmer, all on the spinnaker, for my helm partner. It was a full run, winds 12-25kt, with big rollers tossing our stern. The asym kite (Phoenix logo in pic) blew about two hours in. We quickly rigged a symmetrical chute and recovered nicely. We were consistently surfing over hull speed ( the 14.2jt is legit) I went to berth at 2am after a 3 hour stint trimming and tailing alone. At 3am I was awakened mid flight in the cabin. We crash jibed and broached. Thankfully, the crew was clipped on because the mast went to the water and the foredeck crew was washed down the side. We lost the tracking for a bit after, so the speeds on the log are straight line. We finished mid pack despite having to finish on main alone. It was still fun and my bruised ribs and many contusions are there to remind me it was exciting.