Well the sun IS setting earlier these days and with the later start time for the unofficial Beer Can Races, most people had their running lights on by the time the gun went off. The unofficial Beer Can starts at the Chicago Light, or lighthouse on the breakwall just off Navy Pier here in Chicago. While it isn’t a normal course, the wind was out of the East so the first leg to the 4 Mile CRIB was a bit of a beat. We didn’t have a stellar start but found the favored side and once settled down, the boat picked up speed and sailed smoothly in the 15knt winds and 2ft waves. We 3 tacked and rounded the CRIB inside the boat I normally race on, “Measure for Measure” a N/M 36. With the wind and wave conditions I had opted for the 135% on that leg and the boat seemed to move well, playing tag with 7.5knts. We had rigged the boat for a kite on the down wind leg but rounding the CRIB didn’t feel it would give us any speed advantage so we poled out the 135% Jib and headed deep towards the finish line. It was a nice ride and everyone was chatting away as we made good time against the other boats in the fleet, still clicking along tagging 7s. By now it was dark and seeing the competition in the dark was difficult, especially with all the lights from the city skyline. We saw a wonderful sunset and the 3/4 moon high in the sky was so beautiful I couldn’t keep my eyes off of it. I wondered who else was looking at it, where they were, and what they were doing. Were they admiring it as much and wondering the same thing.
The start is somewhat unconventional as there isn’t a gun to mark the start. Instead everyone watches the clock on the GPS and at 7pm sharp, everyone is off. with 15 to 20 boats squeezing through the opening in the breakwall, there isn’t a lot of room for error and you don’t want to hit either end too closely. We sailed around the course and marked our finish time as 51 minutes, 42 seconds, crossing an imaginary line created by the breakwall. We cleaned up the boat and headed up to the party for dinner where it appears that we had taken 2nd Place. It was a wonderful fall evening for a sail but with only a couple of more races before the end of the season, the air getting cooler and the sun setting so early, I began to think back about all the fun I had this summer, but the best part were the happy faces and laughter coming from everyone who came out on Adrenaline. You know, I think we all had a really great time this year. The 1st goal this year was to have fun, the second to be competitive. I think we scored 100 on both counts. You can’t beat that.
On that note winning does help to make it fun and we have the trophies to prove it. Traditionally we take one of the unofficial Beer Cans and turn it into a party, or as we call it, the “Rum Can”. So far we have 4 “trophies” and the overall Beer Can Awards won’t be given out until October 11. So bring the Coke, tonic and limes people—the next warm Wednesday night we’ll give thanks to a wonderful summer, good friends, and what a wonderful life it is!
PS: Patrick took some incredible photos of sailing last night. Be sure to check them out on our photo page! We should have them up very soon.
Kyle holding out the boom on our downwind leg, the sun setting behind Chicago.
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