Last evening, members of the big-boat race fleet converged once again on Bismark Sea to share stories, watch the sun set, and put their racing mettle to the test.

Three races were held, using what’s become a familiar theme: the B-1a race course with ‘standard’ NYC race wind (spd 11). If you think the standard B-1 ‘beginner course’ sounds too boring, like tea-and-toast… you need to think again. Racing B-1 at NYC allows the skippers to hone carefully their sailing skill and tactics, often with remarkable effect. It seems that each week the race gets more exciting, and last night’s competition didn’t disappoint. It was a fascinating display of sailing proficiency.

Big-boat racing started a year ago with a fleet nearly entirely composed of Defender II’s. When the Trucordia Yawl was introduced, it gradually replaced the Defender as the most common vessel seen on the start line. This week saw another, pretty sudden switch in the race fleet. At one point prior to the race start, a full SEVEN Larinda schooners milled in front of the clubhouse, along with a Trudeau Sojourner and a Tetra 35. In the short space of two weeks, it looks like the new Trudeau schooner has become the popular choice for competitive big-boat racing.

In any event, last night’s skippers quickly settled down to a series of races that matched three boats against each other. The race skippers were Jasmyn Tammas, Berjo Saiman, and Glorfindel Arrow. Jasmyn is a new sailor. The other two, however, have been around so long when they get cut now they don’t bleed; USS seawater runs out.

Since Jasmyn was still learning the course and needed to study the charts, she wisely solicited crew to help her work the winches. She found a sadly intoxicated old salt named Armchair Binder asleep on the dock and propped him up in the Larinda’s cockpit beside her. That match-up resulted in three races full of pyrotechnics that tested all the sailing skill of the three boats.

In the first race, Berjo Saiman showed off his ability and experience by capturing the start well ahead of the other boats. Berjo never looked back, finishing in First Place. In Berjo’s wake, however, the Tammas-Binder team settled in for a tacking duel with Glorfindel Arrow. Neither boat gave an inch and were never separated by more than two boatlengths for the entire course circumnavigating Bella Lavella Island.

On the final broad reach coming home, the race remained too close to call right to the end, when Tammas-Binder cleared the final red buoy just in front of Glorfindel. As Jasmyn Tammas crossed the finish line for second place, she must have felt Glorfindels breath on her neck; the pictures show he was so close his bowsprint overlapped her transom.

The second race was even more intense. This time Tammas-Binder got over the line first, eleven seconds ahead of Berjo Saiman, with Glorfindel Arrow in his wake. This time Berjo showed off his cool expertise garnered from months of experience handling Trudeau yachts. Tammas-Binder made a late tack in Bougainville Strait, giving Berjo an opportunity to get within striking distance. Then, on the broad reach south along the eastern shore of the big island, Berjo relentlessly inched closer to the Tammas-Binder lead boat. As they rounded the green mark in Kula Gulf, Berjo was barely one boat length behind the leader.

At that point, Berjo showed again that he had the ‘right stuff’ for big-boats. On the three-sim long westward leg across the southern coast of Vella Lavella (which is respectfully known as the ‘Roaring 40’s by those who sail it), Berjo made a series of expert canvas adjustments, winging his sails for the the long ride downwind. On that leg Berjo finally grabbed the lead, and then flawlessly came round the mark in the Coral Sea to head home, leaving the competition far astern.

Remember Glorfindel? His boat also closed the distance during the downwind leg, coming to overlap with Tammas-Binder. The two boats flipped to a broad reach in the Coral Sea, and steamed up the West side of the island neck-and-neck in a replay of their duel from the first race.

As the fight for second place came down to the length of the final two sims, a ‘pleasure boat’ came onto the course and was warned off three times. Nonetheless, the person at the tiller (I hesitate to call him a ‘sailor’) decided to cut in front of the race boats at the last mark. A careful review of the pictures seems to show that the expert race skippers shook off this interference without major disruption. Jane Fossett had words with the offending pleasure boat, threatening the owner with bodily harm if he ever pulled that stunt again. (Fossett officially apologizes for losing her cool during the incredible excitement of the race finish).

The Tammas-Binder boat blew over the line a scant five seconds ahead of Glorfindel Arrow, to grab the second place spot in Race Two.

Glorfindel unfortunately crashed out in Race Three. However, in many ways, Race Three turned into a replay of the duel in Race Two. Tammas-Binder made an expert start, crossing the line a full 21 seconds in front of Berjo Saiman. Once again, Berjo slowly closed the gap across a series of upwind tacks and the long broad reach going south. When Tammas-Binder turned at the green mark to run downwind in the Roaring 40’s, Berjo was as much as a full sim behind… but not for long.

 Persistence and experience pays off. Berjo made a hockey turn around the green mark, let out his mainsheet, and fell leeward and outside of Tammas-Binder. They were parallel and overlapped for most of the return home along the west sidfe of the island, until Berjo broke ahead just in time to round the final buoy in front. That proved just enough to win first place, when a moment later both boats exploded across the finish line.

Pretty incredible racing!

For all the images,  go here