Course: B3.
Sails: Elliott/Pattison Sailmakers
169LP genoa and Interrupt main. Backstay at 3.
Training day for reefing the mainsail. Before leaving the dock, considered using the 135LP, but feared the wind would drop and handicap us. Before the start, Argo showed up with a reef in her main. Should have taken that as an indication of what was happening further out the river, despite the readings from the Annapolis weather buoy.
Good start near the boat. Started within 10 seconds of the gun above Argo who was some three or four boat lengths to leeward. Strong breezes for the combination of the 169LP and full main. After a gust to 22kts (does not appear on the graph), decided to reef. Having clearly explained the procedure, it all went sideways resulting in an auto-tack to port. Finally got the reef in and continued on to pass R"4".
Bore off round Mark "A", easing the sails, and heading for Mark "B" on starboard tack. Shook out the reef. Encountered the J/105's returning up river on port tack. Two were close to each other on port tack with another J/105 Chessie #407 two boat lengths to leeward of the pair. Chessie had several people (five?) on the port rail looking ahead. At six boatlenghts away started to be concered that they would not pass ahead. At three boatlengths decided to bail out, breaking the mainsheet, and heading hard off the wind, changing course by 60*.
The general rule is to head up rather than bear off. Heading up with two closehauled boats are in danger results in the starboard boat turning away from the port boat's expected path behind the starboard boat; the projected paths of the two boats approaching parallel. In this case, heading up would have required us to bring the bow from below Chessie's course to above during which we would have been nose-to-nose during the change. Bearing off minimized our relative velocity difference; brought the boats onto a parallel course; turned us away from Chessie's expected track aft of us. Chessie chose to bear away from their reaching course.
Ended up side-by-side with Chessie and forced into a gybe with backwinded genoa which pushed our bow into their port quarter. No injuries. No damage. Interaction visible in the track at 22:58:46Z.
Finishing order: 247, 262. Did not compete: 272, 550.
T2P.tv video. Constance visible in the background with reefed main at 9:37 and in the foreground at 10:06
GPX formatted track Distance: 7.66nm, estimated average speed: 4.9kts, estimated duration: 1:33