Marspeed is way back in the fleet according the tracker - that lightweight Marstrom probably had intertia issues trying to get through that surf on starboard.
Try not having a jib and trying to drive through the surf with no board in and no rudders. They backed down on the second sandbar and lost their leeward rudder. Today the M20 went too far offshore in a tactical gamble that didn't pay.
@ Tad, I know Jake has lots of distance race experience and is a good sailor, but even he is fallible. I'm also not afraid of your resume so go ahead, post away.
The childish responses by a few to pure fact on this forum stopped me from posting correct information for the general masses.
"Do or do not. There is no try." - Yoda "Excuses are the tools of the weak and incompetent" - Two sista's I overheard in the hall "You don't have to be a brain surgeon to be a complete idiot, but it helps"
Try not having a jib and trying to drive through the surf with no board in and no rudders.
Um... As much as it kills me to have to go here...
Ah, now eventually they did plan to be sailing in the ocean at some point during this ocean race, right?
Just sayin'...
Mike
Bret has but a lot of miles on that boat and it's not the first time a Marstrom 20 has done a coastal race (I think Carla Scheifer has done three with hers?). The lack of a jib is one thing but the boat is designed to be uni-rig, double handed. It's main sail balance is setup a little more forward to compensate for the lack of a jib. Now, having a little sail closer to the bow would help put a little more power on getting through the waves but that is probably minor compared to the fact that the boat is feather light for a double handed 20 footer. There is very little inertia to push through the waves when launching. This is the one time when boat weight is your friend. Try launching a Nacra 20 through waves and then do the same thing on an A-cat. It's a pretty dramatic difference how the boat weight affects the wave impact.
I was primarily trying to be humorous, but if we are to believe the armchair speculation of one or more design weaknesses costing them a chance at the win, there's a saying about bringing a knife to a gun fight that comes to mind.
These events can be notoriously brutal on boats, and racing is always a risk/reward equation, especially when launching through surf is involved.
I applaud Bret and JC for trying the boat in this event, and would love to hear from them about whether or not they'd use that design for the next distance race.
I was primarily trying to be humorous, but if we are to believe the armchair speculation of one or more design weaknesses costing them a chance at the win, there's a saying about bringing a knife to a gun fight that comes to mind.
These events can be notoriously brutal on boats, and racing is always a risk/reward equation, especially when launching through surf is involved.
I applaud Bret and JC for trying the boat in this event, and would love to hear from them about whether or not they'd use that design for the next distance race.
Mike
This is not their fist rodeo and Brett takes the boat through the surf as frequently as the rest of us and does it quite well. An onshore breeze and and a short period can make anyone look bad or look like a genius. At the end of the day if they have advice about getting through ANY situation it is worth your time to listen.
To your point Mike Bret loves that boat and I'm confident that if he wanted to do another long distance multi day open water event he wouldn't hesitate for a second to do it on the M20.
But that's just an opinion and it could easily be full of sh!t.
"Do or do not. There is no try." - Yoda "Excuses are the tools of the weak and incompetent" - Two sista's I overheard in the hall "You don't have to be a brain surgeon to be a complete idiot, but it helps"
Every time I get through nasty surf I consider myself lucky. I've seen some nasty carnage, including broken masts, rudders, transoms and sailors being taken to the hospital. That's just at the events I've attended, there's been lots more elsewhere.
Some designs do better than others, but none of our boats like touching the bottom...
