Bad Luck or Just a Myth! Our First Time Win Racing with WAGS.

Back in the slips at RQYS

Women on board a ship bring bad luck.  A naked woman on board will calm the sea, hence the naked figureheads on large sailing ships.  So go the old seafarers' myths.

I hope I've banished myths of bad luck during the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron's WAGS (Wednesday Afternoons Go Sailing) race this afternoon.  

On the spur of the moment we accepted Glenn's invitation to crew for him aboard his Bavaria, Simpatico.  So along with Glenn and Roel, another one of our neighbours at RQYS, we headed out into Moreton Bay, with about 20 to 25 knots of wind for the WAGS race.  Glenn seemed to think that having a crew of 3 cruisers with experience crossing the Pacific was a bonus.   We had to confess that we  sometimes stayed on the same tack for weeks and would have barnacles growing only on the leeward side because of the constant heeling.   This was also our very first sailing race!  

Our start was not perfect but not too bad; just 15 seconds after our official start time.  Flying the genoa and mainsail, we were moving along nicely between 7 and 8 knots.  Glenn's racing skills are complemented by his calm and confident manner making it a truly enjoyable experience for his crew.  It's been a perfect sailing day.

We won! As far as racing tactics go, well I don't want to give away any secrets, but we sailed true to cruisers form.  We laughed at the old myths as Simpatico crossed the line first in the monohull division. And no one on board had to get naked!  Glenn jokes that his crew stuck to what they learned while crossing the Pacific - the long tack.  It really paid off this time with a convincing win and a couple of bottles of wine to celebrate!