Testing different boats on the SF Bay: Open 5.70 and 29er

On Friday 26th, December I sailed an Open 5.70. This sports boat has the stability of a keel boat but the sensation of a sailing dinghy with the hiking. Which is pretty cool. It was just a test to see if I like the boat. I got to try it because one of my Dad's friends has one. My Dad had tried the boat in August and he had went over 16 knts. Here is the video.

My opinion is that the boat is fast, stable, and fun. The fun part of the day is that I got to do everything on the boat : I even got to steer. The Bay was beautiful but the wind was really low. On the boat were my Mom, the owner Frederic Bouju, and me. My Mom saw a sea lion eating a sting ray and a big piece of timber. We went around Alcatraz: it was beautiful.

On Saturday 27th, December I went to my yacht club even though  there was no opti class. I went there to try sailing a 29er. The 29er is a really hard boat to sail because if your weight is in the wrong  place you can capzise easily. I actually did capzise because during a tack I got stuck on the boom and my crew was not heavy enough to keep the boat flat. Therefore, we went over. The water was freezing. I was really lucky because my crew was really nice. He taught me the basics such as when you steer you have to be on your feet, sitting down, or standing. Here is a video of 29er sailing at RYC.


                                                       This is me on the open 5.70.

This is my Mom and I.

Big boat crash and roll-tacks

Saturday 13th, December I was set to participate to a regatta on big boats.
The boat was an Islander 36, just like this one :

We were racing in the Berkeley circle in  SF Bay, when we crashed into another boat.
This is what happened: 30 seconds before the start, we were on starboard and there was a boat coming in on port (we had the right of way). So usually, in this case the other boat is supposed to move out of our way but he didn't. Our skipper Bill decided to change his course. Unfortunately, the other boat did the same. So we moved the other way but so did he. At the end we ended up hitting each other so hard that his port lifeline broke. Our boat had a big scratch on the front and a crew member lost part of one of his big toe, but every thing is fine now.
I learned that it is always a bit tricky on the starting line, on big boats or on optis. I will be even more careful moving forward.

The crash:

Sunday 14th, December was the weirdest Sunday ever. I went to my yacht club (RYC), as usual.
The wind was very shifty. The afternoon was much better and we were lucky enough to race. I was so happy!

My results were 1st,2nd,1st, and 1st. I almost did a roll-tack, but at the end of my roll tack my Opti tipped over. I tried to dry capzise but I almost sunk my boat. What saved me from sinking,were my air bags.

If you don't remember what a roll tack is, you may look at this video (lucky Rayne, sailing in the BVIs :-)) Here is a video of a dry capzise.

I sail in SF Bay and I wish the water was as warm as in the Carribeean!