Final run into Airlie Beach

This comes almost a week after we arrived, but much like the other times we hit port, there was a lot to do other than blog, some work and some relaxation. Still, there are a few points worth sharing.

First, having thought about it a bit, I feel my comment about how the other boats weren’t caught by the current may have come across more snarky than it was intended. The truth is, there is a lot of uncertainty and luck involved in these races, and while the results are clear, it’s good not to read too much into a small sample size. You really have to assess decisions based on what was known at the time and the process involved, and I just don’t have the experience to do that. Matt has made an effort to explain his decisions, and I think it’s helped to ensure buy-in. We ask a few questions, but I’m not sure if we effectively challenge his calls, or if we should. All that said, it’s only right to talk about his tactical decision around our finish, one that worked out well.

Basically, there were two options open to us as we approached Airlie Beach. First was a more direct route, going between Whitsunday Island and the mainland. Second was to go around the island and come back down toward Airlie Beach. The first, shorter route meant fighting a stronger tidal flow and risking getting caught in the wind shadow of the island. The second option avoided these risks but was substantially longer. We took the second option, and it did really well for us. We made up a lot of ground on the two boats ahead and almost sneaked a few points on the leader board.

Unfortunately though, it wasn’t quite enough., and we finished in eighth place. On the one hand, that’s a big drop given the amount of time we were in podium position and even first. On the other, it’s still not a bad finish, coming in within a few hours of the lead boats after eight days of racing. The fact we were able to do that well with only thirteen crew is also something we can take some pride in.

How big a deal is crew size? It’s not quite like defending a power play in hockey or having a man in the sin bin in rugby, because you’re not leaving anyone undefended. At the same time, most work on the boat ends up being a bit slower. It takes more time to move sails. Someone might have to switch reefing points at the mast, then take a few moments moving back to grind instead of someone else waiting there to do it immediately. You might only have one person to grind the spinnaker sheet when a larger crew could have four. But the bigger issue is just that everyone gets more tired. There is no opportunity for a break. I understand one boat had twenty-four crew for the last race, and the next smallest after our has seventeen. That’s a lot more people to spread the work around. Feels like we did pretty well, given what we had.