2011 Rolex Big Boat Series in San Francisco

After a broken wrist kept me from sailing Criminal Mischief in the 2011 TransPac, the 2011 Rolex Big Boat Series in San Francisco would be my first major race on the boat. I was given the position of masthead running-back trimmer, something I had never done before. Not only would it place me the furthest from the foredeck in all of the races I've sailed, but I was now responsible for keeping the mast up through every tack and gybe. Criminal Mischief has been turbo'd with a square-top (as opposed to a regular "pinhead") mainsail, which requires two separate backstays, one for port tack and one for starboard tack. Out of every tack upwind I would be winding them up to almost 12,000 lbs of load on a large Harken winch, usually with the help of a 260 lbs Kiwi sailor Rodney. As well as keeping the mast up, the runners are also used to adjust headstay sag and mast bend, which affects the power of the jib and mainsail respectively. While the swept spreaders and mainsheet would keep the rig up at the dock and through tacks, the runners are essential downwind when the masthead spinnaker is up. The mast failure on XS due to a broken masthead running back block during the 2009 Key West Race Week was always in the back of my mind.

Sailing on a high performance boat like Criminal Mischief requires a very skilled crew, which we definitely had for this regatta. We sailed with 13 people, some professionals and some very advanced amateurs. Everyone had a job, and while our first day of practice definitely showed us what we needed to work on, the second day of practice shaped up to be much better. Unfortunately, during the second day of practice, the anti-chaff covers on both of the running back control lines melted and broke due to the extremely high load and heat from friction on the winch drum. This just goes to show how much load is on these things!!! After replacing one with our only spare, we motored back to the dock so the boat jigs could start splicing up a new set, as well as some spares. From a rigging point of view, a Grand Prix boat like Criminal Mischief is amazing. All of the lines and covers are made from the newest cutting edge materials. We were docked next the TP52 Vesper, ex-Quantum Racing boat and 2 time TP52 world champion, which was even more drool-worthy with carbon fiber/ceramic winches, bleeding-edge technology lines, and an extremely clean and ergonomic deck hardware layout.

The next four days of racing is a blur, but here are some highlights:

-Ripping downwind at 22 knots! Once the spinnaker was up, boat speed jumped faster than the knot meter could handle. 14 knots, 17, 19, 20, 21, 21.7, etc! The amazing thing is how smooth and controlled the boat felt at these speeds. 20 knots sustained became the norm, and 17 knots suddenly felt slow. In comparison, my SC27 Furthur peaked at 20.7 knots surfing down a 15 foot wave in a squall sailing to Hawaii, but our sustained downwind speeds were more like 12-14 knots. The Criminal has almost as tall a rig as a TP52, but is 7 feet shorter and much lighter. While this makes us struggle upwind, downwind the boat is a soaking wet rocket ship!
-Being in the back of the boat. I usually do bow, and was a little disappointed to be so far from the foredeck. But this meant I got to overhear all of the tactics and strategy in the back of the boat. And when Jay Crumb (strategist) and Jeff Thorpe (tactician) talk, you listen. Being the smallest boat in the IRC A division (but owing a 73 foot boat time around the course) and being offshore optimized with a light keel and no grinding pedestal for the mainsheet meant that the strategist and tactician had to put the boat in the perfect position on the bay in order to keep from being shot out the back of the fleet. Jay Crumb answered all of my questions and I learned a ton about playing the tides in San Francisco Bay, as well as the communication in the back of a Grand Prix boat. Plus, it was awesome how Rodney could call puffs, identifying the wind shift with a perfect count down to breeze on.

-Making new friends and reuniting with old ones. Sounds sappy, but it's true. I met a lot of great people and got to hang out with some old high school and college sailing friends. I'll definitely be able to fill up Furthur for her first Santa Cruz 27 one design regatta in October!

And here's a parting shot of Criminal Mischief, with photo credit going to Jeremy Leonard of Surf City Racing. Thanks man!