Plastimo Lorient Mini Race (part 1) AAR
50 nm of racing with intense weather conditions
Let’s break down the race in this after action report (AAR) before we head back out to sea tomorrow for a 100 nm part two of the Plastimo Lorient Mini (PLM) race!
First leg of the PLM reaching 2 nm with rough weather approaching on the horizon (PLM photo)
Replay the tracker here: https://solusport.solustop.com/miniplastimo/carto
The PLM(Plastimo Lorient Mini) is a 250 nm double-handed, mixed gender race. It is the first race in the Classe Mini 2023 calendar on the Atlantic side of France. Going into the rave, my number one priority was to finish this race, to check the final box for getting to the Mini Transat this fall. Even though I am fully qualified and registered, all skippers must complete at least one race in the fleet the year of the Mini Transat they are registered to compete in. Once this race is completed, a huge weight will be lifted, and I can focus more on boat improvements, training, and fund raising.
Leading up to the PLM, the weather was not cooperating. The start was originally planned for 1700 Thursday (13 April) evening, but forecasts were calling for sustained 30+ kts of wind with big seas (see below).
30+ kts of wind forecasted for Friday
Large waves moving across the Atlantic towards France
Due to this forecast, the race organization decided to start the race early at 1000 on Thursday morning and set a 50 nm course for a day race, with a planned restart for a second part of the race a few days later. This was a safety call to keep the sailors away from the worst of the strong winds and heavy sea state that night.
Going into this race Jane and I spent a lot of time preparing the boat for an offshore race, always with the Mini Transat in mind. Even though this became a day race, you have to sail each day in the Bay of Biscay with the mentality of going far offshore due to the likelihood of severe conditions. The afternoon before the race the course was finalized and there was a long competitors brief that took over 2.5 hours.that lasted until almost 1800 Once the briefing was completed, it tuned into a late night of preparing the navigation waypoints for the race and studying the weather.
When race day arrived, Jane and I were at the boat early before sunrise. It was a chilly and raining morning, classic Bretagne spring weather. We put on our four weather gear, rigged the boat, and entered waypoints in the GPS (we can’t use our phones or chart plotters in the Mini races!). We were on schedule and ready to leave the dock, but the race organization put us on standby for the 0800 weather report.
Shortly after 0800, we were free to depart with a planned start still at 1000. However, one of the challenges with Mini racing is you have to wait in line to turn in your phones with the race organization and sign a departure list. After waiting in line with 85 skippers and co-skippers, which felt like an eternity, we rushed down to the boat. Being tied to the pontoon with two other minis rafted up to to the outboard of us, we were at the mercy of their departure timeline, but they were quick to cast off and we were on our way.
On the way out to the starting line the wind started gusting and the heavy rain passed through the fleet. Even though we were in the main pack of boats, we could not make the starting line on time. The race committee postponed the start for less than 30 minutes, which was just enough time for us to make it to the starting line for the start of the sequence.
Unfortunately that new sequence was not clear, because the committee refused to make any announcements in English (there are multiple other boats that do not speak French, so we are not the only ones asking for this!). What we thought was the 4 minute horn, turned out to be the start. Throughout this sequence, I was on the bow attempting to get the Code 0 hoisted and furled as quick as possible. We were sitting close to the line with little boat speed and just saw the fleet take off. It was painful to watch and all I could do was keep working on getting the Code 0 up and flying.
The first leg was 2 nm long and a close reach on starboard tack. As the initial boats approached the first mark, we were in the 51st place out of 60 boats. Obviously not happy about this start, but fighting to stay with the main pack of boats.
Furling the Code 0 as we approach the first mark
Throughout the first leg we had good speed on the boats around us. As we rounded the first mark, we executed a quick sail change dropping the code 0 for the jib. This brought us up to 39th place within the main pack of Minis.
This next leg was 16 nm long of upwind sailing. The wind was in the low teens but forecasted to build. You can see in the forecast below there was a big wind line approaching. The first mark we rounded was on the northern coast of Île de Groix with the second mark located right in the middle of that high wind area. There was no avoiding it and we knew it was going to be sporty out there.
As the wind began to build to a steady 20 kts, we put in the first reef in the main sail. We could see more weather approaching with a squall line on the horizon. With the wind increasing to the high 20 kt range, we went to put in the second reef. However, this reef line wrapped itself around the back of the boom and there was no safe way to unwrap it in the flogging conditions. We ended up dropping the main entirely to preserve it (no easy task). The main sail, now down, tried to jump out of the boat a few times as I secured sail ties around it on the boom. Even though the main was down we were still sailing upwind at a good pace. We weathered this first squall with just the jib as winds increased to the high 30 kt range. Gusts likely passed 40 kts, as other skippers saw those numbers. Not easy conditions in a Mini but Terminal Leave held up great.
Approximate location of Terminal Leave in the first squall
As we continued to beat upwind we would go back and forth between 1-2 reefs in the main. There were multiple Minis dropping out of the race and we even saw a cruising sailboat (about 40 ft long) dismasted from the strong winds. For the second squall, we put the second reef in the main early which really helped. For the last third of the upwind beat we even reefed the jib. I normally do not like reefing the jib when trying to sail on a close hauled course (especially for a short race), because it can effect the sailing angle. However, with winds constantly in the high 20 kts , gusts regularly crossing 30 kts, and wave heights increasing….it was time!
We tacked a few times while playing shifts or avoiding the bad air from boats just ahead of us. There were times we would be headed at least twenty degrees and would have to tack to avoid sailing farther away from the boats ahead of us. As we rounded the weather mark at about 1630 on Thursday, we were in 45th place. Again, not happy with our position but not giving up. We knew we were not doing great, and had no idea how far ahead some of the boats were at the time since we cannot see this tracker while racing.
The third leg was a close reach for about 5 nm. We were able to complete this quickly as we had plenty of power with a reef in the main and jib. At about 1730 we rounded the final mark of the course, a virtual mark saved in our GPS. The final leg was a 19 nm sail downwind.
As we assessed the situation, we were averaging about 8-9 kts of boat speed and hitting speeds up to 13 kts while surfing down waves. I wanted to put up the spinnaker but thought hard about the consequences. Most of the boats around us were not flying spinnakers, and the boats behind us were not either. I saw two boats try to fly their spinnakers and it did not go well for them. One kept broaching and the other shrimped their kite (they probably destroyed it as they were driving over it at the time). I had confidence in our abilities and that of Terminal Leave but I was not confident in the weather. We knew it was building and were riding a fine line around the squalls that kept popping up. With just a few miles to go, the last thing we needed was to blow up a spinnaker, break the bow sprit, or drop the mast.
My focus is 100% on the Mini Transat and any major boat breakage could prevent that if we did not finish. Therefore, as much as it pains me to say, we did not hoist the spinnaker on that leg. We did not lose any spots on the ranking from it and may have gained only a hand full….not worth the risk.
Over halfway through the final leg in 45th place sailing down wind
At about 1950 we crossed the finish line located next to the channel approaching Lorient. After 9 hours and 14 minutes of racing we made it. No major breakages, kept fighting the entire race to pass boats, and never gave up. We pushed the boat hard while never losing sight of the main goal of the Mini Transat. Even though it was a “short” day race, that surely was one of the most challenging days of racing on the boat. With it being a double handed race, there is always someone at the helm pushing the boat to its maximum potential. Exciting racing in difficult conditions. This is why I am here in France preparing for the big race.
Part 2 of the PLM race starts TOMORROW at 1000! As I write this we are still waiting to hear what the course will be exactly so probably going to be another late night of navigation prep and weather study!
THANK YOU to everyone who has donated to this campaign! We just had a few more over these past few days which really helps. Make sure to donate either through U.S. Patriot Sailing (https://www.uspatriotsailing.org/page-18221) or on my GoFundMe page (https://gofund.me/f43e698e)!
