2013 I-to-I Recap from Mike Vogt

I trudged out my "formula" gear the night before to try to prevent being late for the 8:30 skipper's meeting.  I may have used it once, in the bay, since last year's I-to-I.  Ron says my 2001 Starboard F155, at 85cm, is now a slalom board. 

For sails, I brought an NP 9.5 V8, and Aerotech 7.0 VMG and left my 10.2 Nitro and it's 520 mast at home.  I just wanted to survive and finish the minimum course.  I ended up rigging the 7.0 (which I bought from Mike Gebhardt at last years Rickenbacker swap meet) and a beat up 55cm Deboichet fin (that was originally 56 cm).  I thought I would still be able to plane on broad reaches at the forecast 13-16 mph, but that was not the case.  It ended up I only planed steadily for about 3 or 4 minutes during one long gust when I was heading north, other times I could pump onto a plane, but not maintain.  It seemed to me like the wind was 8 - 12 mph mostly. 

Mathias, who was on a freeride board that was only slightly smaller than my board also had a 7 meter sail rigged and we agreed before the race we'd try to stay together.  I entered the water at most a minute or so before the start time, most people had been maneuvering out there for a while.  Mathias was launching 100 yards to the south.  The shorebreak was minimal.  Once I got past the break it looked like the race had started because a few sailors were flying out to the northeast.  I shlogged out in the same direction but with a lesser easterly component.  When I looked south a few minutes later I saw Mathias several hundred yards away to the south.  I went out about 1/4 mile before my first tack to see what speed and angle I could get heading toward the channel.  It was not encouraging.  It seemed like at most 10-15 degrees east of south.  I stopped and loosened my outhaul which I hadn't done after over tensioning it when rigging and tried to loosen the downhaul some, but was having trouble so just left it.  I think it helped a little.  Mathias was still way south of me.  After about 20 or 30 minutes on this tack, with Mathias still way ahead of me.  I first saw a gigantic cargo ship barreling out of the port.  It didn't look like it was going fast, but the waves bouncing off of its bow were spraying a hundred feet in the air, it seemed.  It looked like Mathias would intercept it on his present course.  The next time I checked he was heading back north, not north east so I thought he was giving up on the buoy rounding. 

I could easily see the twin buoys which mark the channel about 1 mile out from the shore and the real buoy mark more than 1/2 mile past those.  I decided to pass on the real first mark, again (I did round it one year), and just round the big red northern one of the twin buoys, which were less than 1/4 mile east of me, and make it at least to Sunrise Blvd.  I didn't think I had the time or energy for the real mark and still make it to Sunrise.  On top of that, the big yachts and fishing boats speeding around were making me nervous.  What if I fall, can't get my sail up fast enough and they chop me up?  Anyway, I tacked to head upwind of the buoy, tacked again to get to it and jibed tightly around it, making the least possible encroachment into the channel. 

I bore off a lot to try to get closer to shore quickly but that was a lot of work with the big chop and swells.  After 10 minutes or more of that I felt a puff and leveled out and had a great 4 or 5 minutes of fast planing (darker green on my fake gps track).  After that ended I again worked to get closer to shore and look for the Sunrise Blvd markers.  Once offshore of Sunrise, I stopped to drink from a water bottle I carried in a butt-pack and check my cell phone for the time.  My phone was sealed in a dry pack hung from my neck, but I could not make out the time due to the air, now foggy, which I trapped to test the seal and the glare from the sun.  Maybe I should pack a black plastic bag next time to use as a darkroom.  At this time, another sailor, Gonzalo Crivello, shlogged by on the inside going south and asked if I needed help.  Thanks for checking. 

Anyway, after my drink I sailed closer to shore to find the swim marker and got caught inside some breaking waves with very little wind.  Rather than risk missing a jibe and getting worked I sailed to the shallow and beach started to get back out through the break, tack then dip back in for rounding a marker and on back to the start.  Landing was no problem, but Ron was there to make sure the gear got out safely.  We waited for the last racer to get back and then headed for the after party at Adventure Sports. 

There was a talk at the after party about Adventure sponsoring some kind or another ocean race off Ft. Lauderdale.  Thanks again to Ron for having the race, Adventure Sports Ft. Lauderdale for hosting the party, and all the sponsors for the nice swag.

Mike Vogt