It's the final day of racing and I wake early and refreshed!! Ready for the race from Marigot Bay. So it's an early cab to the boat and then getting ready to leave the dock. Everyone is in good spirits after a fun team night out, and we are ready to put in our best efforts for the final day. Although it was forecast light winds when we get out it is anything but, and so should be an excellent race back to Simpsons Bay. Sadly we are one man down as Gabe has returned home.
The race back takes a little over 3 hours, mostly upwind and when we are downwind we are overpowering a little so Marucs is shouting to ease the main sail constantly and bring it in. We need to be careful in these conditions and I am ready and waiting on the vang to let it out just in case. I learnt quickly from my first race and Chinese Gybe that a wet rolling boat throwing you side to side is not a place you want to be often if you can help it.
Luckily we manage to keep it together and have a great spinnaker run to the end, it's only when we finish and try to drop the spinnaker that we end up with pole crashing into the forestay and the boom swinging and hitting Sean in the head! Again we are so lucky the carbon fibre pole did not smash to pieces and that Sean was not seriously injured. More dramas as we try to dry off the spinnaker which in dropping ended up in the water... We quickly give up on that and wait for the bridge!!! Best to just no touch anything now me thinks.
The bridge goes up and we head in for the final time, everyone has done really well and this was the best race yet. It's a good crew of people, who have learnt quickly. Although, some still don't know how to us the bloody toilet... Come on!!
In the evening I have offered to cook us all a meal in my apartment and get some drinks so we don't have to fight for a table in a restaurant, everyone heads to mine for 6-6.30 and I get cooking with the help of Carolina. Dinner is a great success and we then head down to join th party, eagerly waiting then Commodores. The party is literally at my hotel, so the good thing is I won't be sent home early like last night as I am already home!!
The Heineken girls throw out some rather large glow sticks which go down a storm, I have my two and am not sharing as we dance the night away on the beach. It's not long before people are slowly missing in action and my crew are no where in sight so I'm dancing away with another crew from Northern Child, and then as I lose them as we meet some Dutch crew that have been sailing in the regatta... Insisting on rehydration (of me!), I get some water inside me and have a dance and then everyone makes sure I get home safely. Sadly the Commodores we're not as good as expected, and the warm up act was much better. I hear later of attempts to get backstage, and awards for best in show at the legendary (and not for good reasons) Red Piano Bar..... All in all it was a great end to a wonderful regatta, something I would definitely do again without a doubt.
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