02 Feb 24:
Cap'n P was an extremely good and fiercely competitive sailor.He was racing in his beautiful keelboat "Solana", neck and neck with his closest rival as they entered the River Yealm. After tacking around the sandbar, there's usually another couple of tacks to keep well clear the jagged rocks that line the mouth of the river before a clear run to the finish line. His closest rival just had the edge and was nosing in front, but when it came to what should have been the penultimate tack, Cap'n P saw his opportunity to snatch the lead, his rival went about and lost headway a little, but Cap'n P left his manoeuvre to the very last second, getting dangerously close to the jagged rocks and in the process striking them with "Solanos" transom, taking out a sizeable chunk of Honduras Mahogany. The late manoeuvre enabled him to avoid another tack, run down to the finish line and win the race. His rival, who'd gone about further away from the rocks was forced to make one more quick tack before running down to the finish line.
After the race Cap'n P was asked what had caused him to strike the rocks with the transom? His reply, "It was the only way I could take the lead, I can easily repair the boat and everything will be good again, but if I'd lost the race, there's nothing I could do to change that, it would be a race I'd lost forever."
Sailors don't come more competitive than that!
Doug (Cap' Bilge Rat)
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