Figawi 2011 Wind Starved Race

In the beginning, there was a race that challenged sailors across the depth and dimension of Nantucket Sound under nearly any conditions that Poseidon would throw their way. This routinely meant sailing in Fog a common condition of late spring and early summer on Cape Cod. Fog and has always been a challenge for mariners even in the days when 50,000 coastal schooners sailing mostly by their whit's annually passed through the Sound. In fact routine conditions of fog had a lot to do with naming this race the Figawi.

Today, the litigious society we live in has effected the thinking of a valorous Race Committee. The start of the 40th Annual Figawi race was postponed three hours because of all things... FOG. This resulted in an obvious and apparent dilemma, that of little or no wiggle room for nearly every vessel in fleet to be able to complete the race in typical conditions before the time limitation of the race. By way of example, in a South-SE breeze a typical small boat run to Nantucket is dead upwind can exceed six hours. Time frame allowed by the RC for CLUB CAR in this video was less than 6 hours and less for 3/4's of the fleet. Therefore, this race window set by the RC was impossible yet the management refused to budge past a 1900 curfew.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Figawi
• 2011

[Patchworks39]

re SONG FOR HARWICH (2008) (ref Harwich 2008 Shanty Crew Buitenboord) I was part of the workshop team that created this song that you see being performed on the quayside by the Halfpenny Pier. I've belatedly come across your comment, requesting lyrics, and if you like to give me a bell on bobwatson77(at)tiscali.co.uk, I'll be happy to e-mail you a copy. The tune never got formally written out, but you'd be able to get that orally from the performance. Best wishes Bob