Charleston to Hilton Head Indigo Cup Ocean Racing-May 18-19, 2018

Poor Wind Dancer, neglected since October, needed some sail time. So, we entered the Indigo Cup Ocean Racing event, run by the Charleston Yacht Club. This race starts at 6:00 pm at the downtown waterfront and finishes around the first red buoy marking the entrance to the Port Royal Sound. Rick recruited a worthy crew of sailors for the race, Scott Johnson, who attended the Maine Maritime Academy,Luke Sand, our buddy boat partner, and Nic Waterman, who has raced Beneteaus of his own in the past. To reach the start, Rick and Cookie had to take the boat to Charleston, which we did. Half way there, on a windless afternoon, the engine alarm went off. The light flashed. The beeper sounded frantically.

In Cookie's mind: "Arghhh! , it's happening again! Somethings wrong with the engine! We'll have to call Sea Tow! We're miles from anywhere. We might float out to sea. We might float up on the rocky shore. We'll be here all night helpless in the dark. We're doomed!"

In Rick's mind: "Hmm guess I'd better get out the manual and see what that means so I can repair it and we'll be on our way". So he did and we were.
 
 Fortunately, Cookie has learned to keep all hysterical reactions in her head.

Crew arrived by 3: 00 pm, obligatory photos were taken.

The race started with light winds, pushing them out of Charleston Harbor. All well and good. But once out in the Atlantic, the winds dropped and dropped and dropped. All night long, the crew watched the limp sails as the moved along at 1 or 2 knots. Very discouraging night for all the racers. The lack of wind continued all morning, with Rick calculating and recalculating to find the critical moment when they might call it over and motor on in to at least make the race party on Saturday night. Their one mark of encouragement was seeing some of the racers behind them as daylight blossomed. They took several votes during the morning, finish? call it a day? At 11;00, the air stirred, slightly. Speed increased to 3 knots, then 4! By noon they were flying along at 7-8.5 knots. This was what they signed on for! At 2;30, they crossed the finish line! The last 2 and 1/2 hours made up for everything!

After the race, crew and wives headed for the Race Party at Windmill Harbor, where they heard that they had captured 2nd place in their division, which was class D, non-spinnaker, cruisers.

This was a thrill. Second place in the first real Ocean Race for Wind Dancer. A good story, a good ending. But wait, that's not the end. The story gets better. The discovery was made that an incorrect  PHRF was applied to Wind Dancer. Once that was corrected, new headlines were announced! Wind Dancer wins her class! First place in her first Ocean Racing experience. That called for a new photo, once the winning flag was received.

Nic couldn't make it, but the others gathered for a first place shot. Life is good.