Getting ready for the start
Got a last-minute invite to take the helm of Elysium, a friend's J/33 and probably my favorite boat, for SMSA Frostbites #4. With a pretty light crew and winds in the high teens we started with a reefed main and old Dacron #2. Sailed a strong downwind leg, followed by a long and relatively unsuccessful beat. Despite my best efforts, my lack of helm time on the boat and the tired sail plan led to a pretty slow upwind leg. We shook out the reef and did our best to catch up on the next downwind leg, followed by another beat to the finish. Caught an awful 90 degree shift right at the end and dunked half the crew's shoes in the water, but recovered quickly and finished the race. Not my best effort on the helm, but I still had a ton of fun running the boat and getting some more experience.