Ho! Tom Bombadil! A Thrilling Schooner Race Sail
The excitement had been building all week in anticipation for the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race. The forecast was showing strong winds from the north which brought memories of epic sled races down the Chesapeake Bay. I had never raced a schooner before, so there was some anxiety of not knowing what I was getting into. I had sailed previously on the Pride, Sultana, Lady Maryland, and Woodwind but never in a competitive environment. I was finally going to have that opportunity upon the Tom Bombadil.
We met at the Anchorage in Baltimore early Thursday morning to get under way to Annapolis. The forecast was spot on, and the wind and waves were building as we headed to the start. The crew started to get to know each other, and I was comforted with the experience on the boat. John Flanigan briefed us on the rigging and named all the sails, which quickly went in one ear and out the other. Karen Girg commanded the helm and was calm as we approached the starting area.
John and Karen are the owners of Tom Bombadil and are highly experienced sailors who circumnavigated the world in the late 90s with their young children. They certainly had the experience to lead us on the journey.
Onboard sailing photos by Patty Lora
The starting sequence was chaotic between confusing race committee communications and positioning the boat to not get wind shadowed by the Pride and Virginia. There were spectator boats everywhere. We had to wave our arms to make way so we could tack. The Woodwind won the start, and we followed closely behind them, just to windward of the Pride with the Virginia to below us to leeward and Adventurer close behind us.
We got to the offset buoy and eased sails to bear off down the Bay. Our game plan was simple: hug the rhumb line and sail the shortest course possible. We rigged preventers on the boom and gaff foresail for safety. Flew the staysail and gennaker and winged out the genoa with the spin pole. With this setup we could sail very deep and maintain hull speed. The preventers came in handy as the waves kept the helmsperson busy in what felt like a scene out of Fast & Furious Tokyo Drift. We had a good laugh that the Waterspeed App registered 445 gybes over the race, even though we actually only gybed six or seven times.
As the night settled the wind grew stronger. We put a reef in the main and continued to depower by furling the genoa and taking down the gennaker (which brought a lot of excitement!).
Karen presented her famous chicken tortilla casserole which was deliciously served on formal plates with silverware… a hot meal I’m not accustomed to while racing. We filled our bellies and divided into shifts for rest as we embraced the darkness. We had more excitement as we identified a potential encounter with a mega tanker, and sailed slightly off course to stay safe.
We arrived at Thimble Shoals after 4 a.m. We were optimistic that we had done well but also exhausted and ready to de-rig and get to shore. We were greeted by a group of volunteers who helped us safely tie up near the Pagoda in Norfolk.
By the time everything was situated, the sun was up, and we had over 24 hours to kill until the awards party. So, the crew headed to Grace O’Malleys Irish Pub for pints and proceeded to behave like sailors. This is where we first got the clue that we may have won first overall on corrected time. We erupted in spirited cheers but were warned to tame our excitement because official results are bound by secrecy until the awards.
When the awards ceremony arrived, my anxiety returned. Could we have done it? The announcement of first overall came with jovial singing by the emcees straight from Tolkien’s "Lord of the Rings":
“Ho! Tom Bombadil, Tom Bombadillo!
By water, wood and hill, by the reed and willow,
By fire, sun and moon, harken now and hear us!
Come, Tom Bombadil, for our need is near us!”
By Gray Shannahan
Find more analysis from this year’s race in the December issue of SpinSheet (coming out at the end of November) and find photos from the start here.
