SPORT
Bearing down on the finish line, L’il T’Pot’s crew kept scanning the south entrance to Carlisle Bay in the hope of glimpsing sister vessel Oiseau-noir . She remained out of sight while still traversing the south coast seas, but they held a fervent wish that she would soon appear. The lighter, unsteady winds inside the bay reminded them to refocus on their own course that now required many adjustments to snatch every incoming puff. That last tack towards the finish line was an agony of more knocks than lifts, and the crew toiled to keep the sails filled. Each time they were on the perfect point of sail, the winds pretended to cooperate but soon dropped off or shifted. Expecting these conditions, Colville Thompson kept a running commentary on the wind as they glided towards the looming finish line. L’il T’Pot soon barged across the line to cheering from her crew as the race committee clocked her time at 2.09pm and blew the finishing horn. She placed fourth overall but was first in the red class. Oiseau-noir eventually appeared at the mouth of the bay but was now locked in a losing bid to make it to the finish line on time. She eventually scored a TLE (time limit expired); but in the ranking, this placed her higher than yachts that scored DNF (did not finish), and in particular, DNS (did not start). l
Her sailors were forced to retire her from the race, just as L’il T’Pot had reduced the time to overtake her to within one minute on this first leg. T he bright sunshine reflecting off the puffy cumulus clouds was a reminder to be thankful for the opportunity to be in Barbados at the end of the pandemic. In the moment, it was easy to gaze into the future and see that seizing the opportunity to make time for sports and recreation is an important part of the national recovery from COVID-19. It imbued the desire to do better, the desire to be better, and the desire to treat each other better. It took only one little yellow boat to make this philosophy come true.
After gybing around the Accra mark, L’il T’Pot surfed some big waves and rushed along the south coast with her sails flying wing-on-wing to gain speed. She made each return to the Needham’s Point mark in a fraction of the time taken to sail from Needham’s Point southwards to Accra. On completing the hardest part of the course, the final leg saw a return to Carlisle Bay and less strenuous conditions. Concentration waned just a little as the environmental pressure eased off. The intermittent claxon from the committee boat, which was ahead, was the signal that a yacht had crossed the finish line, and a very good reminder that sailing the boat hard was still necessary even when one is tired - an important date with the clock was on. The racing yachts were each hosting Barbadian junior sailors who were experiencing their first yacht race, and for some, their first time aboard a yacht. They were welcomed substitutes for The UWI Sailing Club’s crew shortage while the students were on a break. It was also great to be welcoming more sailors to the sport of yacht racing where the virtues of teamwork are critical to success. While aboard, L’il T’Pot youngsters Annabel , Xavier and Sam performed creditably and asked meaningful questions as they discovered some of the differences and similarities between yachting and dinghy sailing.
CHILL NEWS 119
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