AFTERBURNER is first to finish in record breaking Newport Ensenada race

Skipper Bill Gibbs and the crew of the 52 blade runner catamaran AFTERBURNER based in Ventura California made it two first place finishes in a row on Friday night at 10:00 PM when they crossed the finish line over an hour ahead of their closest competitor Roy Disney's Pyewacket. The weather on Friday April 25th could have been anything with a front coming down from the North and scattered showers and drizzle dominating the morning hours.

With a crew of seven Afterburner started in the 30 boat ORCA fleet at 12:20PM. Starting on a starboard tack in 4-5 knot winds from the Southeast (150 degrees magnetic) we were a few seconds late for the line but got away clean. After approximately 7-8 minutes we were pressing into a couple of F-31R tris and were needing to tack when Jeff Cohen on Mental Floss another F 31R tacked away and allowed us a lane to transit to the "outside" of the course where we expected stronger winds and a strong right shift as the afternoon progressed. Another 40 minutes went by and we found ourselves getting "knocked" 40 degrees to the right. It was time to tack. Slightly stronger winds of 5-7 knots and a markedly cooler air temperature had marked the beginning of the increased pressure and more "right phase". Pyewacket and Alchemy (the new one) were farther outside and sailing in significantly more pressure but we could see the increased air pressure moving into the course and chose to tack earlier onto starboard rather than later trying to take a shorter total distance to the finish.

Our main concern at this point was the Reynolds 33 catamaran "Flyer" with it's insane 54' mast. In these winds and absolutely flat seas flyer was in her element and screaming along right with us but on the inside of the course. We selected a lane that kept us in the outside pressure but allowed us to fly our reacher which if my memory serves we deployed at about 1:45PM. This made all of the difference. In the modest 8-11 knot winds we were sailing along now at 14-16 knots with burst to 18.5. Our course was 150 magnetic and we were able to stay right on the rum line to North Coronado island. Based on the weather forecast I had made the tactical decision to stay just outside the Coronado island in an effort to stay in optimal wind conditions. By 4:00PM we had crept by Alchemy and Pywacket who had remarkably been pacing with us for most of the afternoon. As the true wind swung aft as predicted the absolutely flat seas and 17 knots of true wind allowed this high powered catamaran to light up the "AFTERBURNER" and sail into the 20+ knot boat speed range consistently. With one hull up and "flying" and the wind staying nearly dead constant we hit peaks of 23.5 knots. With the entire crew now on the windward side we put our foot down on the gas and sailed to a point about 3/4 of a mile outside North Coronado island where we prepared to set the smaller of our two cuben fiber spinnakers. with the wind now at 17-22 knots we changed course to 132 magnetic which would bring us straight into the north end of Ensenada Bay. Unfortunately just about this time the wind went further right to the predicted angle of 300-309 degrees which lifted our course up to 150 magnetic again. Choosing to stay out in the pressure we maintained a starboard tack and screamed toward Todos Santos Island at 18-22 knots. The sun was setting and the seas were now increasing to 2-4 feet. The boat was getting more volatile now and we were struggling to keep her under control a bit. The steering system on AFTERBURNER needs a lot of work and dropping the mainsail traveler down to maintain stability control makes the boat dive to leeward wildly as we bury into wave after wave. By this time we had lost everyone else over the horizon and our only concern was making it to Ensenada in time for dinner!

Vincent (Our software specialist and navigator) went down to the NAV station on the leeward hull (A very wet area) to look at laylines for Todos santos. He came back up and gave me some options for tacking angles which allowed us to make a decision on when to jibe on to port tack for our final approach. With the winds now a steady 17-22 with stronger gusts and the seas at a point that every couple of minutes we were stuffing the bow a night time jibe was going to be entertaining at a minimum. We waited until we had a lull down to 16.8 and sent the bow rotating to leeward for the jibe right as we took off on a wave. The spinnaker came through the foretriangle, the mainsail flopped across the boat jumped out of it's shoes and we were off to Todos Santos. Having to wait for that lull in windspeed proved problematic after thirty minutes of sailing in a very dark evening. Our course was now too low and we were going to have a hard time making the light at Todos Santos. Winding up into the wind caused the boat to fly a hull way too much and sailing at the stable course would run us into the north end of the island. As we approached Todos Santos at an alarming rate we asked the crew to ready the spinnaker for a douse (drop).Just as I called for the drop and headed the boat off the wind 30 degrees we got a massive right wind shift and the velocity increased to 23 knots. The spinnaker was ripped out of the hands of the able crew and went over the side. No fault of theirs,...that's just the way it played out. After several minutes of "shrimping" the brand new Cuber fiber kite we got it back aboard and found our selves without the ability to fly a headsail as the spinnaker pole had been ripped off the front of the boat when the spinnaker went in the water and tore the pole off the front of the boat. By design (Bill Gibbs) the pole had a ball and socket that allowed the prod (pole) to go back under the boat, pop out of the pole receiver and come back aboard without significant collateral damage. So now under just main and jib we sailed toward the finish several miles away and in a dying breeze. Still no one in sight behind us we limped for about thirty minutes and located the flashing red strobes at the finish line. We were happy to find two fully staffed NOSA Race Committee boats and a cheering crowd as we sailed across the finish line 9 hours and forty minutes after starting our run down the coast. Two years in a row AFTERBURNER is first across the line. This time by over an hour ahead of the next competitor Pyewacket who sailed brilliantly against their new foe Alchemy.

After putting the boat away we were treated what can only be described as the finest margarita I have ever had thanks to the Motor Yacht Victoria and her shore crew who arrived just behind us and tied up on our sterns at the dock. They were incredibly gracious in toasting our performance and we want to thank them for the refreshments (Thanks to Mike Campbell who owns the motor yacht and also owns the Trans Pac 52 Victoria 5 also who ultimately provided that much needed beverage.) We then headed into town, checked into the Bahia hotel and walked down the street to enjoy an excellent dinner (Great carne asada burritos courtesy of an elated owner Bill Gibbs). We finished dinner and went back to the Bahia to try and wind down in the bar. After a few cocktails the other boats began arriving and headed straight for the bar. We enjoyed cocktails with the crew from several boats and waited for our adrenaline levels to drop to a point where we could actually sleep.

Many thanks to a stellar job from the regular crew along with Bob Kettenhoffen who joined us from North Sails Long Beach for boat speed management and damage control after the kite went in and to the MAN UPSTAIRS who provided some of the finest and most memorable conditions I have ever experienced in sailing.

Mark Michaelsen
AFTERBURNER TACTICIAN
Owner-Sailing Pro Shop