PUTA MISTRAL!

Last night around 11 p.m. we made it to the target. Since then I slept 12 hours and I still feel completely wiped out because in last 5 days we could afford only a couple hours of sleep per day, and for last two days we didn't sleep at all. Even ,though the feeling of dissapointment, because all our effort and advantage that we had on the last day, literally was gone with a wind, at this moment, I feel quite happy that we've succeeded to finish this our very first qualification regata for Mini Transat which, at the end, was our main goal after all. ....

Crew - Sime Stipanicev i Darko Prizic

It's enough to say that just before last waypoint, some 30 nm before the last mark and waypoint we had advantage of almost 20 miles ahead of second boat, when canting keel gave up. It happened at 4 a.m. with 40 knots gusts wind... for a split of a second we thought we might loose the keel...

But, let me start from beginning.

The start itself was great, speed of the boat was ok and we were among 5-6 leading boats. The only one which bounced was completely new prototipe No. 650 with two excellent yachtsman, French legend - old Jean Marie Vidal and Romain, his son. Our Boat was doing really good and we were very pleased how we sailed.

At first waypoint in Port La Nouvelle we came as fourth, but being close to Capian at third place. Than, we set the course towards the Frioul islands, off shore of Marseille, against very changable winds - so after several hours we realized that two boats overtook us!

Second night, after turning Frioul islands, and increase of wind from SE direction to 25 - 30 knots, we dareingly hoisted 80 m2 gennaker and with literally double speed flew and overtook the few boats in front of us. Number, I remebered on GPS was 16 knots. Speed meter on the boat was out of order, but surely it would show even few knots more!

Boat was really flying and everything was under control, so we took second position again. The only unreachable was No 650 and old Jean Marie.


After few hours of sailing, problems started....The bowsprit system broke causing damage to port side railing as well as root-up of mainsheet traveler rail! Almost all halliards and ropes were renewed before the race but not that of bowsprit system ! It looked in apparenly good and reliable condition but it could not resist heavy pressure of down-wind sailing forces. Bowsprit fitting and one of "moustages" were broken, gennaker saved from the sea at great efforts..railings destroyed beyond repair..somehow mainsheet traweler was fixed at centerline!

In spite of all this mishaps and "miracles" we didn't lose advantage and arrived at Brescou, 3rd important waypoint, as second boat, which was great, but for the rest of the race, some 250 miles, we were forced to sail without gennakers and reachers, only with jib and mainsail.

Then we made few good tactical decisions and set the course toward 100 miles away Sanary, taking closer route to the shore from where we got fresh wind gusts meanwhile the rest of the fleet sailed straight to the waypoint using gennakers in slightly less breeze.

Tactis which was used got us closer to the shore and in a certain moment, third night, at the mouth of the river Rhone, prior to Marseille we went aground at sand banks!!

State of alarm-all hands on deck, but with no panic and completely staid, in the dark night we succesed to free the boat from sandy banks and, without the chart of the area, with luck on our side we proceeded to the next waypoint - Sanary.
There we lost about an hour of sailing and lot of nerves cause of fear due to sand banks which our keel literally ?licked?at times. After checking, keel seemed OK. It was constructed to withstand harder crashes than hitting the sand with 5 knots!

We turned Sanary as number 6, with some 5 miles delay from the leading group. Head? wind 15-25 knots. We tacked more than the others on right shifts and sailed right side route closer to the shore while wind during the forth night was shifting more to the right, which meant we were gaining and for few hours we sailed toward Brascou in tight reaching with more than 7 knots of speed while the rest of the fleet was way offshore, slamming very uncomfortable Mistral waves...


We knew we were doing good and were very pleased.

Darko and myself gave the best of ourselves and run the boat with 100% with minimal naps 20 mintues to 1 hour. We eat only cold food because we didn't have cooker, and drank lot of liquids and energetic drinks. Boat was going ok; and we have learned to know her. As most of the minies she needs to be pushed up all the time, and have a bit more sail area than necessary, because it is faster to be overpowered instead of underpowered for a while.

Around midnight, wind changed back to NW, ill-famed Mistral, gasting over 25, on moments till 40 knots, with very unsuietedly high,short waves.
Everything was under control, sail shortened maximally, keel maximally inclined and azimuth toward last waypoint Brescou, good.

Some 10 miles before waypoint, we set for a layline for Brascou. Preparations for manoevre, tacking with canting keel and suddenly blast. Boom, 3 double blocks which hold the keel to one side exploded. Boat uncontrollably heeled to port side making it almost impossible to controll not to mention gale force wind, dark night,no hand-railings on port side and shreded fore sail.


Keel system on 232 is a somewhat different from the others- it has so called 2-D keel which is a bit more complicated than normal cantings.

Picture of such keel was not satisfactory at all. At the boat - state of readiness, not to say state of alarm. We thought we were to lose it, and that ment the worst thing ?boat capsizing. We trasmited our position to the regata comitee, put on life jackets and prepared the survival equipment. It took us about an hour to finish tacking becaue the keel was at the opposite side and it couldn't be fixed at midship. When we succesed to controll the boat, we realized that sailing was possible only with one ? port tack and that we are, but, some 10° short in bow-angle in order to turn last waypoint which was never closer.!

After lot of thinking, decision was to ease a bit and go to 30 nm target in La Grand Motte to see what could be done. After arriving, our predictions were correct, before last waypoint at Brescou we were leading boat, because Jean Marie on his 650 gave up. At the port there were some other 5-6 boats, two of them without masts. More than half of the fleet didn't finish the regatta, which is the most important thing in class mini, because for qualifications, the miles are those that counts- not the results of order.

Dead tired we fixed the keel, and loaned another jib from Spanish crew which has lost the mast: "Puta Mistral" or damned Mistral were the words of one the memebers from Spanish crew, who has lost everything with the broken mast. A new mast was very expensive, time for qualification very short and the worst thing they didn't finish the regata. We started again towards Brescou which was some 30 nm away, rounded the mark and at 11 p.m. crossed the finish line.

I can't say we are not satisfied, even though 9th place is not so good result after being sailing in leading group all the time and advantage we had just before the last mark. Many of the boats have quit and only those who played very, very safe and who actualy have never pushed boats they could or the way they should, won.

Serial boats, such as Pogo and similar which are ranked higher are not so fun and demanding for sailing like prototypes. They have lower masts, less sails, smaller rigging , are heavier and slower, without canting keels and waterbalst and that's the reason they can't reach such speed as we did and truly enjoyed by pushing the boat til its maximum.

Now there are wounds to heal. Damage is pretty big. Bowsprit system broken, bow fitting too, solent jib completely destroyed, GPS does not function, camera as well. Keel needs to be checked, new, harder blocks to be purchased, lot of ropes to be changed and some other things which are not functioning. Time is needed and the most important thing funds = money.

France is very expensive, and our project doesn't have main sponsor yet which would make things easier, so we will return home for the moment. I 'll skip 110 nm long regata Mini Solo which starts in 7 days, in order to try somehow to close financial construction as well as get equipment to continue qualifications in Mediterranean, sucesfully- I truly hope!

PS. There are no pictures available because camera was damaged, but there are some video material which I'll prepare to download.