Posted by Mark on 17th July 2006

SKUD premiere in Marblehead

The SKUD 18 made its premiere in Marblehead last Thursday night where we participate in our first Thursday night race of the summer with the Jubilee group out of Beverly. Nestled between two 44 foot sailing yachts just after the starting signal, one begins to question who has right-of-way - surely the windward boat will grant us rights, even though we're half its size.

We had a great night for our first time out in Marblehead in the SKUD. Sailing with the big boats, despite its flaws, is better than sailing alone. Boat handling and strategy are just as important in the PHRF practice races as they are in one design races.

PHRF races, if you didn't know, incorporate a handicap system. The handicap is applied based on the performance of a particular boat class, not the sailors' abilities or skill level. Interestingly enough, a boat with a higher handicap could come in last and still win the race.

Thursday night was the first night I have sailed out of Marblehead. It's a beautiful harbor with some great sailing grounds.

For our Marblehead practices the boat is stored in a public boatyard which has access to a crane to get the boat in and out of the water. We also utilize this crane to get me in and out of the boat. Most of our training will occur in Marblehead and Newport. Unfortunately, the wonderful facility at Duxbury Bay Maritime School is negated by the fact that the harbor is too shallow to sail the SKUD 18.