Harvest Moon Regatta

Its 4AM, we are as prepared as we can be. The rest of the crew will be arriving shortly. All that’s left is to undock and go. Nymeria is ready to race the 2019 Harvest Moon Regatta.

We first heard about the Harvest Moon shortly after we bought our boat. It’s an annual 150 mile offshore sailboat race from Galveston, to Port Aransas Texas. We decided almost immediately that this would be a great experience and a great shakedown test for both Nymeria, and us. We had set our first sailing goal.

The race is normally held in late fall, so it had already been run that year. That meant we had just about a year to get prepared. Or so we thought. When it finally came time to register, neither the boat, nor us were anywhere near ready. Luckily, some of our new friends were inspired, and signed up their boat, a 38ft Catalina. They needed crew, and we needed some experience, so we jumped at the opportunity.

It was a fantastic experience. It was our first real offshore test. Sure, Shannon and I had done some “Offshore” cruising in Thailand when we were getting our ASA certifications, but that was nothing compared to this. We had to learn to sleep when you can, at whatever angle, and with whatever noises are going on. Eat when you can, even though you may not feel like it, you need the energy. And, how to live in close quarters with four other people (and two dogs) for nearly 40 hours. While there were stressful moments, mostly due to lack of wind, the race went by fairly smoothly, and our crew on this “totally not setup for racing” floating home finished the race in 4th place in our division.

Afterward, and when the hangover from the party wore off, Shannon and I doubled our efforts to enter for 2019. It was harder than we thought getting ready, there was just so much to be done.

As soon as the signup was available, we entered the race. Mostly to force us to get off our asses and actually do it. It’s really easy to just say, meh, there is too much to do and we aren’t ready. As the race date approached, we confirmed our crew. My Dad was going to fly in to join, one of our oldest friends, Jeff, from Durango will drive down to join, and our local friend Ashley wanted to go as well. Thats 5 people on board our little 32ft boat for several days.

A few weeks before race day, while doing final checks on the engine, we discovered an issue. We were starting it up and saw puffs of black smoke coming out of the exhaust headers. All three headers were cracked, and probably had been for some time. We probably could run the race in this state, the engine runs just fine, we would just have to make sure the cabin was properly ventilated. But with new crew on board, I didn’t want to risk it. I immediately called to order the parts, and try to schedule a mechanic to install them. We got very lucky with parts, they were shipped overnight. But getting a last minute mechanic within weeks of the biggest race of the year that 150+ boats are all preparing for was going to be near impossible. Luckily the guys that had done all our engine work previously were able to squeeze us in just days before the race.

We had barely 30 minutes of the engine running as a test before the 5 of us set sail at 5AM to start the 7 hour trip to the start line. Once underway, dad found his way to the bow and kept watch for channel markers and anything else that is hard to see at night in the crowded Kemah/Galveston Bay area. We were the first of many boats to start the trek to the start line, but we were probably the slowest, and I didnt want to risk starting late. We reached the main Houston ship channel just after sunrise, and watched as huge tankers, and many other faster boats passed us. The crew started to settle in and get ready for what was to come. I gave everyone a quick session at the wheel in order to get a feel for the boat while it was nice a calm, and we spent the rest of the hours talking through the general strategy of the race.

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We tacked back and forth near the start for about an hour waiting for the official start time. Nymeria isn’t a fast boat. Heavy and slow, but sturdy. That means we get to start in the first group of 20 or so boats. There were 3 other boats in our division racing, and only one had a slower rating than ours. One boat in our division ended up not starting for some reason so we were only racing against 2 others.

According to the weather, we were supposed to have 10-15 knots of wind for most of the race, but then toward the end, the front was going to roll though, shift the wind 180 degrees, and kick up to 20-25kts. My race/route planner was saying to take a more offshore course and come back inshore as the wind shifted around. This would put is in the best position for when the weather came and give us a straight broad reach to the finish.

The weather is never right.

The start of the race was easily 15+ knots. So much for the weather that predicted a reasonably calm beginning. We had already reefed the main before the start as Nymeria is easily overpowered, so the start came and went easily. The first few hours were pretty uneventful as well. Once we found our heading and set the sails, Nymeria settled in for the long run. It wasn’t rough water, just bigger than comfortable. It wasn’t a lot of wind, just enough to make you pay attention. This is where Nymeria shines through. She handled everything with poise. We never had to do anything, she just did what we asked. As the sun started setting, we were all feeling pretty good.

That’s when we radio calls started.

“PAN PAN, PAN PAN, PAN PAN, This is the United States Coast Guard Station Galveston Texas, there are reports of a disabled vessel in the area of Freeport, please report any sightings as assist if possible.”

We could hear several different boats calling for help. Some were taking on water, some with mechanical issues and were abandoning the race and heading into freeport. One we heard while in range had lost engine power and was taking on water, then ran aground due to lack of steerage and needed to be rescued by the Coast Guard. Throughout the night there were several calls to coast guard, and several calls from coast guard looking for boats.

As the sun came up the next day, so did our spirits. Were were still hearing distress calls, but so far we had not had any issues. Nymeria was sailing great, we were making decent progress, and the crew was in good shape. The rest of the day was mostly routine shift changes and prepping for the weather change that was predicted. Before the front hits, we are supposed to see the wind calm for a bit before it gets really bad. We had made the plan that once we feel that wind drop, we should immediately put all three reefs in the main. I don’t care how slow we go in the calm, I just want to be ready when it hits hard.

A few hours later, the wind really does start to calm. To almost nothing. It’s clear sky above, and we can see the front coming from the northwest. We can see 4-5 other boats around. We notice one of the boats next to us shaking their reef out. I wonder if they know something we don’t? The other boat we can see close enough starts putting their reefs in just as we are. I’m glad to see someone else worried about what is to come too.

Just as we relax from getting ready, it hits. I cant believe how fast it hit. It went from 2-5kts from the east to 30+ from the west in a matter of seconds. We release the jib to handle the shift, but instead of setting on the other side, it just blows out completely. Somehow the stopper knot had been undone, and the sail is just flopping in the heavy wind. Not wanting to tear up the sail, I jump up to the bow and begin trying to catch the sheets to get the sail under control. Everything is so twisted by now that it is nearly impossible, so I call back to have the jib furled in. Once it is in I take about 10 minutes to untangle the mess so it can be set again.

After I get back to the cockpit, Shannon is handling the boat masterfully, I take stock of the situation. Its blowing 35+ now, and the waves are getting bigger and more confused as the wind picks them up. All the other boats around us seem to have disappeared. Nymeria is working hard, but handling things wonderfully, still doing everything we ask her to without question. After about 30 minutes of this, Shannon clearly needs a break so I take over the helm. We decided that since we are moving at 6+ knots with only the triple reefed main up, there is no need to set any jib.

Some time goes by like this, just fighting the wind and waves, and I finally see another boat several miles ahead of us. It’s going the same direction we are! It’s great to have confirmation we are going the right way. We follow the other boat for an hour or so, then suddenly it turns east, and starts heading out to sea. What are they doing? I’m pretty sure the finish line is still about 20 miles ahead of us. After double checking all our navigation, we decide to stay on our course as the other boat disappears off our port side.

After 6 hours of heavy weather sailing, we cross the imaginary finish line. But it’s not over yet. Once we get the engine started, we still have to get the sails down. It blowing 35+ knots and 8-10ft waves so this is no easy task. Several minutes of struggle later, the sails are down and we are headed into the channel for the marina. Or so we thought. The wind and waves are such that, even under full power, we are barely making any progress into the channel. In-fact we are drifting so far sideways that we will hit the jetty before long. Pushing the engine harder than I’ve ever pushed it before, turned in a direction about 45 degrees from where I want to go, we slowly creep toward the channel and make it inside the jetties. As the waves calm, a pod of dolphins comes to say hello, but we are still fighting the wind just to finish that last ½ mile to the marina. I’m just now realising I have to dock this thing in this wind.

We finally enter the marina and get the last available slip. Everyone else that finishes after us (and there are many still out there) will have to raft up to other boats. With a massive stroke of luck, the slip we are assigned is facing directly into the wind, and not surrounded by massive million dollar yachts. With just a bit of struggle we maneuver in, tie off lines, and shut down the engine. We’ve made it.

With the crew wasted and dirty, Shannon and Ashley find the last hotel room in town and take off for a warm shower while Jeff, Dad and I finish securing the boat. Our next priority is find the nearest bar for beer and burgers. Full stomachs and a few beers later, we all slept well that night.

The next day was spent wandering Port Aransas and drinking sufficiently to get us to the awards ceremony. There were 3 boats in our racing division so we expect at least a 3rd place. Turns out we actually got 1st! And we did fairly well overall as well. As the party rolls on and the rum flowed we learned that we got first because none of the other boats we were racing against even finished. One was abandoned at sea and left to drift, and as we would find out later, the other may have actually sunk.

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The whole race was a test for Nymeria and her crew. All involved passed with exceptional results. Not sure if we will do it again next year though.