This was the third time of entering the "Drew Trophy" The first, my first sail in Diva with Dave as crew. Due to few problems on the day we managed to get to the start line half an hour late and the rest of the fleet were mere dots in the distance. The wind was in the east and we were flying the big genoa that came with the boat and that certainly did the business Force 3 and we were doing 8/9 knots passing most of the fleet by the Ore Stone and finished first.Didn't stay over night as Dave needed to get back. This was where the trouble started, getting back to the Exe - that "lovely" genoa only allowed us a tacking angle of about 150 degrees - we were embayed in Torbay! Second time Karen crewed - we got off to a cracking start until we were becalmed off the Marychurch - wind went round on to the nose and that "lovely" genoa did what it did best - beam reaches at 8 knots and on a dying evening breeze we crawled into Brixham an hour after the last boat. Third time lucky with Nishok as crew - a novice at big boats but full of enthusiasm, we managed a half decent start. This time I had a different genoa, this time we were able to point like the other boats and go faster. The race ended with the commodore chasing us across Torbay a nerve racking time wondering if we would lay Brixham breakwater. Picture - Diva at rest (blue and white) - with Starcaser the other club Telstar.
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