2016/2017 SORC Islands of Stream Series

Andrew Pike, owner of the 1991 First 45F5, and winner of the 2016/2017 SORC Islands of Stream Series, summarizes what it took to complete the series, and become the winner of the famous SORC Winter Series, now known as the Islands of Stream Series

It was the end of the Inaugural Miami to Havana Race in 2016, Achilles had just had a small refit, new running gear, keel faired, new paint scheme, and the race was the first one we entered with an entirely new crew.  The boat performed the best she had done, and although we finished 4 hours behind the rest of the IRC Pack, we were content as due to a navigational error by owner/skipper Andrew Pike, we sailed over 30 miles further than any other boat. It was at that time we decided to give it another crack in 2017. Immediately the core of the team committed then and there to doing the race, and then as the drinks flowed at the Hemmingway Yacht Club, we discuss the Islands of Stream Series.

Growing up a keen sailor in the UK, and with extensive sailing experience in dinghy’s such as the 420s when young, I always looked up to the offshore racing circuit. Fastnet was THE race, and every 2 years was avidly watched, through news reports and updates in newspapers, no internet in those days. In the early 80’s I moved to the Bahamas, and this side of the Atlantic, in the winter months, the series to do was the mighty SORC.

So here we are 30 years later, despite the rating wars, demise of IOR, introduction of IMS, acceptance of PHRF, SORC has survived and in 2016 restarted the SORC Series with the Islands of the Stream Series, which consists of 4 races, and yachts are scored on the best 2 of the first 3 races plus the race to Havana. A fun series, with finishes in Nassau, Palm Beach, Key West and Havana, guaranteeing an amazing atmosphere to accompany the race.

That fateful day in Havana, the crew agreed that if we were to enter the series then they would like to do the 4 races. Team Achilles’ is a low budget Corinthian racing team, where expenses are shared and as the owner I put as much money in to the boat as I am able to. However to compete successfully we would need to significantly upgrade the sail inventory and improve the rig.  Over the months in the run up to the Nassau Cup Race, Achilles’ was worked on and in the best shape she had been for years.

Delivering from Nassau to Miami, ready for the race was an exhilarating sail, with winds picking up as we came in to Miami, and Achilles’ itching to take off, like a horse in the gates at the start of a race. However the next few days, confirmed that the light winds expected were going to set the stage for a light wind race to Nassau. As we motored out to the start there was next to no wind and race committee postponed the race for an hour to allow the breeze to build. We started off heading to Great Issac’s lighthouse, the first mark in the race, however moral was already low as Achilles’ needs wind, and struggles in light airs. After rounding Great Issac’s , and having to maneuver around some anchored shipping, we set off on a reach to Great Harbour Cay, feeling a little more confident as the wind had filled in, and would provide a nice kite run in to Nassau. However after rounding Great Stirrup, the wind died out totally, and for almost 18 hours, we battled with speeds of 0.2 to 3 knots, at one point travelling backwards on the current which subsided right as we decided to rig an anchor.

It was hot, sunny, quiet, and the crew were beginning to get exhausted. However as one competitor after another retired and motored past us, we decided to hold out and try and complete the race before the cut off on the Saturday morning. All we could think of is the other crews, sitting in the yacht club bar, with cold AC, an icy cocktail and juicy burger, but we persisted. As the wind built and out VMG increased then we would make the cut off, and as the wind died and VMG plummeted to all-time lows, we would see on the mast displays that there was not enough time to finish. Finally Nassau Harbour was insight, and we had 2 hours spare on the ETA and we knew we would then make it. Constant kite trimming, and helming to maximize our VMG, in winds that would cause the kite to collapse with any sudden movement.

Then as quickly as the light breeze filled in it was gone. ¼ of a mile to go, and being pushed to the west of the harbor by the prevailing currents. Little bit forward, little bit sideways, but trying to keep VMG positive. Then we made it around the lighthouse at the entrance and were able to harden up and increase apparent wind and finish the race, with an official time of just less than the 48 hour cutoff, and probably one of my slowest crossings ever. This was just enough to secure a 2nd place finish in IRC and win the best performing Bahamian Boat, trophy.

It was only a couple of weeks later that the team would reassemble in Miami for the 60th edition of the Wirth Munroe race, or Race to the Buffet as it more commonly known between the crews.  This race seemed to be a light wind beat up the coast to Palm Beach. Our strategy was a simple one, get in to the gulfstream as soon as possible and sail the shortest course. The gulfstream forecast had a strong flow against the western side of the stream, and our aim was to get in to the stream and ride the western boundary up, turning further offshore as we approach Palm Beach then as the VMG falls away head for the line. As the race started it was obvious that we were unmatched to race against Wizzard and Chessie, however we stuck to our guns, and after the initial light air, some localized weather provided us with the fast beat towards the end of the race. After finishing and heading to the dock, we knew we had done well, but it was not until we saw the results that it became apparent that we had beaten Chessie on corrected, to take another 2nd place. Chessie was a 2017 Tripp designed IRC racer/cruiser, and even though she was new and the team was still working out the details, it was a tremendous achievement for a 25 year old Beneteau.

This placed us in a predicament. The IRC line up for Key West was very competitive, and we could only improve our position in the series by taking overall first place, which on a fast kite run to Key West, is unlikely, against the likes of Wizard and Chessie, etc. Also Achilles’ was starting to show signs of stresses from the two races, with new leaks in the deck, broken bushings in the steering and corroded fuel lines on the engine and loose stanchions.  It was decided with the crew that we would forfeit Key West, in favour of new sails, and repairs to the boat. So the boat was moved to Boca Raton, for a mini-refit.

This went from bad to worse as repairs took far longer than anticipated and then the bombshell, the engine had to be removed to be fixed. Not a problem if we had known in December, but this is two weeks before the Havana Race.  It was decided to order a new engine from Yanmar, and fit it to the boat rather than repair the older engine, as once we started to work on the old engine, there was some concern as to what may be found. The engine was installed some of the contracted work completed, but it was now Monday and we needed to get the boat to Miami.

After delivering the boat to Miami, it was clear that several things were not working, or just omitted, so we prioritized what we needed to get done, and the contractors finally got the boat in to a semi-race ready condition by 3am on race day.

The weather forecast looked great, it would be deep reach down the keys, then as we headed to Havana the wind would clock around and give us a nice symmetric kite run in to Hemmingway. Since we only had to beat 3 boats in the fleet to take the overall series, we decided to sail fast but conservative. Once again we chose to hug the reef to key west then cross the gulfstream, at almost 90 degrees, same plan as last year, but without the minor detour! So the plan was to not get in to any trouble at the start, hug the reef and run in to Hemmingway and push the boat just enough to beat the boats we needed to, but not hard enough that we would brake something. Especially items such as the steering bushings which we know were supposed to have been replaced but were not.

So off to Havana we went, initially with a poled out genoa then switching to the symmetric kite. All was going well, we were keeping up with the pack, and sailing beautifully. During the night the wind shifted and we ended up on a reach with the asym, but still managing to keep around 9 knots over ground. This went in to the evening, and after the very late night getting the boat ready, I hit my bunk and passed out. I was awoken an hour or two later by a concerned team member as we had water in the boat above the floor boards. Immediately checking the bilge, it became obvious that water was coming in to the boat faster than the two bilge pumps could keep up. Armed with wooden plugs, we checked every through hull fitting including the transducers and none were leaking.

However we were still taking on water, and by now we had heaved to, bought the boat upright and were working on keeping the pumps going while we tracked down the source. Stern gland was dry, rudder stock was not leaking, keel bolts were fine, but still we could not fine the leak. After an hour or so, we started to discuss calling Boat US, and contacting the coastguard, as this leak could not be found. Personally I was going through my head what work had we done that could cause this, then it occurred to me, the engine panel had to be replaced, to get to the cabling you had to remove the propane tank, and sure enough when we checked the propane drain had not been reconnected, so as we heeled over on the reach the normally above water line through hull was now below water, and a steady stream of ocean water was flooding in to the hull. 5 mins later the drain we resealed, and after another hour or so the water level was back down to acceptable levels, and we continued on with the race.

The following morning we were ready to take turn south to Havana, however sea conditions were such that a dead run with a large kite was risky, and a broach could easily damage our rig or boat to the point that we would not finish the race high enough to take the overall trophy. In the end a poled out genoa was the course for the day and we cruised in to Hemmingway, taking 4th in class, 1st in series, and 13th finisher overall.

Already the crew have said they want to stay together and we are considering whether to come back next year to defend the series, or broaden our horizons.