MORE ENTHUSIASM THAN PRECISION

Wednesday Night Race Report

Race #4 Spring Series

June 4th, 2025

Tinky – 258

MORE ENTHUSIASM THAN PRECISION

Conditions: moderate breeze, clear skies, and golden-hour sunshine – classic Newport beauty

On a picture-perfect Wednesday evening, five friends aboard Tinky took to the starting line for

what turned out to be a particularly dramatic installment of the Shields Class weeknight sailing

series. With Hannah at the helm, spirits were high and the wind—though light to moderate —

was enough to keep things interesting.

With Clay away on a work assignment, Hannah stepped in as skipper and brought her steady

hand to the helm. Brad was on mainsail trim, keeping the power balanced and smooth. Nancy

took charge of the spinnaker with precision and poise, Tony kept the jib flying efficiently, and

Linda held it down on the bow, always ready for action.

As the start sequence wound down, the fleet surged forward with more enthusiasm than

precision. A flurry of boats were over the line early, prompting a chorus of horns and shouts.

Unfortunately for many, the excitement got the better of them, and a significant number of boats

were ultimately disqualified for jumping the gun.

Tinky wasn’t immune to the chaos. We found ourselves in a bit of a kerfuffle at the pin end of

the starting line, forcing us to take penalty turns right after the start. It was a tough moment, but

Hannah kept us focused and moving.

Once clear, we settled into the race, working clean air and making smart tactical calls. The crew

clicked into a smooth rhythm, and we gradually clawed our way back through the fleet,

eventually finishing in 6th place on the water.

But the real twist came at the results. With three of the boats ahead of us disqualified for

premature starts, Tinky moved up to a well-earned 3rd place overall. A little redemption after the

rocky start, and a reminder that clean sailing and staying cool under pressure really do pay off.

It wasn’t a flawless race, but it was a memorable one—good competition, great company, and a

podium finish to top it all off.

Another Wednesday night in the books, and another reason we love this sport — the

camaraderie, the competition, and the pure joy of being on the water together.

HAL 9000

Team Tinky

Surprise!

This report was entirely generated from AI / ChatGPT, using this query…

Write up a report about 5 friends sailing a Shields Class sailboat race on a beautiful

Wednesday night where many boats jumped the gun and started the race prematurely

and unfortunately were disqualified. Our boat is named Tinky and our skipper is named

Hannah. She is filling in for Clay who had a work commitment today. Brad trims the

Mainsail, Nancy flies the spinnaker, Tony trims the Jib and Linda is the “bow person”.

We got in a bit of a kerfuffle at the start and did penalty turns but came back to 6th place

but after the boats in front of us were disqualified for being premature starters, we

ended up 3rd.

It's only a matter of time before the boats just sail themselves….