Skipper
On paper: Overall command
Explains the ORC certificate to anyone who stands still, and a few who don't
- Model
- Sun Odyssey 32i (2002)
- Design
- Philippe Briand
- HQ
- Patras, Greece
- ORC rating
- Optimized
- Hull
- Fairly clean
- Tactical mode
- Butterfly deployment ready
Drag the picture to circle the boat, scroll or pinch to zoom.A joke, not a forecast. The real forecast is the one the Gulf of Patras gives you at 3 p.m.
The secret weapon
The Patras Butterfly Protocol
Our highly sophisticated, completely localized solution to not owning a €3,000 piece of downwind nylon nylon (Spinnaker).
- The Configuration
- Main sail locked out hard to Port, Genoa poled out completely to Starboard.
- The Goal
- Hunt down and embarrass modern racing yachts under the Rio-Antirrio bridge using nothing but geometric stubbornness.
- The Cushions
- Mandatory. Other crews hike out for speed. We sit in comfort and let the geometry do the suffering.
Who does what
Crew Manifest
Tactician
On paper: Reads wind and fleet
Calls every spinnaker "a temporary lead", loudly, until the finish gun
Butterfly Officer
On paper: Pole and sheet trim
Holds a pole in the air and a grudge against the leeward mark
Bow Person
On paper: Foredeck work
Stands exactly where a spinnaker would go, as a memorial
Cushion Manager
On paper: Crew comfort
The only crew member who has never been wrong about anything
Bridge Spotter
On paper: Navigation
Announces "bridge in 10 minutes" every 10 minutes, for two hours
Always in force
Standing Orders
- 1The word "spinnaker" is banned. It is "the large optional nylon".
- 2Mainsail and genoa stay on opposite sides. If they meet, we call it a gybe and blame the wind.
- 3Passing a boat with a spinnaker is celebrated at length, loudly, and with a pointed sandwich.
- 4Bridge photos come after the finish. Winning first, posing second, ideally with a spinnaker in the background.
Press only in a real emergency.