Racing Playbuoy

This week I gathered up my courage and was rewarded in the best possible way. I went to the harbour Wednesday after work and introduced myself to the first sailor I met. He wasn't able to help, but I kept looking and the next one was.

He invited me on board Playbuoy, even though they already had a full crew of 8. I was introduced as a "pier-find" and welcomed kindly. Playbuoy is a Stuart 34 with a deceptive appearance. For the untrained eye she might not seem like much of a racing model. Even I would probably have doubted her, if it wasn't for the look of the crew and the rigging.

The crew spans 3 generations, from owner and living legend, Roy, who is past 80, to a couple of young guys like myself. The core crew are all highly experienced sailors, perhaps in their 50's. Once we got racing, I learned that Roy, even at his age, can still compete with the best of them (knees permitting). I love my sport for making that possible.

The rigging is not new, but nothing is old either. It looks cared for and trusty. The fittings are made for racing. There are enough options to trim and an absence of family friendly solutions. That extends to the interior as well; The boat is empty inside, except for spare sails and navigation equipment.

The race was too intense for me to take any pictures,
so here is one from when we got back to shore

I enjoyed the race immensely. I was on the main, so I was working hard in the gusty conditions. We had everything from 5 to 20 knots of wind and some tactically interesting shifts as well. Our downwind start had perfect timing and speed, but we couldn't find a clear track, so everyone else caught up to us. On the upwind Playbuoy impressed with a boat speed of 6.8 to 7.2, but some our tactical choices didn't pay off, so in the end our result was mediocre.

Being back on the water after almost a year without sailing feels great. So I've joined the crew.

Early weekend
This weekend is a long one, because today is Labour day. For me it has been even longer, because I unexpectedly got half of Friday off. Our servers were down and we had no internet connection, so there was absolutely nothing we could do. We went home and enjoyed a nicely extended weekend.

Deserted office at noon

Chinese duck
Since both Ross and Marie will be leaving soon, we are making the most of our last days together in NZ. Sunday night we had a memorable meal of Chinese roast duck with plum sauce. A very tasty dish, that I hope to be able to serve for a special occasion some day.

With a heavy, sharp cleaver and decisive cuts,
Sin Yat expertly prepares the duck

The first time I saw Sin Yat use that cleaver I was shocked. Since then I have learned so much about Chinese food culture. It now seems to me like the only right way to make the cut. How else would you cut a duck into pieces fit for eating with chopsticks without being wasteful? Of course you must not cut away the bones, because your guests like to chew on them and savour the duck taste.

The crispy skin and the fatty meat go perfectly together with the sweet plum sauce and the intensity of a good pinot noir. Highly recommended.