Start in Bosphorus.
Cautiously, we start way back the pack to not disturb anyone.
Our max genaker is ready, but we keep it furled for a while, to not bother those 50 to 60 boats sailing much slower than us, except those hitting the current along the asian coast, accelerating 2 to 3 times their speed. We cannot go there as we would not be able to escape in case of close “fight”.
When we finally are out of the straight, only very few boats are in front of us. Of course, Orient Express is leading, but hits a slight header which he decides to stay in to avoid to roll his genaker. We do the opposite right away, changing very early to J2. Right choice, we take off. After few minutes, we are a couple of miles ahead of the race.
Later on, the “no wind” catches us, and 1/3 of the fleet overtakes us. We are slow recovering, but finally we are back in the fight, again with OrientExpress which we over take amazingly fast. Thanks to our maxi genaker. Unfortunately, that sail will die after a jybe, not from a mistake but from a complete delamination. The small genaker is deployed but that is not enough to keep our “enemy” behind, and during the night, almost entering the Dardanelles, they are in front, disappearing ahead.
Handicapped, the race for us is not much of a thrill, and we finish something like 5 hours after our principal competitor.