SHTP stories - incident at the start

I finally leave the dock and head out to meet Red Sky waiting for me outside the harbor to hand me a hand held VHF.

Brian says  'sail the boat and we will get to you'

Unfortunately Elise and Red Sky meet briefly after I got the radio, bent stanchion, scraped hull for red Sky and broken wind instruments for Elise as a result of the encounter

How stupid...Even before the start, things start breaking...

I feel annoyed and upset - mostly at myself, not really at the situation. I don't really need wind instruments. It just means that I won't know wind speed and my electronics (ie autopilot) won't be able to operate in apparent wind mode. I won't really be able to use the mast head fly either as the VHF antenna got bent and is blocking it in one position. The VHF works which is the main thing.

Not a critical problem (and I since checked, basically, all the pins are out of line, so I am for getting a new wand up there...everything else is probably intact).

However, this just adds up to everything else. I am hungry, tired, stressed by my personal situation and clearly not able to pay attention to simple things.

What kind of race is this going to be?

In any case, Elise and I are committed and will not turn around unless the boat has sunk or there is blood pumping out of my arteries...

So we continue toward the start.

Photos courtesy of Ultimate Yachtshots.