12: Madcatter

Saturday: The first race was mostly single trapezing conditions and a drag race out to the left for more wind. We won the pin and had what I considered good speed but the speedy Puerto Ricans Francisco and Jolliam where grinding us down and eventually rolled us. The good news was that we had legged out on the fleet with two other boats, Enrique and Martin, also from PUR as well as locals Tom and Erika. We rounded third behind both PUR teams and had good down wind speed but not quite good enough to pass. We finished in third.

In the next race we had a terrible start and had to bail out to the right, the wrong side. We were deep in the fleet early and then the wind got really weird and shifted 180 deg. We struggled to finish in 12.

The low point of the regatta was in the third race. We were over early and heard the RC calling our number at about 30 seconds so we ducked below the line and sailed off to the right. About two minutes into the race we remembered that the "I" flag had been up and we were going to be scored OCS. What a bonehead move. Now we had to count the 12.

Saturday night, we win the party. Liza carried the team.

Sunday: It was about five knots at the start and we got off the line well. We dropped the rig way back and had good speed towards some left hand velocity. Francisco and Jolliam where first to the mark and we were second with Tom and Erika right behind, over standing the port layline. We all sailed off on starboard jibe for a while until I saw some breeze coming down the middle of the course. Liza and I were the first to jibe and got the puff first. Then the wind shifted way left and we jibed onto the header towards the mark. We moved into the lead and the wind shifted so much more that the rest of the race was a reach. Nice to be in front when the parade starts. We won the race.

We started another race but it was abandoned.

At the end of the weekend we were in a close third. A three way tie that we sneaked to the top of. Big congratulations to Tom and Erika who won the regatta. Results are here.
Pictures by Mike Walker are here.

10: Rehoboth

Saturday: Wind was out of the NE at about 5 to 10 knots and shifty. Just about everyone could tell the same story at one point during the day, "we were headed about 10 deg so we tacked and the next thing we knew we were headed again." That's everyone except for Randy and Janet who won the first three races of the day sailing their new boat with the bold green sail.

It was a connect the puffs kind of day where you always had to be thinking about what kind of wind you were sailing into. Randy and Janet did that the best by far. Liza and I sailed well to finish the day in second.

Sunday was our day. The wind was out of the SE and building all day. With a left hand shore there tends to be convergence on the left side of the course in this condition and go left was our basic plan for the day. In the first race we won the pin and got out left but boats were lifted inside us. We tacked in a good wind line and got to the mark in third (I think). The right side paid because the breeze was still settling in and shifting persistently to the right. We had a good down wind leg going fast, staying in the puffs and jibing on the lifts to round the bottom mark in first. We went right for the remaining legs as the breeze was still shifting and maintained our lead to win the race.

For the next two races the wind increased. It was also more steady so the convergence on the left shore started to pay off. The last two races were basically the same story. We had a good start at the pin and ripped out left for more wind and a bit of a left shift. On top of that we were going fast. Bob has finally learned how to foot when the breeze is up.

We won the last two races and the regatta. Randy and Janet were second. Rich and were Fluffy third. The complete results are here. Next stop is Madcatter.

8: We had a light air day fighting the current upwind. About five minutes before the start I was down current of the line screwing around and then the wind died. What a bone head. I was about three minutes late for the start and had a bad first beat on top of it. We were barely making headway upwind. I managed to climb to a 5 with a lucky last beat. The wind then died completely and that was it for the day. The good news is I won for the season.
Rehoboth next weekend.