Sailing Blog
More Weeds, Better Results on Day 2 of KWRW »
January 18, 2011
Quick post tonight…conditions were similar to day 1 of Melges 32 Key West Race Week, but with a little less wind and just the same amount of seaweed on the racecourse, teams were mentally exhausted at the end of the day from trying to keep their boats moving at full speed, and doing their best to get off the starting line which would prove to be a huge portion of the race.
On INTAC, we managed to get 2 clean starts and it is always amazing how the rich get richer in light to medium conditions. Once you are able to set, get clear air, and extend at the top mark, you establish yourself in the front group, and it is pretty hard to mess it up. We found this out first hand when we were duking it out for 4th place in race 3, when on at the top of the 2nd beat we snagged a lobster pot. Luckily, we have young bowman from the St Thomas, William Bailey, who did not hesitate to jump over the bow, free the pot off the keel, catch the mainsheet off the back of the boat and get back on to keep us from losing more than 2 boats to take a 9th, keeping us well in front of the middle of the fleet.
The second race of the day, we again started clean at the boat, used great boatspeed and established ourselves in the front 3-4 boats. Once clear and ahead, the gains come from having clear air 100% of the time and not having to deal with traffic around marks. We duked it out with Warpath, Leenabarca and Yasha Samurai, and were able to settle for a 3rd place. After a full day of racing in hot, light, lumpy and weedy conditions, we were more than happy to retire for the day with some mudslides and painkillers once we reached the dock.
The forecast for Day 3 is looking more like we will be doing some fishing instead of sailing as a high pressure system is moving over the region. Stay tuned…results @ melges32.com.
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