Sailing Blog
Picket Fence »
January 17, 2012
Nervous about a bleak forecast the remainder of the week, the RC on the Melges 24 and 32 circle moved up our leisurely start time and packed in 3 races on day 2 in a 8-12 kt SE breeze with lumpy, confused seas. After being more disorganized getting off the dock than what is preferred, we managed to pull our act together and take a bullet in the first race of the day, and narrowly avoided a motivational speech I had teed-up had we taken a bad result. Having instituted a fine for anyone who was late for dock-off, the offending parties will have a hefty tab to pay at the end of the week, and had I given my speech, it would have involved something like being late and disorganized is not a good way to start a day. Racing is hard enough as it is.
Our biggest strength to this point has been getting off the line punched with the boats around us and letting our speed go to work. There was a little adverse current in all 3 starts today, and it seemed the fleet was having a hard time getting to the line. We did a nice job of getting moving early, using a high build when needed and making a nice timed run for the line when it was time to race. From there, most of the races have been on repeat as it has been a race to the left corner, tack near lay and round in the top group. The last race of the day was a great battle with the team on WTF, and after fighting off a mild bout of paranoia and battling through a few tense moments, we crossed line for our 5th straight bullet of the event.
If the forecast holds for tomorrow, it will allow for sailors at Key West to do some tourist activities instead of hitting the race course as the wind is not expected to get above 4-5 kts all day. One fun part of the week has been to see the Melges 32 team Celeritas sailing well, and taking their first bullet of the Melges 32 careers on Day 2. After spending a few days of training with owner Malcolm Geftner and team on boathandling and heavy air sailing, it is great feeling to see their hard work pay off! Keep it up! Stay tuned. Results.
No Comments »
No comments yet.
TrackBack URL