Star NAs
Friday - Miami, FL
It was a rather long day today. The wind was light and was very shifty, therefore we were postponed. Then an attempt or two at a start, then an actual race….only to be abandoned.
When we actually got underway, it was only blowing 5-6 knots. There were spots of wind where we’d actually have to lean out, but for the most part, it was on the cockpit floor upwind and sitting on the bow downwind.
The good news is that we had a great race. We were 3rd around every mark and ended the race in 3rd. We battled the Brazilians (Scheidt/Prada) for most of the last beat. They jumped us by tacking at the bottom mark. We got them back right at the finish (actually nosing them out). The last beat I was over the side and Mark sat in, which sounds weird, but is quite fast.
The 3rd & getting a throwout moved us up to 8th. We are only 6 points out of 5th. There were a number of boats OCS and many are requesting redress, so who knows. Also, most of the general recalls were under “z” flag, yet there were not 20% penalties. So all results are subject to change. It looked like there was going to be a long night in the room.
One race tomorrow….
SD
Friday, November 17, 2006
Star NAs
Thursday - Miami, FL
Today was pretty interesting. The wind was 15ish for 90% of the day. We struggled a little because we are a bit lighter than max (quite a bit) so we were in “higher” mode where the bigger teams could foot and send it. It made a difference in the choppy stuff.
Our first race was in the 30s. Not very good, but we were as good as the teens and as bad as the 40s. Not hard to fall, but extremely hard to climb.
The 2nd race we were in the 20s at the top and ended the run in the top 5. Not sure why, but everyone gybed and we were nearly fetching the bottom marks with a bear away rounding. Worked for us and for NZL (Pepper), who went from the 20s to 2nd.
About ½ way up the last beat a big growling cloud worked its way from south to north. It was big and black. With it was a thunderstorm and squall. I’ll bet the winds were in the upper 20s at the top mark. We gybed. I didn’t ruin the mast with the backstays! And whoa man!!! We had a major ride!! The wind got up to 30 and we were ripping down the bay. It was super fun! We couldn’t see 100 feet ahead, so we did the inverse compass number/navigation and the RC boat was right there. We lost a few on the previous beat and watched George Szabo shred the fleet downwind (he’s the only one we lost). George went from 18th to 8th (maybe?!). Pretty impressive to watch him sail the boat in that stuff. They sailed through Horton’s leeward side (ours too!). We did all we could to keep the boat on a plane, but lost some of the pressure as the storm passed. Lots of lightning and lots of very loud thunder!!!
Tomorrow calls for less wind.
Thursday - Miami, FL
Today was pretty interesting. The wind was 15ish for 90% of the day. We struggled a little because we are a bit lighter than max (quite a bit) so we were in “higher” mode where the bigger teams could foot and send it. It made a difference in the choppy stuff.
Our first race was in the 30s. Not very good, but we were as good as the teens and as bad as the 40s. Not hard to fall, but extremely hard to climb.
The 2nd race we were in the 20s at the top and ended the run in the top 5. Not sure why, but everyone gybed and we were nearly fetching the bottom marks with a bear away rounding. Worked for us and for NZL (Pepper), who went from the 20s to 2nd.
About ½ way up the last beat a big growling cloud worked its way from south to north. It was big and black. With it was a thunderstorm and squall. I’ll bet the winds were in the upper 20s at the top mark. We gybed. I didn’t ruin the mast with the backstays! And whoa man!!! We had a major ride!! The wind got up to 30 and we were ripping down the bay. It was super fun! We couldn’t see 100 feet ahead, so we did the inverse compass number/navigation and the RC boat was right there. We lost a few on the previous beat and watched George Szabo shred the fleet downwind (he’s the only one we lost). George went from 18th to 8th (maybe?!). Pretty impressive to watch him sail the boat in that stuff. They sailed through Horton’s leeward side (ours too!). We did all we could to keep the boat on a plane, but lost some of the pressure as the storm passed. Lots of lightning and lots of very loud thunder!!!
Tomorrow calls for less wind.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Star NAs - Wednesday
Miami
If every day could be this nice…..80s, 12-16 knots, sunshine. Biscayne Bay is the best on days like this.
The racing is extremely difficult. There are so many gold stars on sails and I think I heard that 23 countries are represented. Both Coral Reef and US Sailing Center are PACKED with boats (85 total, I think). Talk about a race to the hoist….there were boats being hauled for about 2 hours.
Mark and I had a decent day. We sailed a solid 1st race and finished ~10th. The 2nd race we rounded the top in the top 5, bottom in 2nd and then got caught on the left when the right came in…lost a few. On the run we suspect that we might have had some weeds because we had been fast all day downwind and we were a touch off the pace…..lanes are very tight as well. Finished the 2nd race ~10th as well.
Miami
If every day could be this nice…..80s, 12-16 knots, sunshine. Biscayne Bay is the best on days like this.
The racing is extremely difficult. There are so many gold stars on sails and I think I heard that 23 countries are represented. Both Coral Reef and US Sailing Center are PACKED with boats (85 total, I think). Talk about a race to the hoist….there were boats being hauled for about 2 hours.
Mark and I had a decent day. We sailed a solid 1st race and finished ~10th. The 2nd race we rounded the top in the top 5, bottom in 2nd and then got caught on the left when the right came in…lost a few. On the run we suspect that we might have had some weeds because we had been fast all day downwind and we were a touch off the pace…..lanes are very tight as well. Finished the 2nd race ~10th as well.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Star NAs - Tuesday
Miami - Coral Reef Yacht Club
Today was measurement and practice day. The conditions for sailing improved through the afternoon. By 1:PM, we hit the water for some practice.
We had a nice sail in 5-7 knots and worked out some kinks (on my end!). We're looking forward to tomorrow. Racing starts at 11:AM and there are two on the schedule.
We are Bow #39 and USA-8239. Most of the coverage can be found at www.starclass.org.
SD
Miami - Coral Reef Yacht Club
Today was measurement and practice day. The conditions for sailing improved through the afternoon. By 1:PM, we hit the water for some practice.
We had a nice sail in 5-7 knots and worked out some kinks (on my end!). We're looking forward to tomorrow. Racing starts at 11:AM and there are two on the schedule.
We are Bow #39 and USA-8239. Most of the coverage can be found at www.starclass.org.
SD
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