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Another beautiful day…really. It can’t get any better than this! The predicted front did not arrive today, so winds were shifty 4-16 kts.
Boats left the dock at 9:30 and, like clockwork, the first warning signal was at 11:00.
Race Six, a W5 course, wind from 225 at .7 mile weather leg, had a General Recall and a huge shift at the start. The RC went to the I Flag and set a new course of 250 at .5 mile. Huge puffs at 265 came rolling down and going back to 240. The RC changed course at the second mark and the leaders went right and were gone. The team of Lambert and Gunnarsson held on to a huge lead to win the race. The entire fleet is showing improvement and now that Race 6 is in the books, the fleet gets a drop and the standings changed dramatically.
Race Seven, a W4 course at .9 mile, wind at 255 at 5 ½-10 kts, started under the I Flag, but resulted in another General Recall. A big righty came through just before the start. The restart under the I Flag caught 8 boats. After hailing, only four returned. The team of Hudson and McKenna won the race and the leaders compressed in a tight race. The standings for second through fifth places are separated by 5 points. The OCS took its toll, putting Lucas and Williams from 11th to 2nd back to 11th place. Lihan and Wright went from 2nd to 5th to 4th. Patten and Rew went from 6th to 3rd. Haeger and Kent went from 4th to 2nd. Johnson and O’Brien still have a commanding lead.
Race Eight, the final race at the end of a hot day, a W5 course, wind from 260 at .7 mile, started under the I Flag. Less then 2 minutes to start, the wind went to 220 and the RC went into postponement. The course was reset to 245 at .6 mile in a dieing breeze of 4-5 kts. The restart under the I Flag was all clear, a four boat-length sag in the middle of the line, and a big, fat lefty seconds after the start signal! The course was changed at the first leeward mark due to an increase in velocity (8 kts and slowly building) and shift to 235; the course was stretched out to .7 mile. Annie Haeger sailed a very good race: at the second weather mark, she almost a full minute’s lead on the second place boat. However, the Team of Maxwell and Baker almost caught them at the finish line.
Things are definitely heating up in the standings, as the team of Johnson and O’Brien had their worst race yet, an 18th they will discard. They are still 13 points ahead, but must sail both races tomorrow. Meanwhile, Haeger and Kent have been tearing up the leader board. Patten and Rew are six points out of 2nd place and two points ahead of the 4th place team of Lihan and Wright. With the front being late in arriving, tomorrow’s weather is a guess and it could be anybody’s game!
It’s been great watching this group of competitors race in all sorts of conditions. The PRO, John Strassman, has dealt very well with very shifty conditions, keeping the time of these races between 45 minutes and 55 minutes long. The MYC Race Committee professionals have been fabulous to work with: they have a computer hard-wired into their signal boat, with a wireless card and are able to score the finishes, post them to the website and have them printed and posted on the notice board before the third boat is out of the water!
Please check out photos and score….tomorrow’s going to be a great final day of racing!
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