Sep 102011
 

The first two days of the North Americans have seen conditions varying between moderate for the distance race and light for the course racing yesterday.

The non-discardable distance race had us sailing upwind for about 12 miles, followed by a 10 mile deep reach, a five mile fetch and a six mile surfing sleigh ride home.  Winds started at the top end of the #1 for the upwind, then faded slightly for the reach, only to build again for the final two legs.  Several lead changes occurred in the upwind, with skippers trying to figure out if feathering or footing was faster with the lumpy chop.  At the windward mark Wreaking Havoc rounded in first, closely followed by Organized Chaos and Surfer Girl.  Old School was a few hundred yards behind, with O’Naturel and Ritalin close behind.  From this point forward, it was essentially a procession to the finish line, although Old School made big gains on Surfer Girl, to which the latter had to defend.  This allowed Organized Chaos to finish second comfortably, followed by Surfer Girl.

Friday saw the first day of course racing open with less than a breath of wind.  The start was delayed for an hour or so, when a light breeze was appearing (only to dissapear again).  In the light conditions, finding clear wind was more of a priority than sailing the shifts, and Old School proved to be the most consistent at this, finishing with a 1-2-2 record.  Wreaking Havoc had a terrible time getting off the start line for the third race, which gave her the unenviable record of 4-1-8 for second place.  Today will see the discard come into play, so it should be very tight between Old School and Wreaking Havoc.  Ritalin is third, one point behind Havoc, but with a less-beneficial discard to play.

Today’s conditions look to be similar to Friday’s.