2010 Sunshine Open and US Sailing Singlehanded Championship Area C Elimination
Saturday
Today was the first day of Laser racing in the Sunshine Open and US Sailing Singlehanded Championship Area C Elimination held at Severn Sailing Association in Annapolis, MD. We started the day in little wind with a long sail out to the race course. I took us over 2 hours to sail a little more than an hour to the race area. Eventually the wind filled in to just over 5 and we got a race off.
The course was supposed to be an Olympic and it was set a little less than a mile to the windward mark. After the first 3 legs the RC smartly shortened to course otherwise nobody would have finished within the time limit. I did my best to get clear air and pick the shifts, but had a tough time making the boat go fast. I started, sailed and finished mid-fleet.
After the first race, the RC postponed again. The wind filled in to a steady 10+ by about 3pm and they started another race. I had a good start and had clean air, but by the time we were at the top mark, I was on the wrong side of a few shifts and found myself in the middle of the 30+ boat fleet. It was nice sailing in some wind. I held my position and finished 16th.
We had a great dinner and camaraderie between the sailors after racing. All and all it was a good day. Tomorrow we’re hoping the rain stays away so we can get in 4 races.
Sunday
The second day of the regatta was supposed to start an hour earlier, but the wind wasn’t really cooperating. The RC towed us all out to the race course, but we ended up sitting at anchor for over 2 hours before the wind finally settled in and we could get a race off.
The wind was light and fortunately I had a bad start near the boat. I say fortunately because it forced me to go out to the right side of the course which ended up being brilliant. I was 5th around the first mark, 4th around the second mark and 4 around the final mark. I wasn’t able to hold on to my position on the final beat and surrendered a few boats, but a top 10 finish (8), was nice to have.
In the second race the wind picked up to 10-12. Again, I had a bad start and this time ended up more on the wrong side of the course. I hung right behind the lead pack of about 15 boats and ended up chasing them all around the course with out ever breaking into the pack. I ended up 17th in that one.
All in all it was a good regatta. 13th overall in the 34 boat fleet. I still have a lot of work to do to hike harder and get my boat speed up. The first big regatta of the season is down. Looking forward to some small local regattas in the next few weeks before the ACC in June.
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