Day 3

Back in front! We had a great day with a 4, 1 and are now back in the lead of the Star North American Championship. Two more races will be sailed tomorrow on the San Francisco City Front course.

The wind was late in arriving again today but we got race number 3 off around 13:30 in 14 knots of wind. The current was ebbing so this kept the racecourse as open as it can be on the City front. We had a great start at the pin again but the guys just up the line, the boats had a bit more pressure and a bit more right shifted wind. We got around the top mark 4th but lost a bit to the boats who gybed out early. Eric Doyle and his crew Rodrigo Meireles made a big move there. There was more pressure out and even though the shore was favored from a current standpoint, Eric moved into the lead there and held it for the rest of the race. We rounded the second windward mark 3rd but lost Freddy Loof on the run to the finish so we finished fourth. Doug Schofield and his brother Robert sailed a great race to finish second. Shiebler/Stout and Reynolds/Lijedahl, our main competitors from yesterday were behind us so we were moving up. At that point, Eric Doyle was winning the regatta.

The second race started in much the same conditions, 14 knots of wind but the current was starting to slacken from the max ebb situation we had in the first race. We started right at the pin again but were called over early. We rounded the pin quickly and headed off on port in a clear lane. We worked the shifts nicely and round the top mark about 10th. Down the run we were one of the first to gybe out. Again, this was “bad” from a current standpoint but good from a wind pressure standpoint. In the end, the wind pressure was more valuable than the current and we gained. We rounded the leeward mark 3rd. Up the second windward leg we passed one boat and down the final run we passed the leader. We actually got very lucky here. A ferry boat went by and we surfed it’s wake. We went from being in second by 100 meters to being in first. From there we just hung on and got the bullet.

Now the standings are: Cayard/Trinter 12, Loof/Ekstrom 17, Shiebler/Stout 20, Hutchinson/Scott 23, Marazzi/De Maria (SUI) 25, Doyle/Meireles 26, and Reynolds/Lijedahl 30. After the first race tomorrow, each boat will get to drop it’s worst score. All our competitors have a worse race than we do so they will all gain on us. Considering the throughout now, we have a three point lead on Shiebler and Loof who are tied.

So it will be a tough finish tomorrow