Regatta Report
7/5/2005 - 29er Worlds Qualifying Day 2
Day 2 brought low cloud cover and fog over the bay, and kept the winds at a lower average speed. Again current played a huge factor in today's racing. We lucked out and ended up in the first group, so we had the first two races in the lighter wind conditions.
Race 1: flood tide in 6-10 knots
We had another start in a flood tide, but this time the fleet was more aware and we had a few general recalls. After several attempts the fleet finally calmed down and we started. We had a potentially disastrous start but Stu quickly made a few tacks and we saved our start and positioned ourselves well for the left. We played the shifts and current along St. Francis YC and rounded the top mark in fourth. After a great jibe set we rolled a boat and continued out into the bay with stronger flood tide. We opened a huge gap and remained in third the entire race. We gained slightly on the second place boat by the finish.
Race 2: flood tide in 8-14 knots
We got another good start towards the pin end and ahead of our pack. Our lane held well off the start, and other boats in our group began collapsing around us. We found a nice lane but the left side was clearly not as good as the right. The lead group came across in a nice shift and pressure. We rounded the top mark in about 12th and had our work cut out for us. We battled hard downwind and gained a few places by staying in the pressure. Upwind we hit some shifts and gained many boat lengths closing on the top group in front if us. We rounded slightly behind the top group and picked off a few more on the downwind to finish 8th.
Lunch time:
After 2 races we were sent in so the other fleets could start their other qualifying races. We made lunch and headed to the top deck of St. Francis YC to watch the racing and strategize for our next set.
Race 3: ebb tide in 15-20 knots
We got a great start towards the pin end again but unfortunately we were sailed around. We couldn't get locked in and find the groove. We rounded in 15th and were in hot pursuit. We had a decent downwind gaining boat lengths and not capsizing which seemed to be a theme for some in the rougher conditions. We had a decent upwind staying close but not passing boats. On the last downwind we played the lesser tide along St. Francis YC and made huge gains. Coming closer to the finish we got lucky with a few things. An Argentine team jibed right on the Aussies just a few boat lengths in front of us and they both stopped dead. We were fully powered in a puff and were lucky to be able to head up and over both teams crossing a starboard tack boat. We called room on the Argentine team close to the finish and they tried to jibe but flipped! We are unsure what happened to the Aussies and the starboard tack boat but we had a sketchy jibe toward the finish with a winged spinnaker and an unbalanced boat. We were lucky to make the finish but glad we did. We gained 3 boats to finish 11th.
Race 4: ebb tide in 15-20+ knots
We had an okay start but behind the line. We missed a few shifts and weren't quite locked in again. We rounded in about 15th and headed in to shore to avoid current. We gave the spectators a little show toward the club with some wave jumps and near pitch-poles. We gained a few boats on the downwind just by staying upright and continued to work forward from there. We played the shifts and finally got the boat moving and really took off. After another solid downwind with amazing speeds we finished 12th.
Results: 17th/78 still!
Happy with the days racing we have a break tomorrow! No racing is scheduled! However, we both seem to be so addicted to speed we're going to try and go even faster in a 29er by trying out the new 29er X rig. The designer Julian Bethwaite has offered us to try out his new improved 29er with a larger mast with 2 sets of spreaders, double trapeze, larger sails, and a mast head spinnaker! Should be too much fun!
Well the day is done and the gear is in the bucket. Stay tuned for more racing reports!
Graham Biehl
Stu McNay
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