The fourth race of the 505 Australian Championship was held today. It was also the first race of the 505 pre world championship. Another beautiful day, with a little more breeze than yesterday. The wind was more from the right than earlier. A significant wave pattern developed, with was not quite square to the wind. Boats seem to pitch more on starboard tack, while port was easier, smoother and faster. Though it looked like 20-25 knots, it didn't feel like it. One theory is that the very hot air is less dense than cooler air, and does not have as much force on the sails...
The start of the race was abandoned with only twenty seconds before the pathfinder was to be released, as the pathfinder had to tack to avoid a collision. Since this was about 4.5 minutes after the first boats had gone through the gate, some boats were quite far up the beat!
The restart was fine, and the race got off.
The Nicholsons never managed to get to the front, and the race was won by four time World Champion Krister Bergstrom. Several of the top finishers were penalized for not tallying out, including Jeff Miller/Mike Martin, who crossed the finish line 3rd.
The pre-worlds are only more preparation for the worlds, so no one is too excited about the tally penalties - just don't forget to do it during the worlds!
Ali