The fourth race of the 505 worlds was sailed on the alternate course, after the RC sat on the primary for a little while. The race was started in a great 15 + knot brreeze.
Remember my promise in my last report? I promised to start early in the gate, and go left, no matter what. Well, we broke the promise, and paid the penalty.
Meller/Mills in 7200 were one of the very first boats through the gate, and had tremendous speed up the first part of the beat. The combination of speed and a slight knock put them ahead of everyone, and they - here is the big mistake - tacked to consolidate. Other early starters continued, and went harder left. We went right for awhile and then tried to go back left, but the angle was so horrible we kept tacking back to the right. 7200 beat everyone who were right of us to the windward mark, but were beaten by the boats that continued further left. We rounded the top mark 10th. The team that rounded the top mark 4th told us after the race we would have lead at the weather mark if we had continued hard left.
The first reach was tight, and many teams doused and two sailed reached to get up to the gybe mark. Several of the top teams go themselves back into the race on this leg, with the Nicholsons, Towers, . The second reach was too broad, and most teams elected to sail high and fast, and then gybe to get down to the rhumb line. Bergsrtrom/Westerdahl were the first to gybe on the second reach.
Ian Barker/Dan Cripps won the race, considerably improving their position, Hugh Stodard was 2nd, Bergstrom/Westerdahl 3rd, Robinson/Masterman 4th, Paul Towers 5th, the Nicholsons 6th, Andrew Hewson 7th, Bojland/Cristiani 8th, Soulsby 9th, Scheder/Averdson 10th (7200 was ahead of Scheder/Arvedson half way up the last beat, Oh, well!)
We finished 14th, losing several boats at the top of the last beat as the breeze developed some holes and some shifts close to Magnetic Island. The last shift was a righty, and we were furthest left looking for the lefty (well, wouldn't you after what happened on the first beat?).
Hamlin/Lewis broke a main halyard before the start, dumped the boat and tied it up, but only upright a minute before the start, and ended up starting very late in the gate, as they had to reach off to get the water out of the boat. They got up to 21st, just behind Miller/Martin.
The fleet sailed in and derigged as clouds and a major downpour started. Apart from some rain one night, this is the first time we have seen anything but sunshine, humidity and heat in Townsville. THIS IS WONDERFUL. The experts are predicting wind from the SE for the next few days. Apparently it blows hard when this happens.
After today, Mike and I are looking forward to some breeze. Our team work and boathandling leaves something to be desired, but it is more fun when you are going really fast..... Some of the event organizers watching leeward mark roundings are encouraging us to use the launcher as our douses are so bad.....
Well, the conditions are supposed to be different tomorrow.... maybe I will ignore the crew, and overstand the left corner.......
Ali