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Race #3:
course: from 2 –
3-1-2-1-2
winds SW 10-15,
gusting to 20 knots; sunny, warm
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Aboard SHADES, it was
beginning to sound like a broken record! Same course,
same winds and the same down-the-line start for Uncle Al
who again watched Peter and Scott pull into the lead
after heading for the west shore early. This time it was
Scott however, who rounded first, while Uncle Al managed
to get past Peter on a port tack lift closer to
#3.
Going down the east
shore towards #1, Uncle Al made up some ground on Scott,
while Peter made up ground on both.
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Uncle Al (left)
chases Scott down the first run while a
closely bunched pack snaps at the
leaders' heels, all the while keeping a
wary eye on the Tornado catamaran (right)
which
could leap forward instantly in a good,
solid gust!
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Peter
(right) decides to go higher to join
Scott and Uncle Al.
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Meanwhile,
Jens (7663) and Roger (7700) try the west
side of the lake. Brian Jeffs has a nice
puff in the middle while John deBoer
(green and blue spi) is still recovering
from last night. An assortment of Lasers
and Y-Flyers add to the background
ambience.
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Brian Jeffs (left) and
Scott Bamford in fine form as they head
for mark #1 at the end of the first run.
Bob Kennedy visible just off their
leech.
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Sailing W286, SHADOW,
disguised as W5631, Peter and Alex Rahn
also show text book form as they cruise
in to take 3rd in race #3.
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Al tacked to clear his
air after rounding #1 a close second to Scott and
promptly fell victim to the shift that lifted starboard
tack about half-way to the point south of the moorings.
It was still a very close race among the top 3 as they
rounded mark 1 onto the final beat back to 2. With only
about 5 boatlengths separating first-place Scott from
3rd-place Al, the latter was determined not to go left
early again no matter how much dirt he had to eat!
Imagine Al’s delight when 2nd-place Peter tacked away to
the left and Scott tacked to cover. Despite apparently
sailing away from the finish line on port tack, Al and
Frank held port for about 200 yards until port was
knocked even worse. Sure enough, the starboard lift
worked as well for Uncle Al as it had earlier for Scott
and Peter. He was able to cross Peter by about 30 yards
and just barely able to cross Scott. (see photo
below)
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Uncle Al (left) has moved
into the lead by sailing towards the
moorings and then getting the inside
starboard tack lift. Scott (white
Wayfarer) will tack as soon as he has
crossed Peter (right) and when they
converge Uncle Al will cross both boats
who had rounded just ahead of him.
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What should have happened next
was a tack by Al as soon as he could do so
without fear of falling into Scott’s backwind.
Instead he held on for more than 100 yards
until he got a juicy knock. He tacked and was
easily able to lay the finish line on port.
The bad news however, was that Scott had
gotten the same shift and was able to lay the
leeward end of the line and beat Uncle Al by
about a boatlength (left). |
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Peter Rahn took a
comfortable 3rd (see earlier photo) while Bob
Kennedy continued his excellent day with another 4th.
Roger Shepherd completed the top five with a second
straight 5th. |