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| Just after the gybe mark, Alan
(7346) and Jason remain close. ... |
 |
| Reverse angle of the second
reach: It's a close spi reach, and Dave (282) has his pursuers tucked
away to leeward - just where he wants them. (l to r) Brian, Andrew, Jamie.
Only Jamie is far enough to leeward to have a hope of sneaking through
Dave. ... |
 |
| And from the other side, it
looked like this - will Bill (r)
pulling away a bit. ... |
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| Andrew (4610) makes ... ... |
 |
| ... his move to ... ... |
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| ... challenge Dave (282). ... |
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| Meanwhile, Al (red spi) has
extended his lead while Bill (937) had to fight off all those other
boats at the gybe mark. ... |
 |
| Another view of Andrew (l) making his move. In the
background, we can see the RC boat as part of the start/finish line
about one third of the way up the beat. ... |
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| Some very fine racing was
enjoyed by all of us. ... |
 |
|
A wall of three W's could be
starting to block Dave's wind. Or maybe not. There is a school of
thought that if you're on a run and have a group of boats not far
astern, you can gain by positioning yourself straight downwind of a gap
in the "wall" where the wind will be funnelling through.
... |
 |
|
Jason (spi) is more patient
here than I would be. Somehow, he needs to get out from between Alan to
windward and Robin to leeward. Since he can't go all the way through
due to Alan's wind shadow (note collapsed chute), he needs to slow
down: sail with the board full down and/or radically oversheet his
sails. Then he can try going around Alan and Robin on either side.
Actually, here, with the wind pretty far aft, there is a small chance:
The next time the spi fills ...
... |
 |
| ... Jason should run down as far
as he can without fouling Robin. ... |
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| He and Lori
could>should>must do this here! If they want to get by!! ... |
 |
|
A very early douse for Al (l) whose lead can only be
jeopardized by a spi screw-up at the mark, and why risk that??!!
Andrew (4610) may have moved past Dave (282) into 3rd. The latter is
overvanged, the former has his main in too far (the spi and main angle
are not a good match: when the pole can come that far aft, the main
should be right out for a run!)
... |
 |
| Brian looks very relaxed as John
does a fine job flying the chute. ... |
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| Jason continues to "beat his
head against the wall". ... |
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| From leeward, we can see Dave
(282) being chased by Andrew (4610), Brian (6082) and Jamie (4594). ... |
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| And the the Andrew move past
Dave. ... |
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| And as they near the leeward
mark, Jamie (gray and purple chute) sneaks past ... ... |
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| ... Brian (r). ... |
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| And here's the view from in
front: Judging by apparent mast height, Bill is an easy 2nd, while the
next four are very close, as are the final three. ... |
 |
|
After putting half his lead on
port tack, Al (3854) has tacked to starboard. When Bill (not seen here)
rounds, Al can tack once more and should find himself directly between
Bill and the next mark - the textbook defense against a pursuer. Note
also, how both Marc and Al are keeping their eyes open: for better
wind, other boats, topless windsurfers, etc.
...
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