Class 4 of the Grand Prix looked like a mixed bag, to say the least. 11 boats, weighing from 1700 to 17000 lbs, a number of previous Grand Prix, Swiftsure (3) , Whidbey Island Race Week (2), RTC (2), and PSSC winners, plus us and a couple of other odd ball boats. And then throw in 4 J-105s just for good measure. We felt lucky to be in the fleet and weren't expecting to be on the podium, but we were determined to see if having our full crew aboard could level the field for us after the poor showing at PSSC.
The forecast was for moderate winds for first two days. The wind failed to show, and we were forced back into light air mode. We finished 7th on Friday, and dropped to 10th on Saturday, although we were only 10 points out of third.
Sunday was a different deal. The wind piped up to the mid-twenties and stayed there. We were 4th after the first race, 2nd after the 3rd, and ended up winning the final race by narrowly beating Different Drummer and saving our time over the J-105 Allegro Vivace, who was less than a minute behind us.
Overall, we finished mid-pack. If this had been scored more normally, with the DNF or DNC boats who dropped out as the wind build scored as # entered +1, the final day's 4, 2, 1 might have gotten us on the podium. Instead, the two days of light air hurt us, as one of the heaviest boats in the fleet, and the first 4 races outweighed the last three.
But we got progressively better, and did well against perennial winners Shoot the Moon, and against Different Drummer (helmed by Ullman's Chris Winnard). So we felt good about the effort against respectable competition. And we had a great time. Becca made lasagna that was the envy of the fleet too, thanks for that!
Photos are here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/38131227@N06/galleries/72157625111549127/
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