Wanted to update folks who haven't been racing with us on the results so far.
Our class looked to be very interesting, but got even more interesting once they combined the J-109 one design fleet with the heavy displacement boats in class 4. J-109 Tantivity is real competition, and the crew of Absolutely and Different Drummer are always going to be tough. Shoot the Moon, the J-35 Tahlequah, and Illusionist have also proven to be a real challenge to beat.
So where are we after 2 of the 3 races? 4th of 14 in race 1, 7th of 14 in race 2. 5th of 14 overall, with 3 of the 4 J-109s behind us. Not bad, not great. Need some serious redemption in race 3. Let's all hope for a big blow, shall we?
Race #1 was a bit of everything. Light going really light following by big shifts and us being the winner of some, and the loser on others. We sailed well, and scored OK against a tough fleet. Zero to Hero to 4th, with tactics, luck, and light air work being the big keys to success.
Race #2 we measured in a new UK carbon tape drive main. Battens weren't perfect, and we took a 6 sec/mile rating hit but the sail was a nice improvement in the light stuff. Put a long, slow rip in the Russian kite when we couldn't keep it filled in a jibe and then put the prod through it when we sheeted on. After grinding our way back to contact with the leaders, the wind piped up to 15-20 we struggled to change gears uphill and lost them again. We finished overpowered in 20+ knots with the #1. Nice problem to have, looking back at it. The old main was really shy, and led us to carry the #1 longer than we should have. Finished 2 minutes out of 2nd place. (Others would say we finished 7th). Let's hope we can figure out a way to make up the difference in the last race, eh?
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