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Day | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final |
After being postponed for 90 minutes due to no wind, the first start gun sounded just after 1:30pm. The westerly breeze proved very shifty all afternoon, ranging from as much as 13 knots to as little as 5, with the wind strength varied all over the course. We sailed a course with two mile long legs up and down the bay for a total of ten and a half miles over three hours. Our plan was to start in the middle of the line where we would not be forced over the line early and sail up the middle playing the shifts. This conservative approach does not win races but if executed well will get you in the top ten as someone will always pass you on the corners of the course. We played the shifts like good lake sailors and hedged towards the favored side of the course. With good boat speed and concentration during the light tricky phases we managed to round the first weather mark in third place. We played the puffs and concentrated on boat speed through the middle of the course on the first leeward leg which again proved to be a good conservative choice. We rounded the gate in second place and were able to hold the position through the remainder of the race. The light wind is unusual for San Francisco but we think it will prevail for the next few days before the weather pattern changes and brings the strong winds everyone expects. We have one race scheduled to start at noon tomorrow. We will keep you posted on how it goes! Cheers! Tip of the Day: Start at the favored end of the line in big fleets. Today the start line was nearly a mile long with 80 boats. In the first general recall, the pin was 10-15 degrees favored. The boat at the pin, Andy MacDonald, was able to start and tack onto port crossing the whole fleet by 20 boat lengths! Photo by Chuck Lantz.
Starting in the middle of the line we worked the middle of the course until we were clear of the fleet and had clear air. Then we let our boat speed do the work up to the starboard side of the course. We did a good job hitting the layline and passed a few boats right at the top of the course to round in fifth. The breeze got a bit patchy on the run and we got caught on the low of the fleet. We lost a few boats in the bad air but rounded the leeward mark cleanly and were able to get to our chosen side of the course. On the second weather leg we held in the top ten despite some closely fought lanes up the leg. By the time we rounded the weather mark, the top few boats had pulled away from the next pack, and the clearing skies and freshening breeze on the down wind compressed the fleet, making fifth through twenty-fifth very close. Up the last leg we worked hard to hold off some solid challengers behind us and tried to pass a few boats going into the finish by over-standing the finish to the right since we knew the flooding tide would push us down. Unfortunately, the top of the course was crowded with spectator boats including one large sailboat with their sails up. The judges tried to move them out of the way but they tacked in front of us taking our wind and costing us two places at the line. Overall, it was a solid day finishing in ninth and moving into fourth place for the regatta behind Rohan Lord (NZL), Flavio Marazzi (SUI) and Robert Scheidt (BRA). The weather for tomorrow could be interesting with the same system still hovering over us. We are shooting for another top ten to keep us in the hunt for the end of the week. Cheers! Tip
of the Day: Be the first boat to the racecourse. Whether sailing
at home in club races or at a world championship, we try to
get to the racecourse early. We all sail most of the course
to test the wind, get in phase with the shifts, and thoroughly
prepare our boat. It is also a great time to clear your head
and get focused.
In Charge Again, it took three tries to get a race off and we had good start all three times in the middle of the line. With the Z-Flag flying on the last attempt, a number of the top competitors pushed the leeward end of the line too hard and saw their OCS numbers posted at the weather mark. We held our course off the line until most of the fleet cleared away and had plenty of good open lanes as we worked our way to the top of the course. We rounded the first mark in second place behind Mark Reynolds, with the Italian and German teams hot on our heals. Down wind we decided to sail a higher course than Reynolds for more wind and when we got to the bottom we were dead even. Rather then splitting with Reynolds through the gate we felt confident in our boat speed and chose to follow him around and battle it out upwind. Old School vs. New School; Reynolds had the advantage up the course but after a few well-timed tacks we arrived at the top of the course ahead of him. Meanwhile, Marc Pickel, the German, was free to sail alone and passed us both. Down the second run we gained a few boat lengths and were even with the Germans at the bottom, but this time we split with them to sail in clear water on the right side of the course. We made good gains working the boat and with a few good shifts we took the gun with a solid lead over both the Germans and Mark Reynolds. While today's win puts us in first place three points ahead of Rohan Lord (NZL), and seven ahead of Flavio Marazzi (SUI) but a lot can happen in three races. Tomorrow will prove to be a challenging day with a forecast for rain and a southeasterly gradient. We will try to get some pictures up on the web site Wednesday shot by wonder-host Donna Wotton and if you get the Valley News in NH or VT check out the sports section Wednesday. Cheers! Tip of the Day: Don't get caught up in a battle when you are trying to win the war. Sometimes it feels good to be able to pass the boat next to you but if you focus on one boat, you can let a dozen pass you while you battle it out. It is better to work together with the boats around you so everyone goes fast! Standings
after three races (no discard) -- 66 boats
Seeing
Stars Cheers! Tip of the Day: Keep an eye on the clouds. Big dark clouds that are not raining suck air in from all directions and leave light air under them. Clouds that are raining push air out in all directions and increase the breeze.
Sailors
were presented with the most challenging day thus far in the
competition with gray skies, flat water, occasional rain and
the lightest of air. The start was delayed while the St Francis
Yacht Club With
much at stake in this competition, there have been some serious
disappointments during the starting sequence. Today saw a
general recall at the first start and the second a Z-flag
start. A number of Veteran
Star sailor John Kostecki, in a coaching role this regatta
was on the docks at the St Francis Yacht Club at day's end.
"It's been unusual this week with the weather. It's not
typical for San Francisco so there's been no real local advantage
unfortunately," he laughed. "But you're still seeing
all the good guys at the top." Standings
after four races (no discard) -- 66 boats 10/05/06 Top
Crunch
Time Having to tack and cross the fleet from the pin is a curious thing; either you are very fast, very lucky, very well liked, or shot out the back. We crossed eight boats (to whom we now owe crossings in the future) and made it to the right side of the course. The right paid off well, allowing us to round the weather mark in the top ten. We held our position on the run and then next weather leg, playing the shifts and maximizing boatspeed. On the second run we held on starboard for a long time out from the mark before making two jibes on small shifts. We decided to hold course as we were on lay-line (the shortest course to the mark), but we watch as a pack of fifteen boats caught up to us to leeward and five boats caught up to us from weather. We rounded the leeward in about 15th place, depending on how you count the huge overlaps of so many boats, and we were forced to round away from the pressure on the left side. It looked dismal for a while but we kept working the shifts on our side of the course and passed enough boats to finish ninth. The ninth place finish puts us in fourth overall, 10 points out of first, and three points out of second. Tomorrow we expect some real San Fran wind to end what was a very unusual week. We will try to get a notice out on our finish as quickly as possible and to a full recap by Monday (you really don't have anything to do at work anyway!). Cheers! Andy & Brad Tip of the Day: Be a good citizen. Star World Champion Paul Elvstrom said Winning is no victory if, in doing so, you lose the respect of your competitors.You can not be everyone's friend but if you are generally a good clean competitor you will get the âcross when you need it and you return the favor when you can. Standings
after five races (one discard) -- 66 boats 10/06/06 Top
Finale
Our plan was to sail for a top five result focusing on the two boats closest to us and shoot for second. The pin end of the line was 15 degrees favored for the first start and still 10 degrees favored for the second start under black flag (automatic disqualification for being over the line). We decided to push down to the favored end since we needed a good result. As we approached the line there was a boat parked close to the line in our way. With 30 seconds to go we were forced to make a big move to avoid the roadblock which hurt our acceleration. We started at the pin end with Brazil below us and the Italians and French above. We had a good start but Brazil hit the line with more speed and we were forced to tack only minutes after the start. The first leg was shifty and once we got bumped into the second row there were no lanes to tack in. We battled our way up the leg and rounded in the top twenty in one of the tightest legs we have seen all regatta. On the run we were able to break free low and when a good shift came we were one of the first to jibe. We worked the left down the run and made huge gains to round in the top ten, even with the lead pack. On the second weather leg we concentrated on boat speed, breaking into the top five but the two boats we had to pass were still ahead of us. We did some quick math on the second downwind leg and decided the competition behind us in the results was far enough back and could not pass us in the regatta so we split from the leaders to try to pick up a few places. The move did not yield the results we were looking for and we lost a few more boats, but at least we made every effort. Again we used our boat speed going to weather to pass 6 boats and get back to a "single digit" finish in ninth place for the race, and fourth overall in the 65-boat regatta with a talented field. It was an excellent result but we are slightly disappointed with the points we left on the table. We were one of the most well prepared teams and gave ourselves every opportunity to win the World Championships on our first try, but we will have to wait until next year. The good news is that our result further solidifies our position as the #1 team in the United States and proves that we should have no problem qualifying the country for the Olympics next year in Portugal. The US Team put nine boats in the top 30 showing there will be tough competition for the US spot in 2008. Our US competition showed up to the Worlds with new technology, multiple coaches and coach boats, and will be gunning for us in the US Team Pre-Trials next week in Marina Del Rey, CA. We will be in Marina Del Rey for the US Team Pre-Trails on Oct 15th through the 23rd to test the waters and wind in the venue that will be used for the US Team trials one year from now. We will have both our boats in LA and anyone interested in sailing against the top US Teams (and a few top international teams) can talk to us about chartering USA 8156. The boat was fully prepped for the worlds and as fast as ever. We would even consider selling her to the right supporter – shoot us an e-mail if you are interested. We have exactly one year until the US Team Trials Regatta which decides who will represent the United States in Beijing in 2008. Some of our US competition is well funded, even salaried, and do not have to worry about fundraising. We are supporting our sailing through our jobs at Luna Rossa and LNR Partners and still wracking up some substantial debt. We have received some generous donations from our supporters and sponsors, but we have a long way to go to Beijing. Thank you to all our supporters who have sent us e-mails over the last week, and especially to the few who have sent donations. Thank you to our suppliers Sperry Top-Sider, Harken, Kaenon Polerized, Patagonia, JCD and our employers Prada/Luna Rossa and LNR Partners, Inc. Thank you to our coach, James Lyne, our host, Donna Wotton, and all of our families and friends who came out to cheer us on. It really makes a difference when we leave the dock to have all of you onboard with us. Cheers! Andy & Brad Tip of the week: Preparation is King. In order to be a top competitor you need to check as many things off the list before you even start a race. We were on site practicing a week before the event and one of the first to leave the docks each day to ensure we had all the information we needed to win. 10/10/06 Top |
