We got it all: 20 gusting 30 to end Saturday and 2 gusting 3 to start Sunday. I won both those races; so I guess I can't make excuses as just a heavy air guy or just a light air guy. I really only had one bad race and one significant mistake all weekend if you don't count the capsizes on Saturday (everybody went upside down and/or broke something that day.) After sailing my throwout in race 5--a lot of little screw-ups just made me slow--I still had a one point lead with just one race to go. Charles would hold the tiebreaker if he won the last race, and since he and I had collectively claimed the first 5, it all came down to who would take this last one.
Pin end of the line was favored as it had been all weekend, and the wind had built enough to make boat speeds a bit more normal. With the rest of the fleet bunched up at the boat end ready to run the line with about 30 seconds to go, I came in from the left looking for just the right spot to slot in. Ah, there it was. I tacked in to leeward of Charles. All looked good except for Big Joe to leeward of me and the pin coming up fast with the clock ticking down slow. As I tried to stall, Big Joe came up to leeward forcing me to sheet in and move out. Joe finding that he was now early and out of room gybed around leaving me right at the pin (where I wanted to be) . . . and praying that my watch was slow. Was it the perfect start in the do or die race? I was the left most boat on a left favored line, and I'd been successfully outpointing the other boats already this day. Two boat lengths after the gun came the dreaded, "OH FIVE OH OVER EARLY." Ugh. Circled back and took up my spot at the back of the fleet. I managed to climb back to third, but that was it.
Three bullets in all to close my final Megabyte regatta, but it wasn't enough as Charles collected the other three and his 2-2 (after one throw out) edged my 2-3. Yeah, it's disappointing to have been that close to winning the North American championship regatta, but I know it was the best regatta I've sailed and I finished just one point behind a truly great sailor.
I'll miss Fleet 3. More on that later . . .
About this blog
Well, this blog started out as a chronicle of the restoration, and adventures aboard, the O'Day Mariner, Mothra. But since then, and thanks to Mothra rekindling my love of sailing, it's often taken over with other sailing content. So be it. I'm having so much fun with the new Megabyte, I gotta share that, too.
3 comments:
No losers. Only winners having a groovy time and competitive races in one of the most beautiful spots in the world.
Woo hoo. So close, indeed. Aren't you tempted to have another shot next year?
Very tempted.
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