The wind was out of the west, from the shore, at about 12 knots, shifty and puffy. There were three races today. Normally, we will have two races a day; but we are a day behind, due to the hurricane threat, so we had an extra race. Nine boats have shown up in our fleet for the regatta. We sailed I2 courses all day, which is a windward/leeward twice around, then the reach-run-and-reach to the finish.
Race 1
We had a good start at the boat end of the line and tacked onto port
soon after the start. The wind quickly shifted back right, so we
tacked back to starboard and were out in front just after the start.
There was more wind on the left, so we played the shifts to the left
side and rounded the windward mark in first.
Things were close on the run, but we stayed ahead. Things got even closer on the next beat. For a while, we were almost even with Steve and Mike, and Morgan and Kevin. We managed to stay in the puffs and stay ahead at the weather mark. We jibe set for the run, which was almost all port--the current was setting us down to the mark on port.
On the final beat, Morgan and Kevin got a good shift to the right of us and got in front. They tacked on us heading back out right, but we pinched up and did a good job staying in clear air. At the top of the beat, they tacked out left and we got a good shift and puff on the right to pass them back. We had a good set on the reach and extended a little and stayed ahead to win the race.
Race 2
We had an okay start in the middle of the line and stayed in phase up
the beat, but Steve and Mike beat us to the leeward mark. We passed
them on the run by sailing lower. We tacked around the leeward
mark, but Steve and Mike, and Morgan and Kevin went way right and
were way ahead for most of the beat. Just towards the end of the
leg, the wind finally went back left, and we rounded in first. We
stayed ahead for the rest of the race to win.
Race 3
We pulled the trigger a little early at the start and had to slow down
to not be over and had a bad start. We were headed off the line but
couldn't tack because we were pinned. After being forced out of
phase on the beat, we rounded in fourth, with Morgan and Kevin
winning. We made a mistake by not jibe setting and lost a bunch of
distance.
It felt like we were being covered by all three boats ahead of us on the next beat, which made passing hard. We managed to stay close, however, and passed two boats on a jibe set at the weather mark to sail into second. Morgan and Kevin at this point were way ahead. By the next weather mark, there was a big gap in front of us to first and a big gap behind to third and nothing changed.
We ended the day with a 1,1,2, and we are ahead by two points.
Paul and Bob
Team 2000
We waited and waited and finally the breeze started to fill in from the SE. The race committee took the postponement flag down then put it back up 30 seconds later. This got the 470s excited and we all went out anyway, so the race committee followed 30 minutes later. Thirty minutes after the race committee got out, the wind died completely. The 470s waited around for 30 minutes then got on tows and started heading in.
We got to the harbor and found wind coming at us, but the race committee sent us in any way.
So, no racing.
Paul and Bob
Team 2000
We got out to the race area at about 8:30 this morning in a nice 12 knot easterly, but by the time we started it had died to about 10 knots and continued to die throughout the race.
Race 1
The course was an O3 (outer loop three times around or four beats on
the outer loop).
It looked like there was more wind on the left before the start, and the wind had just made a big shift to the left, so the plan was to get left on the first beat. We started towards the pin end, but since Morgan and Kevin had a little better start to leeward of us, we were soon forced onto port. It looked like we weren't going to be able to get back left, so we continued on port with the thought that it may shift back right before we got to the starboard tack layline. We got a bit of a shift, but the boats to the left of us, in more wind, were still ahead of us when we tacked. We were close to the starboard tack layline and had to make a bunch of tacks to stay in clear air. At the first weather mark we were in 5th.
Not much happened on the reach. We had a good run, sailing a little faster and lower, and rounded in third. Steve and Mike were winning, followed by Morgan and Kevin, and Mark and Ward. There was a shorten course at the leeward mark, so all of the following legs would be shorter. On the next beat, we went left for more wind and clear air, but that put us out of phase and we fell to fourth.
On the next run we caught up some distance and almost rounded in third but rounded still in fourth. On the short beat, our only clear air option was to go left again, but this time we were in phase. We managed to get inside a good lift heading to the mark on port and passed Morgan and Kevin and kevin and Tal. That put us in third, and we stayed there until the end of the last beat when we moved into second behind Steve and Mike.
We separated from them on the run, but weren't able to pass them. Steve and Mike won the race. We were second, Kevin and Tal were third and Morgan and Kevin were fourth.
The wind had died by the end of the first race, so the committee postponed on shore. We headed out again at about 2:30 with the hopes that there would be a sea-breeze, but it never happened.
Tomorrow (20 October) will be a lay day, so there will be no races.
Paul and Bob
Team 2000
Today was the first day with our new start time of 8:30 am. As every one started to launch their boats, around 7:15, the race committee had to postpone due to the fact that the sun had not risen yet. At about 7:40 the postponement was taken down and we got out to the course in a nice 15 knot northerly. We started after the girls and sailed I2's all day.
Race 1
We had a great start at the pin end with great speed. We ground it out to the left
side tacked and crossed the fleet on boat speed. At the weather mark we jibe
set and went fast down the run to extend our lead. Morgan and Kevin were
behind us a safe distance but within striking distance. We had extended on the
fleet quite a bit with them, so we were able to keep close tabs on them for the
rest of the race without worrying about other boats. At the finish we were about
fifteen seconds ahead of Morgan and Kevin who were about 45 seconds ahead
of the third place boat.
Race 2
We had another good start and went left with most of the fleet. Two boats out of
the right beat us to the mark, but we beat all the boats on our side. On the run,
we jibe set and passed the two boats in front of us to round the leeward gate in
first. Port tack was lifted, so we headed out right. Morgan and Kevin had
rounded the opposite side of the gate and sailed off on starboard for a bit before
tacking to port. They got a puff that we didn't get and passed us on the beat. We
rounded the weather mark a little behind them. With great speed on the run we
got low on them and passed, but they got us back right at the mark to get room
on us. We tacked around the mark and got a little puff that they didn't get to pass
them back. Half way up the beat, we got in a short tacking duel then decided not
to tack off of a lift to cover which resulted in a good gain. We stayed ahead for
the rest of the race to win with Morgan and Kevin in second and the third place
boat way behind.
Race 3
We started more towards the boat this time and had a good start. The boats
closer to the pin got a bit more wind and shot ahead a bit. We tacked off right, in
phase, and worked our way right to more wind. The brief puff on the left died out,
and the right side was looking good. As the puff came down on the right, we
were in a little better position for it than the other boats on the right and sailed
faster. At the weather mark we were first, Morgan and Kevin were around 5th.
We jibe set again, but should have bore away. After a jibe back to starboard, we
were in second but ground down the first place boat a bit. There was a change
of course at the leeward mark, so we started looking up wind for the mark as we
headed out right for a puff. The first place boat was on our hip and we pinched
them off in no time. There were two marks up wind that could have been the
weather mark, but we couldn't tell which one. The committee uses a mark with a
black band on it for the new mark, but in the wind all we could see was the top of
the marks so it was impossible to see the band. As we got closer to the mark,
what we thought was the mark, the race committee picked it up. We tacked and
started reaching for the real mark that we had overstood by about a minute and a
half. Fortunately most of the fleet made the same mistake. Unfortunately,
Morgan and Kevin did not and moved from about fourth to first. We were able to
foot over the rest of the boats to round second, but first had a good jump on us.
We finished the last race of the day in second.
Paul and Bob
Team 2000
Another early start today, coupled with good wind, promised another three-race day. The wind was out of the north again at 10-15 knots and shifty.
Race 1
We had a good start at the boat but made a quick move out to the
right that proved to be a mistake. Our first beat wasn't so good, and
we rounded the top mark in about fifth. Morgan and Kevin were in
third and moved into second on the reach.
Our speed on the runs has been good, and we passed one boat on the first run. Unfortunately, we had another tough beat and lost that boat back, then passed it again on the next run. Our next beat was better, and we moved up to second behind Morgan and Kevin.
They were about 50 yards ahead starting the last run, but we caught up to them and got overlapped inside them on the starboard tack lay line. As we approached the two-boat-length circle, they headed up and tried to break the overlap. They yelled, "NO OVERLAP," as they jibed; but we were yelling, "OVERLAP," at the same time. A small collision followed that resulted in Morgan's being wrapped in our spinnaker sheet and almost pulled overboard. His boat flipped as we got untangled and, after making sure everyone was okay, we sailed off to win the race, protest pending.
Race 2
After another good start, we made an early move right but played the
shifts better this time and had an okay beat, rounding behind Morgan
and Kevin. They had a good lead on the reach, but we ground them
down on the run. On the next beat, they covered us hard as we tried
to stay in phase.
On the next run, we got real close and rounded the leeward mark close enough to almost foot through them. There was a little tacking duel in the middle of the leg, but they split off on the favored tack and gained a little.
We gained on the next run and passed them just at the leeward mark. On the last beat, we covered them loosely, forcing them towards the port tack lay line. We held our lead on the last run and reach to win.
Race 3
Another good start towards the boat and in a lift, so we stayed on
starboard. When we started to get headed, we tacked too soon,
leaving boats to the left of us in better wind. We had a hard time
finding shifts out of the right and rounded the weather mark in fifth,
with Morgan and Kevin in third.
After the reach, we passed a boat on the run, but they passed us back in the next beat, then we passed them again on the next run to start the last beat in fourth. Everyone was going right, but we were headed, so we tacked out left. We stayed lifted for awhile; then close to the lay line, on the left all alone, we got a ten degree left shift with a big puff and reached into the weather mark to round in first. We held our lead on the final run and reach to win the race, with a bit of luck.
The Dreaded Protest
Paul wrote up the protest and practiced his presentation with coach
Mark. There was a judge right at the mark, and Skip got the rounding
on video, so we were confident.
When the skippers came out of the protest room, things looked bad. The judge said that Morgan and Kevin had just broken the overlap for a split second just as they entered the two-boat-length circle, and then lost it again. That would make Kevin Morgan right. Then the committee watched the video, but it wasn't at a good enough angle to help the decision.
When the judge was questioned, he said that he had not taken into consideration the spinnaker and the rudder in his no overlap call. This tipped the balance in our favor, and we won the protest. So three wins today puts us a few more points ahead.
Paul and Bob
Team 2000
Forecast today was for a second cold front to come through, with a high temp of 75 degrees and wind from the northwest at 15 knots. We woke up as usual at 6:00 a.m. and headed to the boat for a launch time of 7:00 a.m.
The postponement was up, as usual, because it was too dark to go out without running lights. Today, though, instead of taking the postponement down when the sun came up, they announced a real postponement due to lack of wind. It was pretty warm, too, so we were wondering where the cold front was.
We waited around for a couple of hours, watching the flag on a tall crane over the city. The wind had been blowing out of the north all morning, but was not making it down to the water.
Finally, the wind started to fill on the bay at about 11:00 a.m., so they sent us out. We sailed out, and the wind slowly built to 10-18 knots.
We were in the second start today, doing double inner loops.
Race 1
Our coach, Mark Hallman, wanted to tell us the scores, but we did not
want to know. We knew we had to beat Kevin and Morgan.
We had a safe start in the middle of the line, with Morgan and Kevin with a better start to weather. We tacked to duck them, and they tried to tack on us, but it was too windy and we shot through their lee and came out even with them.
We were going a little faster and got a few boat lengths ahead as we approached the starboard lay line. We tacked short of the lay line and crossed them, but four boats from the left crossed us. We rounded the weather mark fifth, but had a good run and extended on Kevin and Morgan and passed one boat.
We had an okay next beat, trying to tack on shifts, but mainly covering Kevin and Morgan, and rounded the next mark in fourth.
We immediately rolled one boat and were now in third, but we kind of got stuck to leeward of the third place boat. We caught the last wave into the leeward mark, however, and actually rounded first.
We had to cover Kevin and Morgan again, though, and went right while the left had been paying. So we got passed by two boats and rounded the weather mark in third.
We were doing a weather set onto the reach, and the spin got a little wrapped up, so we got rolled by a boat. Now it got really weird.
The wind was getting crazy. It died down to 5 knots at the reach mark, and Morgan came planing up to us. We rounded the reach mark five lengths ahead, and the big question was whether or not to jibe out on the run. Some people jibed out, but we kept straight, and Morgan and Kevin came with us.
They got the puff first, but we were able to hold them off, and when we finally got the puff we extended. This shot us into second, with Kevin and Morgan in third and Peter Katcha and Jim Elvart winning, and that's the way it finished.
Race 2
Coach says, "Stay out of trouble." Paul thinks, "No over earlies and
no fouls."
Everyone wants to go left this race and battles for the pin. We elect to stay out of trouble and start at the boat. We hit the first two shifts and are way ahead at the weather mark, with Morgan and Kevin in fourth.
This race we get pretty far ahead and just keep playing the shifts and win by a lot. Graeme Woodworth and Andrew Gainer are second, and Kevin and Morgan are third.
Yes!!!!
Race 3
Wind went 30 degrees left, to northwest. Coach says, "Finish
seventh or better."
We check the current at the start mark, and it's going three boat lengths a minute, about 3/4th of a knot--pretty strong, and it's going down wind.
We stay out of trouble again and start near the boat with everyone below us. We round the weather mark in second, behind Graeme and Andrew, who hit the mark due to the current. They do a fast 360 and stay ahead. The waves are not lined up with the wind now, so we do not have the speed advantage we had in the first two races.
We round the leeward mark in second, but the next beat we get a little too far right, and Morgan and Kevin move into the lead. That's the way it continues around a few more laps to the finish. Kevin and Morgan win, Graeme and Andrew come in second, and we come in third.
We won the regatta with two races to spare!
Long sail back to the harbor, straight into the wind for an hour.
We get in at 5:30 p.m., and everyone is congratulating us.
Yea!
But wait!!
Morgan is trying to reopen the Protest that he got a DSQ for yesterday. So we get back to work to get ready to sail tomorrow while we wait on the jury.
An hour later, we get the word. They will not reopen the Protest because the 24 hour time limit for reopening has expired.
Yea! We finally can celebrate.
Wo-hoo. yippee, hurrah!!!!!
Party timeeeeeeeeeeeee.
Going to kangaroo land!
Congratulations to everyone who has helped Team 2000.
Yea, Kitty Hawk!
Yea, CompuCom!
Yea, Texas!
Yea, Rhode Island!
See you guys at home.
Now we have another year of work ahead, but we can postpone it one day.
Paul and Bob
2000 Olympians