long distance race (counted as R4 & R5). We started right off the
beach with a mark set just off the pier at Sunset Bar &Grill and the
RC spotting the line from the beach. We raced upwind to the same
windward mark we used for course racing, rounded to starboard and
tight-reached on port to a mark we set off of Deadwood point. We jibed
that mark and headed across the wind down towards the Fond du Lac
lighthouse where we could choose any channel marker to round however
we chose. I picked the most upwind buoy since it was the closest and
actually chose to tack it since I was in the lead and wanted to
maintain upwind ground to cover Mark, Kevin, Don, and Andy who were
close behind.
After rounding the mark the wind picked up to almost 15 mph and gave
us a nice port reach back to the course windward mark. I jibed that
buoy and started planing downwind as fast as I could since Kevin
Gratton was closing in with the help of some nice tailing puffs. We
split jibes as I headed to the south side of the course on starboard
and he pushed off the wind on port as he passed the windward buoy. I
was able to maintain speed and get to the port lay line to jibe and
head back to the beach for the first place finish.
I attached a picture that we got of the start of the race as well as a
google earth overlay of my gps track.
We had 5 more course races on Sunday in 5-10 mph winds. I'll post more
pictures and results when I get them.
I'm pleased to say that after 4 years away from winning the Windpower
Championships (with three 2nd place finishes during that time), I
finally secured another victory at this regatta with a
(3)-(1)-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1 perfect final score.
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