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| Bill Vogler sailing his new boat, FS#6140 |
There is something really special about racing against the
fastest sailors in our class against a backdrop of rollercoasters and Ferris
Wheels! And that’s exactly what we did on Wednesday. Instead of sailing upwind
through chop for 45 minutes we sailed in the East Bay, which is just minutes
away and more protected. That and the
fact that the wind came down to the 10-12 mph range made for a different set of
conditions compared to Tuesday’s races … conditions that Ben and I, for one, enjoyed
quite a bit!
The race committee ran one 4-leg windward leeward race and
then a 5-leg race before sending us in to clean up for the annual
meeting/banquet. At various points it seemed like the wind was building and
building, but then it settled down again. The most exciting wind came at the
end of the first race (championship) and on the second up wind leg in the
challengers’ first race when the wind, which had been shifting slightly right
all morning, came in strong and hard from the left. That meant that the
mid-fleet boats in the championship fleet came bearing down fast on the leaders
and it meant that many boats on the right side of the course going upwind in
the challenger fleet saw 15-20 boats, who happened to be on their left, leap
past them. Lots of teeth gnashing on board. Don’t you love sailing?!
Still, kudos to the race committee, which set good square
lines and handled the shifty wind with aplomb and professionalism. As one
sailor said, “no matter what they decide, you know we are in good hands with
Jim Tichenor and his crew.”
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