Good evening race fans!

Our last update came to you Tuesday morning after one day of racing when we were in 6th overall. Despite doubting that we would get any races off, we sailed two races yesterday and two races today. After some fantastic racing, we finished 3rd, 2nd, 7th, and 1st(!!!), and are currently in 2nd place on the scoreboard, only two points out of first! We still have five races scheduled, two Thursday, and three Friday, as well as one last race Saturday for the top ten teams. The scores are really tight at the top of the women's fleet, so hang on to your hats!

For complete scores, please visit the regatta website: www.rolexmiamiocr.org

Yesterday was light, as was today. After waiting around on shore for a while, we launched around 11 am and waiting until 2 pm to sail our first race in 6-7 knots. We had a great start near the boat (right) end of the line, but quickly got pinched off by the Austrian boat. It turned out that the Austrians were the fastest boat on the race course, winning the race. We came back on a nice right shift, and were 2nd most of the way around the race course, loosing one boat on a downwind, to finish third.

In the second race yesterday, in 6-8 knots, we got really lucky and put ourselves in some magic spots. We wanted to start at the pin, but were forced out and ducked 3/4 of the fleet on our way to the right side. Luckily we came out lifted on port. On the first upwind, we played the right, knowing that we were behind the lead pack coming in from the left. We tacked in a magic spot on the first upwind, just a couple of boatlenghts underneath starboard layline (the path to the mark). We passed at least four boats who crossed us to overstand layline, and rounded the windward mark in top 5. We passed a boat here and there, and were in 3rd place coming into the last leeward mark. We managed to roll gybe through a boat's bad air, moving into 2nd place just one leg from the finish. All in slow motion. Exciting!

In the first race today, we were unsure as to what was going to happen, so we decided to get a good start and stay lifted. We started late at the boat
(right) end of the line, and tacked a couple of times before hooking into a nice right lift. We crossed the entire fleet, and we kept going left, instead of consolidating our gains as we should have. We were a close 2nd at the windward mark when we could've been 1st by a long shot. Our speed suffered a little bit on the second upwind, and we lost a boat here and there, crossing the finish line in 7th, close behind the boats in front of us.

In the second race today we were determined to not make some of the tactical mistakes we made in the first. We started at the pin and headed left. We had more pressure and shift on the left side than the boats on the right, and were ahead of all of the boats on our side of the race course. Unable to control what was happening on the other side of the course, we decided to make sure that we won our side, tacking and covering when it was appropriate. We were in 1st at the windward mark, and never looked back, crossing the finish line about 1/2 a leg in front of the second place boat. That race was our first (of many to come) win as a team, and both of us were sporting ear to ear grins.

We are thrilled to be racing, still getting better every time we step into the boat.

Thank you all for your support, and stay tuned for the next update!

Erin and Isabelle