Dear Friends,

Well, we had a good day in really tough conditions!  We sailed three races today and finished 3rd, 7th, and 4th.  We hung tough upwind, sailing smart in conditions where we are not the fastest.  Downwind we motored!  Overall, we moved up to 5th but are tied for 4th with our Japanese friends from Sail Melbourne.  There is one race left in the qualifying series, and we’re only 6 points out of 1st place — awesome!  The points are still really close and the top of the fleet is all sailing well.  For complete scores, please visit the regatta website:
http://www.yachting.org.au/site/yachting/event/11221/overall_2_1.html

Also, please visit the home page for Sail Melbourne where yours truly are front and center!  (The photo is from Sail Melbourne — it hasn’t been that windy yet on a tight reach at the Worlds!)
http://www.sailmelbourne.com.au/index.html

For details from today’s racing, please read on!  

The forecast for today was not good, but the clouds cleared early and we were excited for a sea-breeze to build by the end of the day.  Today’s racing was on a different racecourse, “Alpha”, where Gold fleet will be sailing.  The first race was sailed in 6-8 knots.  The starting line was shorter, so we were looking for low density.  We started towards the pin, and worked the left side of the course.  The pressure was always slightly better towards the left.  We kept digging left, and kept looking better and better on the fleet.  We rounded the windward mark 3rd and held there for the entire race, keeping the 4th place team slightly behind us.  Not a bad start to the day!

2:30 p.m. seems to be the magic time for the sea-breeze here in Melbourne, so in between races at 2 p.m. we were confident the breeze would continue building.  We depowered our boat, setting up for wind that never materialized.  The whole race was sailed in approximately 8 knots.  We started the second race in the middle of the line and did not have our usual jets upwind.  We played the shifts well, but rounded the first windward mark in approximately 10th in a big pack.  We lost a couple of boats in the next lap as we struggled slightly with both speed and positioning.  We rounded the last windward mark in about 15th.  Downwind, we turned on the afterburners.  Erin found perfect lanes steering us away from other boats, while Isabelle worked the waves better than she ever has (according to coach Skip Whyte).  As we sailed down the run, Erin started naming the boats that we were passing by riding waves low away from the pack.  As we rounded the last leeward mark, we were in 7th!  We had gained at least 300 yards relative to the boats around us.  Never had a 7th felt so good.  As we finished the race, we noticed that the committee was sending us on a third race — game on!

By this time it was clear that the sea-breeze was not filling with its usual gusto, so we again set up our boat for light air.  This proved to be the right decision: the race started in 8 knots which died to 4 knots by the end of the race.  During the starting sequence the boat became favored, so we took a second row start near the boat, right, end of the line.  We were the first boat to tack out toward the right side of the racecourse.  We were nervous about splitting so hard from the other boats, so took a five degree shift back towards the left looking good on the fleet.  The right continued to pay, but we worked the left side of the upwind losing out to the right.  We rounded the first windward mark in approximately 10th and more or less held there for the next lap.  The breeze really died out on the last run, but our speed did not.  We found a little bit more wind on the downwind right side of the run (upwind left side of the racecourse), and did well relative to the boats around us.  We did not realize how well we had done until we approached the last leeward mark in 5th.  We had two last good gybes, passing the 4th place boat, and almost getting to 3rd.  We were very happy with the 4th with which we crossed the line.

Overall, today was great because we did well in conditions that are not our strongest.  We are continuing to make good, conservative decisions on the racecourse.  We should have one more day of light air before the next cold front rolls in on Sunday, just in time for Gold Fleet.  Bring on the breeze!  

Thank you to our sponsors, the Stonington Harbor Yacht Club Champions Fund, Kaenon, and Harken, as well as all of the individuals who keep us on the racecourse.  We could not do it without you!

Best,

Erin and Isabelle

470 Team USA

www.470TeamUSA.com

erin@470TeamUSA.com

isabelle@470TeamUSA.com