Dear Friends,

Today’s update is going to be brief as we had a long day on the water. We are currently in 12th place, with five races sailed, and eight left to go. We have 28 points, and are only 14 points out of 2nd place. We have mathematically secured qualifying for the gold fleet, and are now focusing on that spot on the podium! We sailed three races today, finishing 15th, 6th, and 12th. For details from today’s racing, please read on!

For complete scores, photos, and live GPS tracking(!!) of the races, please visit the regatta website:

http://worlds470.kdy.dk

Thank you to all of our sponsors who make our effort possible. The US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics sponsors: AlphaGraphics, Rolex, Atlantis, Sperry Topsiders, and Harken. And, our personal sponsors: Stonington Harbor Yacht Club, Kaenon, and Sampson Ropes.

The wind in all three races was a variant of a southerly, and we still had a very strong current running south to north. The right side of the racecourse was substantially favored because of a combination of current relief, stronger wind, and a right wind shift off the land. These factors made the races a one-track race: go right!

In the first race, despite good preparation, we did not realize how costly going a short distance to the left would actually be. Half way up the first windward leg we were in approximately 23rd… We sailed smart and fast for the rest of the race, but there were very little passing opportunities, and we counted ourselves lucky to finish 15th.

In the second race, we went right but did not have a great lane. We rounded the first windward mark in approximately 12th, and had a great second lap of the race, rounding the second mark in 6th place. This race was an outer loop, with the second lap sailed in the middle of the body of water. There was no current relief to be had on either side, so our tactics were back to playing the shifts effectively up the beat.

At the end of the second race, we were surprised to see that the race committee planned to run a third, despite only two being on the schedule. The breeze built dramatically, from 10-12 knots in race two to approximately 15-18 knots in race three, with a big left shift. We pinned down, getting our boat setup for the breeze, had a race-winning start at the boat, right, end of the line, only to discover that our vang (the control that holds the boom down — critical for windy conditions) was not working correctly. We struggled with speed upwind, rounding the first mark in about 16th when we could easily have been top three. We had a great reach, did a small fix on the vang downwind, and hung on the next lap to cross the finish line in 12th.

Overall, we are disappointed with a day that could have been great without two critical errors: going left in the first race of the day, and having a vang that did not work well in the third race. We are happy that we are within 14 points of second place, and are looking forward to the races to come.

Best,

Erin and Isabelle

US Sailing Team Alphagraphics

Campaign for 2012 Olympic Games
www.470TeamUSA.com

erin@470TeamUSA.com

isabelle@470TeamUSA.com