Dear Friends,

Unless you have been reading our facebook posts, the last time you heard from us was Wednesday evening.  Since then we sailed one race yesterday, placing 4th, and three races today, placing 19th, 20th, and 14th.  Overall we are in 10th place, but the points in front of us are very close.  We are only 14 points out of 4th place!  The first three teams, the Dutch, the New Zealanders, and the Italians, have extended their lead.  Tomorrow is the last day of racing in the finals, followed by a medal race (counting double) on Sunday.  We have three races scheduled tomorrow with the first race starting at 11 am European time.  We carry GPS units on our boat, so you can follow racing — live — online!  Follow the links from the Worlds website:www.470Worlds2010.com

Yesterday, Thursday, July 15th was a VERY long day.  We launched at 10 am for the last two races of our qualifying series, in 25-30 knots of wind blowing against an upwind current.  The race committee measured some gusts in the 40′s!  All the 470′s sailed out to the race course, and waited for 30 minutes while the race committee tried to decide whether or not to race us.  They finally decided to postpone us ashore, and we all did our best to make our way back to the harbor.  We were postponed on shore from 12:30 until 6:00 p.m., when we were sent back out for races.  We started our first race of the day yesterday at about 7:30 p.m. in 15-18 knots of dying breeze.  At this point the current was going downwind, making the upwinds VERY long and the downwinds pretty quick.  On the first upwind, we sailed to the left side of the racecourse, were going fast, and found current relief.  We approached the windward mark in first and maintained our lead downwind.  By the time we got to the leeward mark the wind had died to approximately 8 knots.  The race committee shortened the course, but didn’t have the new windward mark in the water when we rounded the leeward mark.  We couldn’t find the windward mark, and didn’t cover the fleet.  By the time we found the mark we rounded in about 8th place.  Bummer!  We fought back to 4th which was satisfying.  The race committee tried to start another race at about 8:30 p.m., but the wind had died so much that it would’ve been almost impossible to go upwind.  They cancelled racing for the day, and sent us home.  By the time we left the sailing center yesterday, Thursday, it was 10 p.m….  And our first race today, Friday, was scheduled for 11 a.m. — quick turnaround!

Today was the first day of racing in the Gold fleet finals.  We sailed three races in about 20 to 25 knots, dying to 18-20 knots by the last race.  We were sailing trapezoid inner loop races all day.  Today was one of those frustrating days where you work very hard for so-so results.  The fact that we have been doing a lot of training in light winds showed when we had to race in the breeze.  The good news is that after three windy races today, we are that much better in big breeze and funky waves!  If only we didn’t have to learn this all during racing at the worlds…  In the first race current was still going downwind.  We had a great start towards the pin, went left, and rounded the windward mark just infront of a large pack, in approximately 8th place.  We slipped backwards all race long, ultimately crossing the line in 19th.  The second and third races were more of the same, except that current had switched and was going upwind now so there was no current relief next to shore.  We finished those races in 20th and 14th.  Overall, the right side of the racecourse was favored with more wind, and boats gained there all day.  We failed to realize this while racing, and didn’t make the right decisions to get there.

While we are disappointed to have slipped back to tenth in the standings, we are still close to the front of the fleet.  Only 14 points separate us from fourth place, and we are looking forward to three more races tomorrow!  Stay tuned!

Thank you to our larger team!  To the many individuals who give generously to support our olympic sailing campaign, and to our sponsors who support our effort.  The US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics sponsors: AlphaGraphics, Rolex, Atlantis, Sperry Topsiders, and Harken.  And, our personal sponsors: Kaenon and Sampson Ropes.

All donations to our campaign are greatly appreciated, and check donations are tax deductible.  Please mail checks to: Sailing Foundation of New York, c/o Isabelle Farrar, 326 East 82nd Street, Apartment 5C, New York, NY 10028.  Or, donate directly through our website:www.470TeamUSA.com

Best,

Erin and Isabelle

US Sailing Team Alphagraphics

Campaign for 2012 Olympic Games
www.470TeamUSA.com