By Geoff Becker
Day 2
2 races (all course 4, 4 legs and downwind finish) Wind 6-10 knots from the Northeast
Day two began with a shore postponement before a light northeast sea breeze filled in and Races 4 and 5 were completed. We again tried to be more conservative on the starting line and during the race knowing that there were no drop races for this event. Our finishes were 9-12 today which dropped us to second overall due to the very consistent sailing of Brian Keane and his team aboard Savasana.
Today’s lighter winds put a premium on boatspeed and making smooth maneuvers out on the course. This also meant that mark roundings were critical points in the race where distance could easily be made up or lost. In particular, the leeward mark gates today were very crowded and the lighter winds also meant that the wind shadows from the boats, still approaching the gate, made exiting the gate marks that much more challenging.
We had one good gate mark rounding today and one we would like back. The difference in the two roundings was the exit from the gate mark to the upwind leg. During the bad rounding, we followed a small pack of boats around the mark and in the other, we were able to round more cleanly without the effects of other boats. Rounding a leeward mark close behind other boats is hard enough, but when you add the bad air of 20+ approaching spinnakers, it can be very difficult to sail at full speed during the first minute or two of the upwind leg.
Of course it is important to choose the best gate mark to round based on the side of the course you prefer for the upwind leg, or even the gate mark that might be more upwind. The best gate mark choice can often be the mark that allows you the cleanest rounding with the best escape into clear air and can make a difference of handfuls of positions at the finish.
Our takeaways from Day 2 are…
1. Maneuvers and mark roundings are key in light winds.
2. Take the time to choose the best gate mark to round 3. Often the fastest exit from the gate is better than the favored mark
Day 2 Overall Results:
1 Brian Keane USA 36 22.00 5 6 2 4 5
2 Tim Healy USA 58 33.00 3 3 6 9 12
3 Ian Atkins GB 76 49.00 6 20 3 13 7
4 Jud Smith USA 48 53.00 8 18 16 3 8
5 Bennet Greenwald USA 54 57.00 16 22 5 1 13
6 Allan Terhune USA 69 57.00 10 13 4 27 3
7 Mauricio Santa Cruz BR 66 60.00 4 16 1 29% 10
8 Kris Werner / F. Wehrheim USA 23 63.00 20 7 22 5 9
9 Martin Kullman USA 42 67.00 21 15 21 8 2
10 Joel ronning USA 52 68.00 29 2 8 28 1
11 john brim USA 03 70.00 24 9 9 17 11
12 Brian Elliott USA 20 C 78.00 7 1 19 25 26
13 Kerry Klingler USA 30 82.00 11 4 23 22 22
14 Marco Teixidor PUR 56 C 86.00 2 21 29% 11 23
15 Will Welles USA 50 89.00 37 11 18 19 4
16 Jenn Ray Wulff USA 22 C 90.00 1 23 29 12 25
17 Adam Burns USA 05 C 91.00 15 8 28 21 19
18 Martin Johnsson USA 61 C 97.00 17 14 27 2 37
19 Peter Vessella USA 07 106.00 19 19 13 26 29
20 Todd Hiller USA 49 C 109.00 41 28 10 6 24
21 Henry Filter USA 26 C 110.00 23 37 12 7 31
22 Thomas Bowen USA 11 120.00 34 30 11 18 27
23 James Barnash USA 82 122.00 12 12 32 14 52
24 Mikael Lindqvist SW 78 128.00 9 5 39 33 42
25 Jim Cunningham USA 06 C 133.00 32 27 26 32 16
26 Gregg Mylett USA 55 C 133.00 18 45 33 20 17
27 David Koski USA 64 134.00 36 47 20 16 15
28 Mark Ploch USA 44 145.00 50 32 7 35 21
29 Tim Finkle USA 02 C 146.00 51 29 17 10 39
30 Jeff_John_Ed_Go Sullivan USA 75 148.00 46 10 40 46 6
31 Stanley Edwards USA 79 151.00 13 34 45 29 30
32 tyler doyle USA 31 158.00 27 56 30 31 14
33 Heather Gregg Earl USA 14 C 166.00 25 43 25 23 50%
34 Catharine Evans USA 15 167.00 14 38 47 36 32
35 Neil Sullivan USA 73 171.00 31 41 37 24 38
36 Chuck Millican BER 33 C 173.00 33 31 14 47 48
37 Richard Nesbett USA 12 189.00 28 44 34 55 28
38 Bruno Pasquinelli USA 21 194.00 38 25 72q 39 20
39 Ron Thompson USA 24 C 200.00 52 46 43 41 18
40 Frank McNamara USA 41 C 200.00 47 50 36 34 33
41 Daan Goedkoop USA 09 C 201.00 40 35 24 30 72%
42 Collin Kirby USA 74 C 218.00 43 24 50 58 43
43 Dave Franzel USA 65 224.00 53 39 31 67% 34
44 Ian Mayers CA 51 225.00 49 42 38 50 46
45 Stu McCrea CA 29 C 227.00 22 17 52 72% 64
46 Paul Cannon USA 04 C 235.00 30 49 49 72q 35
47 Scott Weakley CA 37 C 243.00 68 26 41 51 57
48 Neil Ford USA 72 C 244.00 56 40 54 54 40
49 Killian Corbishley USA 46 C 245.00 54 55 51 38 47
50 John DiMatteo USA 18 C 247.00 39 54 55 44 55
51 Tim Gibbs USA 45 C 247.00 61 53 42 42 49
52 Brandon Flack USA 13 C 248.00 26 66% 46 69 41
[…] Day 2 Report: https://www.sail1design.com/2014-j70-north-american-championship-day-2-report/ […]