Day 4 OCR

Day 4 of the event brought similar conditions to the previous day with a shifty NE breeze off Biscayne Island. In the first race, with the Black flag hoisted, we were able to find an opening near the pin and have great start. With a clear lane and room, we were able to tack over and put the bow down on port. Before we knew it, we were racing against only a few other boats and despite a mishap during our tack onto the starboard layline, we rounded the windward in 4th! Unfortunately our downwind tactics struggled as we gybe setted to get into the righty from the upwind beat. But with the wind shadow from the behind boats, we lost ground and with the calibre of the fleet, we fell back to 12th by the leeward. Misf0rtune struck us again on the second upwind as we hit a clump of seaweed which saw us fall back, and with little luck passing boats on the final downwind we finished 21st.

Disappointed by the previous race we were fired up and ready to go for next race. With the breeze filling in from the right, we decided to start near the boat. We had a decent start and had the ability to tack off and put the bow down towards the approaching pressure line. After locking into the pressure with the French and Finns, we were able to cross the fleet and play a few shifts near the top. We again rounded in 4th, but poised not to let boats pass us on the downwind we were able to hold our ground somewhat and round 6th. Unfortunately, our leeward mark rounding was not ideal leaving us unable to tack off to the favored side of the course which ultimately led to us losing a few boats. Once again, we were unable to have a good downwind leg leaving us losing a couple boats but we finished 15th. Though our best finish yet in the regatta, it is frustrating considering our position at the leeward mark. If anything, these first two races prove how unforgiving the top of the fleet is, and how the slightest mistake can leave you losing boats all around you.

In the third race we were able to work our way into a nice hole right at the boat, however, we had a communication/timing error in the final seconds leading up to the start. The final seconds leading up to the start are obviously incredibly important, but also incredibly difficult as the teamwork required to get the boat up to speed is a delicate task. We have improved significantly at this since our infant days in the Bahamas, but increased time in the boat will allow us to master this. So, following our poor start, we were unable to find a clear lane upwind and found ourselves battling it out with the bottom half. Not only in the first two races, but also in the third race, we had difficulty playing the pressure/shifts which left us unable to make gains off the wind. We ended up finishing 28th.

On the whole, we felt pretty frustrated with todays sailing after having two top 5s turn into a 15 and 21. Though these results are fairly good for us, having "tasted the fruits" of the top of the fleet, we felt quite disappointed with being unable to finish the races how we wanted. If anything, we've seen the sheer quality of the top of the fleet and the consistency required on every rounding, every gybe, every tack etc. throughout the race. Another disappointment of the day was found in our downwinds where we failed to find any sort of rhythm and ended up losing boats on most downwinds. Having said this, we are pleased that we are able to find the top end of the fleet with quality starts, and hopefully with more time in the boat (fine tuning boathandling and getting faster), we will be able to crank out some top finishes!

- Jesse