Saturday Racing 2/2/2013

by Cathy

The sailing this Saturday was the polar opposite of last week.   There was sunshine galore, usually plenty of wind, and it was nice and warm.  The wind was a little shifty but thankfully in the range of about 7-12mph though there was one occasion right before the 2nd race when it seemed to disappear completely.  That was a reminder that it is not a good idea to get too far away from the starting line right before a race. 

Miles and Bob ran the races and did a great job setting up the course with the shifty winds.  At some point you have to just throw in the marks and go!  All three races were Olympic, but as the afternoon progressed the wind shifted from NW to NE and consequently the windward and jibe mark had to be shifted between each race.   

It was partly for that reason that I thought when heading towards the windward mark, that the right side of the course would be better.  The left side was close to shore and I thought the wind would be less steady.  But maybe if you understand how the breeze will come off the shore, you can make that work for you.  Since I tended to be pretty far behind whatever I was doing did not work too well.  However, I did proclaim after the first race that that was the most fun I had ever had being DFL.  Near the end of that race, the breeze picked up and lasted for quite awhile, carrying me over the finish line without making the committee boat wait on me.  Yea!

Burton and Bruce duked it out as usual with Bruce coming in 1st in the 1st race, then Burton 1st in the next two.  Lynn was hard for me to beat but then he got caught in shifty winds at the windward mark on the 2nd race, so I managed at least once not to be last.  Miles proclaimed that he'd been under the weather all week and had worried that being out on the water would cause a relapse, but then declared that all the sunshine and warmth had probably been good for him.  Bob got a work-out moving marks and throwing anchors.  And for me, my belief was confirmed once again that some of the best sailing occurs in winter.

The SMU students were also out in their 420's doing short practice races for their regatta next week at Tulane.  They looked great sailing around the lake in their shorts and t-shirts!  Ah, youth.  There is some talk of the  420's and the Snipes joining together for training and sharing of boats and crew.  Meera, an SMU 420 skipper, crewed for the first time on a Snipe last week and she was a very welcome addition.