7-14-2018 Racing

more photos                                                                                                                               by Cathy

Sandy and Burton in a close finish in the last race.

We had a nice 5-10 mph breeze with wind mostly from the SE and 6-7 sailors out to enjoy the day. Gary and I had race committee. He is so expert that it was an easy day for me just to enjoy watching the sailors and listen to Gary's play by play.

In the first two races the sailors finished in the exact same order with Paul, Burton, and Sandy taking 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. The shifts settled down a little as the day went by but in the 2nd race with the lightest air a few sailors got stuck at the windward mark for a bit. We broke for lunch and Gary mentioned that around 1:00 the wind tends to pick up. It did so we headed back out.

That last race mixed things up quite a bit with some very close races. Sandy and Burton changed places a few times with Sandy taking 1st place and Burton 2nd. Then Larry and Jim also had a close race with Larry 3rd and Jim 4th.

I had not been out in awhile so it was great to see how well everyone was sailing. Lots of practice goes into this from boat handling to playing the shifts. Racing is fun even if you aren't competitive. And for beginners, racing improves your sailing skills quickly.  Plus it's always cooler on the lake!