Inched out for 6th place into Jupiter

After managing to get out decently of the surf at Hollywood, at which apparently was a fairly wild start (we were way to flustered with everything going on to pay attention)... we turned North and never looked back.

Blasting through 4-8 foot waves on a jib reach we were in 7th place right after the start, we were getting pounded by some waves and getting airborn off others. Within a few miles one boat ahead flipped and we zoomed by them, we then continued to roll 2 more Nacra 20's and open up about a 1/8th of a mile gap on Team Royal Yellow, we held that position for nearly 50 miles but when the wind shifted right and lightened up it put them in a great opportunity to use the 20's power to get by us just 10 miles from the finish. Soon after they passed us we were able to put the spinnaker up and hang on to them a little bit but not catch them. The last 10 miles was torture as the next 20, Trey Brown was able to start reeling us in. To make the last jibe into the finish we were pressured to jibe early and get inside him which was a BIG mistake. We understood the layline and ended up getting into the surfline sooner than expected and being forced to jibe while surfing breaking waves. During the 2nd jib we were hit broadside by a wave and completely onto our side, somehow we managed to save it and bear off just in time for Trey to be right next to us. Without the power the power in our spinnaker Trey slid in front of us to beat us by just 2 seconds!

We ended up just 15 minutes behind the leaders, finishing about 10 minutes before 2, 65 miles in under 4 hours... not too shabby.

Picture sequence from our awesome finish in Hollywood

7th on leg 1

We started off the day with a great start right behind Mischa and held with him for a few miles until he began to pull away.

Battling upwind breeze of about 12-15 on the nose and confused sea state we were averaging between 9-12 knots. Hiccups today included our mainsheet ratchet giving out 10 miles into the 76 mile leg and running aground twice.

We were right up in the lead pack for the first 30 miles or so but struggled a bit from then on and lost touch with them.

We hit the beach in 7th place, about 15 minutes behind the boat in front of us. After running the boat really far onto the beach we were told "nice landing" by several people... apparently we ran the boat up at least twice as far as anyone else... it was pretty awesome... we were probably 50 feet above the tide line.

Tybee starts tomorrow!

Well we spent all day doing a bit more boat work, tricking the boat out for distance racing to get any edge we can.

We also got out for a quick sail in which time we tested out our brand new North spinnaker. We are very happy with how it performed and it should be a good sail choice for the week. It's interesting since it's a bit different shape than our old Performance Sails spinnaker in the it has a fuller shape which will change our sailing angles a bit. It definitely has plenty of power though as we had the hull easily out of the water while the Nacra 20 behind us did not.

The forecast for tomorrow is for low teens building to mid to high teens mid day. However, i've heard conflicting reports that it will be windier. Either way, wind from the East / Northeast will make for a fast sail which means we will get in time to go to dinner at Taverna Opa in Hollywood!

Stay tuned for another update tomorrow evening, maybe even in the morning.

Tybee starts tomorrow!

Well we spent all day doing a bit more boat work, tricking the boat out for distance racing to get any edge we can.

We also got out for a quick sail in which time we tested out our brand new North spinnaker. We are very happy with how it performed and it should be a good sail choice for the week. It's interesting since it's a bit different shape than our old Performance Sails spinnaker in the it has a fuller shape which will change our sailing angles a bit. It definitely has plenty of power though as we had the hull easily out of the water while the Nacra 20 behind us did not.

The forecast for tomorrow is for low teens building to mid to high teens mid day. However, i've heard conflicting reports that it will be windier. Either way, wind from the East / Northeast will make for a fast sail which means we will get in time to go to dinner at Taverna Opa in Hollywood!

Stay tuned for another update tomorrow evening, maybe even in the morning.