The Orange Bowl regatta runs from December 27th to December 30th. Click "read more..." for daily reports. Results are available here.
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December 27, 2008
Today was the first day of racing. I had good starts throughout the day and had good speed both upwind downwind. In the first race I had a good first beat and was in second, but lost one boat on the second beat. I was quick on the final run and passed the boat back again and finished 2nd. In the second race I led to the windward mark and the first leeward, but lost out on a shift on the second beat and rounded the second windward in 2nd. I caught up a lot on the final run, but it wasn't enough and I scored another 2nd. In the third race I lead after the first windward after an incident where Luke Lawrence (USA) did penalty turns at the windward mark. I stayed ahead and finished 1st. In the last race I had a good first beat and rounded in 2nd, but lost some distance on the second beat. I was able to hold off the third place boat on the final run and finished 2nd. After the first day I am in 2nd overall with 7 points.
Weather: Partly sunny, 26 degrees
Wind: East, 8-16
December 28, 2008
Today was the second day of racing. The wind started of at around 12 knots and went down throughout the day to 6. It was puffy and shifty which made for tricky conditions when combined with the steep, short chop. In the first race I lost out on pressure on the first beat. I was quick downwind and passed boats and finished 6th. In the second race I didn't have a great start and missed out on a couple of shifts and finished 10th. In the third race I had a great first run, and was 3rd around the bottom mark after rounding the windward around 10th. I held that position through the race. In the last race I was over early and was forced to go back. With no lanes available I had a tough time making any real gains and I finished 14th. Racing continues tomorrow with lighter winds in the forecast.
Weather: Mostly sunny, 28 degrees
Wind: East-Southeast, 6-12
December 29, 2008
There was no wind this morning, but the RC sent us out and postponed on water. We waited for 4 hours before a light sea breeze came in at 1 pm. At 1:15 racing got underway. I had a clear lane at the pin end of the line and hooked into a line of pressure allowing me to come across the race course ahead. I lead to the windward and stayed ahead until the finish. The last day of racing is tomorrow with a curfew at 1.
Weather: Mostly sunny, 28 degrees
Wind: Southeast, 3-5
December 30, 2008
Today started out with a light wind from the north west. The RC started us, but the wind faded and went right 45 degrees forcing them to abandon. The second race was started in a light north easterly. I had an okay start, and stuck out on the right hand side with Zeke, who I was 5 points ahead of. The left side came in, and we rounded around 12. I picked up a couple of boats on the next beat, but Zeke was ahead, keeping me from gaining any more. He finished 6th and I finished 9th, leaving me in 2nd place overall by 2 points.
Weather: Mostly sunny, 28 degrees
Wind: Northeast, 4-6
