Great Second Day at Sail Melbourne
I had a great second day today at Sail Melbourne, winning both races in 5-8 knot conditions.
I went out at 2 PM for a 3 PM start and after watching the fleets in front of us and doing some splits, I figured that the right was better. But right as we were about to start, the breeze began shifting left. I headed down to the now favored pin end of the line and got a good start 2nd up. I held on starboard for most of the beat and tacked onto port in a nice puff and shift. I rode the puff all the way across the course and tacked into the weather mark in first place. After the reach leg, I had a great first downwind to pull away a little from the group. Again, I protected the left and held on for a solid victory in race 3.
In the second race of the day, everyone knew that the breeze was going left and that that was the place to be. The RC purposely set a boat favored starting line, so it was a tough choice to decide where to start. Since the breeze was building and course wasn't that long, I thought I could start at the boat and manage all the way to the left without falling into the fleet. I was right and was able to tack in front of the leaders and lead them back from the left. I rounded the weather mark in first and again pulled away on the first downwind. I played the fleet well for the rest of the race, protecting the left when I wanted it and sailing conservatively at other times, to take the second race of the day!
So two first place finishes puts me in 1st place overall! I'm very pleased with how the sailing went today. Tomorrow we are forecasted to have over 100 degree temperatures and very very windy conditions out of the north. Some people were saying 50 knots, others thought it would be in the 20s. Regardless, it should be a windy day.
