Lay day

Today is the lay day in sunny but very wind Sardinia, we are headed to Porto Pollo for a day of kiting and windsurfing... But it's blowing 25-30k at the moment so I am thinking more drinks by the bar then actual time one the water...
Just s quick recap on yesterday, we were set for a 42nm coastal, and it was lining up to be a cracker! At the start we had a constant 20k gusting 25-30k. We had a awesome pin end start with Shockwave to leeward and Ran up to windward, but in clean air and at speed, he headed up to bomb ally and as the wind freed sheets cracked and boat speed jumped from 10k to 15k... Just after entering the ally u could see black angry sky's ahead, as we got closer gusts were up in the high 20's and just keeping the boats upright was challenging... Throwing in a reef was considered, but that idea was short lived as the race committee abandoned the race for the time being...
Back ashore we waited for the squall to pass, and eventually were sent back out again...
Breeze still at a constant 20k at the start we were lining up for another top start but were unluckily calked over with Shockwave, both boats thought we were way off the line but it's how it goes... Up through bomb ally was tough having to make our way through the pack of racer cruisers was not easy but we slowly got throw them... We took a right hand turn at the post, and headed up through the gap in-between the island. Jib racking along, some posts went with a 0 and those that did had a tough time getting them down and we pulled back in on the leaders... At the top island we gybed around and in more pressure we had speeds of 16-18k... The boss needed a break and the rule states that a cat 1 sailor (amateur or college student) must be the relief, so it was time for a bit behind the wheel... Rolling down swells we hit speeds of 18-19k with a jib and staysail set inside... We made good hight on the rest of the fleet and then it was time for the "weapon" the Cuban A3 spinaker, which gives most people a the goose bumps... A nice set and the boss back on the helm speeds topped out at 24+k... We hauled down past Porto Cervo around another island before a short beat to the Finnish, some outstanding upwind sailing allowed us to real in the leaders, and we crossed the line to take 4th, missing 3rd by less then 10 seconds. A win for Bella Mente who sailed brilliantly, meant that Ran took 2nd keeping us in front by 1 point...
All to play for!
Stay tuned,
Shifty


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