WIRW - July 2009
Before we get into details, I want to than the entire crew for their commitment to the entire week of racing. Tim, Aubre, SF Steve, Heather, Annie, the fill in crew from Runner, and Tara and Al for their one day of racing. It makes it a lot easier to race when everyone is willing to help make it happen. Thanks to all.
Our first thank you goes out to Ohana Harbor Coffee for their sponsorship of not only Gardyloo, but also stepping up to be the title sponsor for Whidbey Island Race Week. Everyone who races in these major regattas should alway remember that without the help of these title sponsors, much of our racing would not happen.
OK, to many, 6th place woudl sound like a less than stellar finish in a class of 9 boats..... but that is hardly the case here. Our class was dominated by the Flying Tiger (Total of 7 of them participated) and a J-92.. Our performance last year agains the Tigers was less than stellar, we never beat one in any races last year. This time, we were able to pull out a 3rd in one of the 12 races, and usually held down 6th place for many of the races. But the imporatnt thing to look at is that we were typically only seconds from placeing one spot higher in many races. Our upwind performance was outstanding, and even improved on the last day with a bit of a rig adjustment. In one race, we were able to foul a boat, do a 360, and still get to the weather mark first. Down wind, we quickly worked out a few bugs that allowed us to be compeditive. For the final race, we were able to squeeze by Mai Tai and beat them by only a few seconds, which allowed us beat them by on half a point for the week. Yes, the entire week was like that..........This was a much better regatta than last year....
Oh, and there were some "off the water" antics as well. We have SF Steve testing his flying abilities to very little success, but the good news is that Annie caught him. There was partying, there was fun, dinner's in town, partying back at the tent compound. Oh yeah, and a dog attack (It was a little attack, becasue it was a little dog)