Racing Center

It was a beautiful day for racing - temperature in the low 80s, winds E/SE 8-14mph, sunny with puffy clouds. However, with low tide in Cumberland Sound at 0844 the current was ebbing at the start of Race 1, quickly becoming a swift outgoing current. Three short races had been planned, though only two races were run due to the 2+ knot currents making the up-current legs of the races a virtual crawl. Mark roundings into the current were treacherous requiring extreme care in order to not be swept against the buoys.

Eight boats with 26 sailors competed and Commodore Nan Walker provided the Race Committee Boat and managed the race starts. All boats had a very good 1000 start for Race 1 and by the time they reached the first mark east of Fort Clinch, the outgoing tide was showing its strength. The downwind leg into the current to Mark 2 with the sails on most boats set wing-on-wing became increasingly slow as winds remained light. The lead boats around Mark 2 reached nicely to the finish line, with the last boat finishing 45 minutes behind the leader.

The start of Race 2 was delayed until 1150 to wait for the inbound transit of a large Coast Guard Ocean Tug. With a wind shift to the SE, the alternate course provided in the NOR/SI was selected and the course was shortened to 2.1nm by eliminating the downwind up-current leg. The down-current start line proved challenging as boats struggled not to cross the line as the timer ticked down. Three boats were on the course side (OCS) at the start and had to return to re-start their races. The wind freshened nicely for the windward first leg, and the last two reaching/running legs before finishing slowly into the outgoing current at the top of the Amelia River.

Overall Finish Results for the Day with Total Points, and Points/Places from Races 1 and 2