Monday, 21 April 2008
Race Four and FiveSunday provided a complete contrast to the conditions of two weeks ago where racing was replaced by snow ball fights and snow man building competitions on the foredeck! The forecast was for a north easterly 15 knot breeze with sunny spells. Perfect conditions for Reflex 38’s. As it turned out the wind never got above 12 knots and often dropped to 7 or 8 knots with big shifts. Far from ideal for Reflex 38’s!
With two races planned for Sunday it was to be a big day to determine the form and give a clearer picture of potential series positions. Before discard going into Sundays races there was just one point separating 1st placed boat from the 5th placed boat. Both Jaguar Logic and Puma Logic were in the top 5 with a real chance of great success in the series.
Race 1 saw Jaguar Logic gain an excellent start at the pin end whilst Puma struggled in dirty air. At the 1st mark Jaguar were well up the fleet with Puma mid fleet with a hard task ahead of them to get back in the running. After discards Jagaur had a 4 point lead over Puma so a bad result in this race would almost certainly ruin Puma Logic’s chances of a good series result.
The team aboard Puma rose to the occasion and had an excellent down wind leg with a perfectly executed gybe at the gybe mark resulting in them being up with the front runners at the next mark. Jaguar was very well placed and looking good a few boat lengths ahead of Puma. All Puma could do was sail in Jaguars wake and hope that they made a mistake. At the last mark gear failure on Jaguar resulted in their main dropping, Puma seized the opportunity and sailed over Jaguar to clinch a 4th place, closing the four point deficit to just 1 point.
For race two both Jaguar and Puma had average starts and with the wind continually shifting to the left the tacticians were becoming increasingly concerned that they should have been placed on the left side of the course. In the end the wind went so far left that everyone laid the windward mark on one tack with Jaguar and Puma around the mark in the top four. At the leeward mark Jaguar, Puma and Prime Suspect were all jostling for pole position, with inches separating them. Puma came of worst and lost vital distance in the dyeing breeze.
Prime Suspect and Circus sailed an excellent beat and continued to extend their lead. Poor roundings at the final mark resulted in both Jaguar and Puma loose further positions and vital points. Jaguar held Puma off till the finish with Jaguar taking 8th and Puma 9th.
An excellent day was had by everyone and there were many smiling faces on the way back to Shamrock Quay as the Puma crew entertained Jaguar with a rendition of Father Abraham.
When the results came in there were a few surprises as it became clear that the leader board was incredibly tight. Circus had taken the lead and three points separated the next 4 boats. Jaguar lie in 3rd place maintaining a 2 point lead over Puma in 5th place. Next weekend is the final race with everything to play for. A good result could happily see both Jaguar Logic and Puma Logic in the top three. Conversely, a poor result could see both teams struggling to finish in the top six! BRING IT ON!
With two races planned for Sunday it was to be a big day to determine the form and give a clearer picture of potential series positions. Before discard going into Sundays races there was just one point separating 1st placed boat from the 5th placed boat. Both Jaguar Logic and Puma Logic were in the top 5 with a real chance of great success in the series.
Race 1 saw Jaguar Logic gain an excellent start at the pin end whilst Puma struggled in dirty air. At the 1st mark Jaguar were well up the fleet with Puma mid fleet with a hard task ahead of them to get back in the running. After discards Jagaur had a 4 point lead over Puma so a bad result in this race would almost certainly ruin Puma Logic’s chances of a good series result.
The team aboard Puma rose to the occasion and had an excellent down wind leg with a perfectly executed gybe at the gybe mark resulting in them being up with the front runners at the next mark. Jaguar was very well placed and looking good a few boat lengths ahead of Puma. All Puma could do was sail in Jaguars wake and hope that they made a mistake. At the last mark gear failure on Jaguar resulted in their main dropping, Puma seized the opportunity and sailed over Jaguar to clinch a 4th place, closing the four point deficit to just 1 point.
For race two both Jaguar and Puma had average starts and with the wind continually shifting to the left the tacticians were becoming increasingly concerned that they should have been placed on the left side of the course. In the end the wind went so far left that everyone laid the windward mark on one tack with Jaguar and Puma around the mark in the top four. At the leeward mark Jaguar, Puma and Prime Suspect were all jostling for pole position, with inches separating them. Puma came of worst and lost vital distance in the dyeing breeze.
Prime Suspect and Circus sailed an excellent beat and continued to extend their lead. Poor roundings at the final mark resulted in both Jaguar and Puma loose further positions and vital points. Jaguar held Puma off till the finish with Jaguar taking 8th and Puma 9th.
An excellent day was had by everyone and there were many smiling faces on the way back to Shamrock Quay as the Puma crew entertained Jaguar with a rendition of Father Abraham.
When the results came in there were a few surprises as it became clear that the leader board was incredibly tight. Circus had taken the lead and three points separated the next 4 boats. Jaguar lie in 3rd place maintaining a 2 point lead over Puma in 5th place. Next weekend is the final race with everything to play for. A good result could happily see both Jaguar Logic and Puma Logic in the top three. Conversely, a poor result could see both teams struggling to finish in the top six! BRING IT ON!
posted by Sailing Logic at 8:21 AM
