Nov. 17 - Third Day Reports for North American Championship
November 18, 2005 by Bermuda Sailing Association | 0 comments
Only one race was scheduled for the 3rd day of racing at the Star North Americans. Despite light conditions, the sailors were more exhausted following racing than had they sailed two heavy air races. After a ½-hour postponement on the water, and two general recalls the fleet coasted up wind. A big left shift caught most of the fleet off guard. Those on the left could fetch the weather mark, those on the right were nearly a mile behind at the first mark. As Robert Schiedt and Bruno Prada approached the leeward gate, the committee signaled an abandonment.
The line was shifted several hundred yards to the east and the race was restarted. Ten boats, including two of the top ten contenders (Lord and Szabo) were OCS. Canadian Grand Master Hans Fogh and Dave Caesar rounded the weather mark in the lead with Hamish Pepper and Carl Williams close behind. The two boats rounded the offset mark before any of the other boats reached the weather mark.
Pepper/Williams stole the lead going up the second beat as the wind shifted left and Fogh protected the right. At the top of the second sausage, Pepper was 1:20 minutes ahead of Fogh and Mark Reynolds was 4:00 minutes behind. The last boat rounded 20 minutes behind the leaders.
While Hamish, Carl, Hans and Dave continued to extend, Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada and Peter McChesney and Todd Hiller quietly picked off boats to move from 16th and 17th to 4th and 6th, respectively.
Competitors saw the most breeze during the end of the final beat. In many cases, they were able to stretch their backs, get out of the hunched and squatting positions that they had been in for hours, and actually hike. Mark Reynolds and Skip Dieball and Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada ended the marathon day in a photo finish for 3rd and 4th.
After 6 races and a drop, Pepper and Williams have 3 bullets and 6 points. They are far enough in front of Rohardt and Rambeau so that they do not have to sail the final race of the series. They’re on an amazing run. Scheidt and Prada are in 3rd with 20 points. Ross MacDonald and Mike Wolfs are the top North Americans with 30 points.
Day 2 report following 4 races from Lynn Fitzpatrick:
Carl Williams is still smiling after the conclusion of the second day of racing. He and skipper Hamish Pepper are sitting one point in front of Rohart and Rambeau. Freddie Loof and Anders Ekstrom redeemed themselves by taking a 1, 2 for the 3rd and 4th races of the series.
The weather stole the show during the second race of the second day. The race was started in 9-10 knots at about 240 degrees. The sky was overcast and cumulus clouds with very dark bottoms marched their way from the Everglades to Biscayne Bay. The anvils grew higher as the fleet sailed back upwind in light chop toward a dirty grey wall that swallowed the shoreline behind it. Xavier Rohart and Pascal Rambeau rounded the weather mark first. They rounded the offset mark just as the first lightning bolt hit. Freddie Loof and Anders Ekstrom were a thunder clap behind them. The first 10 boats bore away and took off on a plane on the leading edge of the front. Those who followed had a hard time handling the 30-knot gust that came through. Clean up crews dodged lightning bolts as they followed the fleet toward the finish line and Coconut Grove.
At the end of four races Pepper, Rohart and Scheidt have 12, 13, and 23 points, respectively. Andy Horton and Brad Nichol are the leading North American contenders, sitting in fourth with 42 points, George Szabo and Mark Strube are in 6th, Andy Macdonald and Brian Fatih are in 9th and John MacCausland and Robert Schofield are in 10th.
