What a crazy day! The river was absolutely ripping after several days of rain. Although there was not much debris in the water, the ferocious river flow made things challenging for the competitors and the RC alike. I was on RC duty this weekend, and I thought I’d have the chance to get some nice observations of the racing. Instead, we were kept on our toes, first towing boats up to the course against the river flow as we waited for the breeze to fill, and then dashing around the course to reset marks as they were repeatedly breaking free in the combination of river flow and WNW breeze that filled in over the afternoon. The breeze was extraordinarily spotty and shifty, moving from due north to nearly due west and back in various phases. That, combined with the fact that the pressure would simply die off at points and then pipe back up, made for some very tricky sailing as the competitors fought against the river flow. We did manage to get 4 races off for the Albacores and 2 for the Lightnings and Cats.
Even with all of the action on the RC we still managed to capture some video on the GoPro that we had on the 16′ skiff: a leeward mark rounding for the Albacores, a start and upwind leg for the Lightnings, and a few finish line shots from the first Lightning race as boats struggled to make it up to and across the line. Scores are posted below, and you can find the video links here: http://lightningfleet50.org/?page_id=2047
2014 Spring Series 6 – Albacores
2014 Spring Series 6 – Catamarans
2014 Spring Series 6 – Lightnings
2014 Spring Series – Albacores – Cumulative Through May 18
2014 Spring Series – Buccaneers – Cumulative Through May 18