After 3 weeks of no sailing for various weather states, we finally got a nice Sunday to sail. It was sunny with temps in the mid 40s. And the weather brought a great showing of sailors with 21 boats coming to sail.
Sadly the wind did not get the memo for the day. It was very challenging for both Race Committee and the racers. Nabeel and Kevin did an excellent job trying to keep up with the wind. We were able to get 5 races in. We had 2 races with shortened courses and 3 course adjustments. The wind was quite shifty with a lot of velocity changes. We had a few points where there was full hiking conditions and several where we were drifting. But all in all it was nice to be out on the water.
As far as sailing, I think we all need to ask Laura for the tips as she was the post consistent sailor out there. But I found that moving forward of the cockpit in the light wind and then moving back as it came back up I moved back to a normal position. With all the velocity shifts, I found that I was playing the cunningham more than usual to try and keep the sail looking full and not overly tight at the luff. Other than that it was mostly just the usual things, get a good start, find clear air on the downwinds, and stay patient in the lulls.
It was great to see the turnout and I look forward to seeing everyone out next weekend!