Race 3 & 4

After a nice rest on monday for lay day race 3 started under very strange circumstances... but very unique Harbour conditions... the Manly Ferry decided to charge down the start line about 1 min after the start and with all skiffs on starbord tack from the line not one skiff or the start committee boat really noticed till it was too late... my guys starting in our usuall port end position had early vision and set off fast well behind the oncoming ferry and cleared without too much ferry parking... then we all looked back to all the starbord boats stiil heading acrooss the bow of the charging ferry, the horn sounded and sounded and sounded, stil some guys tried to cross... then we see the ferry in full reverse with white water churning from its props... meanwhile we where happily sailing up the first leg thinking ah well some guys got whipped out by the ferry some guys got lucky and crossed ahead, we got lucky with a few others and crossed clear behind... the usuall Harbour ferry dodging... but then the strange part... fast ribs came up the course and said abandon start... I guess its fair to restart under those extreme conditions, but also a very dangerous position for some guys to ignore all the Harbour rules of keeping clear of the Manly Ferry, let alone to see the ferry come to a complete stop to avoid collision... ah the joy of Sydney Harbour

Anyway we raced hard after the second start in a fading S/E breeze with the fleet seemingly glued together for the entire race, with only minutes seperating more than 10 boats at a time... if you even blinked you loose a boat or 3, then gain then loose then gain... in the end a close fought 25th position... our worst result by far but one which my guys sailed the asses off... so ye we are heaps faster but so is the fleet... but to be battling it out with some fast guys like Woody and the CST we are happy with our sailing so far in the JJ series

Race 4 looked to be much of the same lite big rig as the previous day but with just a little more south... actually strange to sail a southerly course that wasnt small rig and fresh... so again we started port end and got off the line fast and clear, but with the fleet so close you can go from position 10 to 20 in seconds, the first kite run saw skiffs go to every corner of the harbour to find more pressure... we rounded about mid fleet and headed back upwind to try to stay with the pack... again we lost a few then gained a few... Sam and Bendo worked hard all day in tough changing conditions with skiffs all round us... we ended up with a 23rd with more than 10 boats less than 2 mins ahead of us... so close yet so far
At least we got the head cam on today, hopefully it works, if only we had it yesterday for the ferry crash, so maybe some video coming soon

The top 6 boats are in a league of there own with speed and smarts on the rest of the fleet... the next 20 can be anywhere due to the fleet being so close... bottom line, great skiff racing... and still 3 more races to go... hopefully a small rig race in there somewhere