Yeh, but when the competitive juices get flowin'. . .

For some reason the gulf is very lumpy at Clearwater. My first time there I remember a "low earth ordit" pitchpole and Ding giving me a ration about it (not too bad though)!

"Taylor Palmer flipped on the way out to the course. They're collecting themselves." Anybody know what they usually sail?

Greg just e-mailed me this update... for someone that can talk under cement with a mouth full of marbles he's not one for writing long reports.

"It has been cool and windy.
No sailing on the practise day or the 1st day due to strong winds and 7ft waves (2.2m)

Today was really good conditions 12 knots at the start and then fading to 5 knots by 1pm. A new breeze then blew in 12 – 15knots.
Seas were just a small chop.
Overall leader at this stage in John Casey and John Williams.
They are going very quick.
Boats are doing very well with almost no problems and anything that needs adjusting is minor.
Everyone is surprised by the performance and how hard the boat can be pushed down wind.
We should have some more feedback and photos over the next few days.
Hopefulley there will be a report and results on a website for the event."

That is indeed the case for the Taipans and earlier Blade models. However, there has been evolution in the F16 hulls since then and the newer designs like the Aussie Blade, the Viper and the Falcon all have improved in this respect.

The F16's are still not I-20's and never will be (neither are the F18's for that matter) but the F16 designs are honing in on the right balance.

Wouter

FYI, JC tells me last night that the waves weren't even close to the reported 4 to 5 feet... 2 to 3 more like.

the difference in waves can be tremendous in the pass vs. on the course (i am guessing it is only a mile away from the pass).

the waves and tides in the pass get crazy (fast) and i think the weather station is at the pier (right next to the pass) so this could explain a big difference in reported vs actual ...

Setting up the first course.

"Its gonna be a beautiful day" Philip says. Wind is out of the East he says but he'll get me a better wind reading later. Gold fleet is heading out first today. There was actually one more race run yesterday after the last update I made but we don't have the boat number to skipper name matchup for that so I can't post it.

Does JC still speak English? Does he keep herring in his lunchbox now?

.8 mile course, 065 wind direction, A mark about 4/10ths of a mile from the jetty, right on the channel line apparently.


And yes, JC sounds as good-ole American Apple pie as he always has.

two boats recalled at the start - only one cleared.

Burd/Easton retired from race - headed to beach. Reason unknown.

You were on the other thread yesterday. But thanks for the updates.

shoot.

I'll move back to the other one. Old age and early mornings :P

Thanks

Sometimes the Steeple Chase guys will write up their view of the event. Any chance of the participants contributing their own experiences?

Exactly, I really need a story we can feature in the magazine. The last two Alters had radio silence following the event and never had an ounce of ink on it. I tried to get something, but NOTHING!
Rick

Rick,

If I was there, I'd be more than happy to write something up. I don't think a good reliable piece of journalism should be written by someone who wasn't even there to be honest. I'm SURE JWill would be willing to type something up

I mean, its not like he does anything at home all day anyways :P

Those sound like fight'n words!