Maybe you armchair sailors should actually go out sailing.
@Tad, I sail in places beside the Chesapeake. Come talk to me after you've gotten a new boat and done Catacup. Today was much tougher than any leg in the last Tybee 500, 5'+ swells w/ confused chop on top in big breeze.
It was gusting to 27 on Saturday at Molasses Reef. It was gusting to 25 on Sunday at the dock at the Islander according to the anemometer, with sustained 23. It was blowing closer to 18 at the start today. Both the M20 and the F20C went off on port tack, everyone else started on starboard. No one was tacking out and hoisting a kite at any point today. It was FULL breeze on, 23 gusting 25 at Fowey Rock when the teams went past (just in case my Chesapeake Bay wind readings aren't good enough: http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=fwyf1). Everyone is wiped, tomorrows forecast is for more 20+ kt condition but at close reaching angles. I expect the kites will remain in the bag until Wednesday or Thursday.
Ummmm...yeah. Remind me how many Tybee 500's you sailed in? Kid needs to learn some manners. Besides, it was only a 55 mile leg, you sailed half of it inside the reef, and there are two 65 year old dudes in this thing that aren't complaining (wait, how old is Ding again?).
You also need to remember that the only data we have is a tracker that pings every 10 minutes or so. They were showing between 6 and 7 knots of boat speed so either there was a lot of tacking going on that the pinger wasn't capturing at that resolution or something. Sorry you had a tough day, cupcake.
The "kid" told me not to read this when I got home but I did, and the "kid" was right if any of you self proclaimed badasses wanna have a pecker slinging mileage pissfest I'll be more than happy to cut the miles on my resume' in half and still probably double what you've got. The first day was a supreme asskicker, enough said. On a final note I sure hope I don't sound like this when I'm posting from home watching a race. So much misinformation from the speculation it's funny. Out and done.
It probably would have gone better for Sam if he hadn't started with an insult to everyone that was enjoying watching and discussing the limited information we had on the race...
