Hmm.. now I'm really lost!

I carried starboard a long way and thought I carried it too far but apparently not because I never got the lift.

In any case, most of the F16s seemed to be tacking to port fairly early and working that side of the course. It worked for the leaders, I just never picked up any clear signal that it was time to tack.

Pete,
We found if you stayed on starboard tack all the way to the lay line or even a little past you would be headed at the end of your starboard run but lifted on port when you tacked. The port tack would lift you all the way to the mark with a little header at the end if you tacked early on starboard it seemed like you would sail more of a header on port.

When all the leaders take off the other way - How much clearer of a signal do you need?

My approach was:

A) get a clean start - find favored end. After day 1, throw everything away if needed to prevent Trey from banging out a port tack start because whether or not it was part of my game plan, the F18 fleet (who was watching everything waiting for their start) was going to give me another load of crap about it.

B) wind was supposed to work it's way to the right every day. When in doubt, or especially if you find yourself in trouble getting washed/dirty air, go right.

C) there usually was better pressure but worse angle to the left (starboard beat) and patchy pressure to the right. If you worked the middle, you could usually find a better angle and more consistent pressure. When in doubt, refer to B and plan to shift gears often.

D) If you find yourself completely screwed (capsized, way late to the start, mechanical issue, etc) bang hard left to perform an unlikely "Hail Mary".

You guys are making my head hurt! But thanks for your input. It seems like following is the easiest solution. I'll worry about the rest if I ever catch up.

What do you do after Mary shows up?