| Still in Fourth at the Rolex | | Print | |
|
Shoreacres, Texas  Punching to weather in Houston - - - Photo: Dan Nerney/Rolex We were deep in the fleet at the first weather mark of the first race of the day after a less than scintillating start. The breeze was out of the southeast at about 8-10 knots and very shifty. Once we cleared the traffic at the top mark we were able to climb back into contention and finish this one in ninth place. We got our act together for the next race and had a good start only to find ourselves prevented by a boat on our hip from tacking and getting out to the right. By the time we eventually got clear we were in sixth or seventh place. We finished sixth. In the third and last race of the day, the breeze was still shifty but it had increased to 12-14 knots during the previous race. We made a great start and won the committee boat end of the line and led at the weather mark. Then we had a little hiccup with the spinnaker on the first run and lost out to Sally who had been in second place and was pushing to overtake. We gained on her on the second beat so much that we had to duck her as we closed the top mark and we rounded right on her tail. We were neck and neck all the way down the last run but she picked up a little surge into the mark and rounded in front. On the final weather leg we were distracted by trying to cover the third and fourth placed boats. Not only did we fail to pass Sally, who won, but we were passed by one boat and finished third. There are two races remaining to sail tomorrow. With three first places today, Sally has secured her claim on another Rolex Keelboat championship. We’ll be concentrating on trying to move up to third place. You can find Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Results here. As always, a big thanks to my sponsors Carmeuse and K-Swiss for their continued support. My website is at annatunnicliffe.com. Sail hard, |
Team Member
