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| NYYC - Up 2-0 in Semi's | | Print | |
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May 13, 2010
The sun was out today in Newport and we had
a beautiful day sailing. We finished up the round-robin in first
place despite dropping one more race today, and advanced to the semi
finals against Katy Lovell. We completed two races and are currently
2-0.
Molly, Anna
Photo: Dave Johnson, USSTAG, May 2010
The day started with a chilly northerly breeze around 10kts. The current was flowing fast down wind which made for tricky long upwinds. We had three races in these conditions, with our last race being the closest race of the regatta thus far. In the last race, despite controlling the entire start, I made a mistake in the timing as we headed back for the start line and were behind just after the starting gun. We were behind by two boat-lengths at the top mark, but they misjudged the downwind layline and we caught back up to them. On the second beat, we managed to pass them and take the lead at the top mark. Downwind, the wind started to get very light. Half way down the leg, I looked up and saw a big line of breeze coming from the opposite direction. We quickly put up our jib and doused our kite, and managed to stay ahead of the other boat for the win. 
Debbie (hiding) Liz, Molly
Photo: (c) Dave Johnson, USSTAG, May 2010
After the wind changed directions, the race
committee moved the course right into the mooring field between Ft.
Adams and the NYYC. We finished our races there in a shifty and puffy
10-14kt breeze. The starts were exciting, and the racing much closer
since the shifts were quite small and random. We lost our first race
in these conditions to Sally Barkow despite having a great start and
winning the side of the line that we wanted. Right after the start, we
made the mistake of switching sides with her, and the breeze filled in on the side that she was
on and there was no catching her from there. The other two races were
close but we went on to win them to finish the round robin with a 12-2
record. Behind us in second was USSTAG team mate Genny Tulloch with a
11-3 record, and Sally in third with a 9-5. In fourth place was Katy
Lovell whom we were matched up against for the semi's.
We started the semi final rounds with the
intention of only completing two of the flights today. We had a great
first start with Katy and she drew two penalties meaning she had to
spin one right off the line. From there we took a nice lead and held
on to it for the finish. The next race, we again controlled the start
but relinquished control with 20 seconds to go and gave her the better
start. She pinned us out to the port layline which meant we had to
follow her into the top mark. Downwind, we managed to get an overlap
with luffing rights, but it wasn't quite enough to hold her out past
the layline. She rounded the bottom mark and in a close match up wind,
she still managed to round just ahead of us. Downwind, she opened the
door for us to gybe on her wind and we took advantage of the
opportunity to roll her and beat her by a boat length a the finish
line. It was a close race and we had a lot of fun doing it.
Tomorrow is the final day of the regatta.
We will complete the semi-finals and then do the finals and the
petit-finals. You can check the results out online at the regatta website.
We would like to thank our sponsors Carmeuse
and Trinity Yachts
for their continued support of our campaign for the 2012 Olympics in
London. We would also like to thank USSTAG
for their support.
Sail Hard |
Team Member
Representing the USA, Anna Tunnicliffe won the Gold Medal in the Women's Laser Radial dinghy at the 2008 Olympic Games in Qingdao, China. Anna was the ISAF world's Number One-ranked women's Radial sailor from April 9, 2008 to May 2010. She was voted 2009 & 2011 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year. Now Anna, skipper of Team Maclaren, has teamed up with Molly O'Bryan Vandemoer and Debbie Capozzi to take on the world and go for Gold in 2012 London Olympic Games in Women's Match Racing and the team is currently ranked #1 in the ISAF WMR rankings.
