Brits Rule

Two races were planned for the 505 Worlds today but with the wind forecast
for a max of 6 knots, the RC smartly postponed and waited for the breeze
to fill and planned one race, which was a good call. Wind was again from
the north just as it was a couple days ago, where the left side saw an
advantage from the geographic shift from the shore. Wind ranged from 4
to 7 with occasional better puffs, but enough to keep the crews on the
wire most of the time upwind.

The Germans were quick and owned four of the top 5 positions with the
exception of me and Jon Bell of the USA who rounded the first mark 5th
and eventually moved into 3rd. Gate starting early and heading left was
the right call and only a handful of boats got this right and were then
able to extend from the rest of the fleet. The race was won by the European
Champs Findel/Tellen of Germany.

Ian Pinnell and Carl Gibbons of GBR had another solid finish (9th which
is his throw-out) which keeps them in a solid lead. Howard Hamlin and
Andy Zinn sailed another good race to stay firmly in second place. Looks
like Howard is aiming for his 8th 2nd place finish at the Worlds unless
Pinnell and Gibbons’ luck turns in a bad way. But at this point it looks
like the stars have aligned perfectly for Pinnell/Gibbons and nobody will
catch them.
Results and photos available at www.505worlds2008.com

Kevin D. Taugher