racing in racine day one
After a complete soaking from an intense thunderstorm and waiting under AP until mid-morning the conditions that eventually settled out were frustratingly light and shifty. The storm began around 3am and didn’t finish until 9am produced 54 knot winds that ravaged the fleet parked on the beach overnight.
Several boats flipped on the beach and sustained damage as their rigs crashed onto the sand. Surprisingly, there was no major hull or platform damage; the worse was a broken rig. It could’ve been waaaay worse, to say the least.
The swirly and unpredictable conditions separated the fleet, and at the end or the day Carrie and Mischa pulled way out ahead for the bullet. Here’s How they did it. In a far second the Argentinean team of Cruz Gonzalez Smith and Mariano Heuser team rolled across the line on their own with the third spot being the only contest. Jdub and Dennis Key crossed the line in third closely followed by Dan DeLave and Eileen Haubl. The sky cleared nicely but the breeze never filled.
The real racing started when the Harken sponsored gutter boat youth racing fired up on the patio. The Surf City Catamaran dominated the course, while the square-rigged Anarchy ship got hosed. Everyone’s having a great time with all of the youth-centric activities. Check out the full race 1 video here. Photos by Meredith Block.
And tune in tomorrow at (weather-permitting) 1000.
