****-ups, not entirely unrelated to the previous evening's activities, but this did mean that I had an excellent spectator seat for the end of the first race which saw Hans finish second on the water, beating three of the four Tornados. A very impressive result in conditions that weren't obviously favourable to a 1-up F16 - the Ts were twin wiring upwind, and the course included a couple of reaching legs.
Combined results from Friday's long distance are now up too:
http://www.yccarnac.com/version2/upload/copie_raid_eurocat_inc1_s.htmHans put in a very respectable 36th (out of 158 finishers), and I was very pleased with 77th in this fleet. The results don't include boat type, but the majority is the very strong F18 fleet, and those of us on the singlehanded F16s are giving them over 2% on handicap.
I enjoyed the long distance race, as the large fleet meant there was always someone nearby to race. The conditions were light but consistent, mostly just shy of trapezing conditions, and then dropping off at the end of the day. I found that upwind, when not trapezing there was absolutely nothing between me and the F18s around me, but once up to single trapezing I had a slight edge. Downwind I found it was definitely possible to make ground on the F18s, but in these conditions the boats are very close.
Congratulations to Gill and Kathleen, as first F16 in the overall results. It's a real shame we didn't get some more of the round the cans races in, as we had some good close racing amongst the F16s, but still, it was a great week and I'm definitely thinking about doing it again next year.
Paul
