F-18's at Spring Dinghy

F-18 Spring Dinghy spectator view.We had to miss the race due to a electrical problem on our trailer and ended up watching.

The first race showed how tricky the bay can be to sail on these high performance cats. Seeing a cat on starboard slipping down and losing all their forward progress shows the power of these tides. When they would tack on to port the wind would push them almost straight up but then the channel tide would begin to push them back down. So boats were forced to try to make as much on Port as possible then suffer the ride sideways on Starboard. Michel KERMAREC on the Viper looked to be dialed into these conditions and showed really well followed by the Wildcats of Phillip and Charles.

The second race the tide slacked and the wind coming up allowed the cats to shine. Hulls flew high and speeds came up as more of the bay became raceable. You could now make some gains on Starboard and at 15 knots of wind there were boats cruising downwind with full spinnakers in the 20 knot range. Phillip, Alex, Michael Butler began to make gains on the Viper that dominated the first race. The third race followed suit and the day ended with three boats close at the top of the leader board.

Sunday began with light conditions and a strong flood. There were holes all over the course and boats swapped positions as one caught a puff and the other sat in a hole. despite that it made for some very tactical racing and tough calls on the water. During the second race the wind almost went to nothing and again tactics and not making mistakes ruled the day.

The third race saw the wind come back and a steady 12 to 15 knots on a almost flat bay. This was perfect conditions to push the boats to the limits and try to drain every ounce of speed out of the boats. This led to some close racing and great fun for the sailors and spectators alike.

Thank You to the St. Francis Yacht Club, and all the volunteers for the great weekend.

Pics here http://www.sff18.org/