Thirty seven A-Class catamaran sailors began the 4th Annual Admirals Cup Regatta today with the 2012 event hosted by Davis Island Yacht Club in Tampa. The regatta was held the first two years in Bokeelia, FL and last year in Islamorada. It is the third and final event of the 2012 US A-Class Catamaran Association Winter Circuit (1st event was the Coconut Grove Sails and Canvas Classic in Islamorada in January, 2nd event was the Ronstan Midwinters also at DIYC last month).

Two races were sailed today in light to medium air. The first race started in a 6-8 knot southeasterly that dropped to 4-5 knots by the finish. The big picture today wind wise was a forecasted persistent shift all day from the southeasterly to a southwesterly (sea breeze direction) but the best choice in the first race was to favor the shore side of the course upwind and downwind as there always seemed to be better pressure there. Any move to the middle or right side of the course (looking upwind) seemed to be "death". Bob Webbon did the best job of shift and puff management to take the race one win.

The PRO wisely sent the fleet in for a lunch break at the conclusion of race one as the southeasterly was dropping fast and the sky and clouds seemed to indicate a sea breeze would happen. After about a 2 hour break the competitors were called back out for Race 2 and the breeze did make the shift to the southwest and seemed to be filling in well with 10 knots by the start. Even though the forecast called for more swing to the right, those who chose the left side on the upwind legs seemed to always (again) have the better pressure lanes. Current North American champion Ben Hall was 2nd around the weather mark and sailed a brillant 1st downwind leg to have what seemed like an insurmountable lead by the leeward gate. On the next upwind, Ben sailed out of pressure as he crossed the course and opened the door for Bruce Mahoney and Jeff Linton to close the gap. The final downwind leg was tricky. The breeze was still veering but there was less pressure on the side of the course it was trending to and it ended up the best move was to again sail towards the shore (east side) of the downwind leg which if you worked your positioning right put you on a heading jibe with puffs as you approached the finish. Bruce and Jeff got by Ben at the finish who worked too far towards the veering breeze direction.

The forecast for tomorrow is more westerly gradient with some strengthening in front of an approaching weak cold front. Most of the sailors are hoping for 3 races in solid trapeze conditions upwind and hull flying conditions downwind. Stay tuned for tomorrow's report.

Day 1 (Top Three of 37):

1. Jeff Linton 4-2 6 (Bim XJ modified, Glaser, Fiberfoam)
2. Bob Hodges 2-4 6 (DNA, Glaser, Hall)
3. Ian Lindhal 5-3 8 (Lindhal, North, Fiberfoam)

The next 3 boats are tied at 12 points and include Bruce Mahoney (DNA), Bob Webbon (Marstrom), and Rush Bird (Rogers "O"). Five different boat designs in the top five, pretty cool!