For the record - I sailed Uni, but on the F16 rating, NOT the F16U Uni rating (65.2 versus 67.?) - per my requst to the RC. The F16U uni rating must be based on very limited data and would be unfair to use. Just my two cents.

It was indeed a good weekend. Lots of time on the water and a real eye opener to the destruction of Hurricane Katrina (9/2005). Ocean Springs Yacht Club, MS used to be a thriving sailing and social club with plenty of beach for cats, a clubhouse/restaurant, swimming pool and wet slips for keel boats. It was truly a center of boating in the area. Katrina pretty much wiped out the entire Ocean Springs area. The club is completely gone – just a few pilings left – and is struggling to recover. A lot of their revenue came from “social” members who used the pool and restaurant. Alas, those amenities are not there and the club has to explore any and all methods for rebuilding. All three of the races took us through Casino Row where large casinos/hotels once anchored the tourist trade. The casinos/hotels look like bombed out skeletons now with no real plan to rebuild. The OSYC people venture on despite all of this.

The regatta was really three distance races with certain channel markers used as rounding buoys. The first race was to East Ship Island (sand barrier island with no inhabitants, great place for a picnic). Light air at the start, we beat up the bay, through Casino Row (again, unbelievable) and out the channel on the other side. The island was still 8 or 9 miles away almost directly upwind. Some boats tacked out immediately out of the channel (heading went from South to East). Other boats (and me) held the port tack way out into the bay hoping for the sea breeze to kick in. Guess what, the wind freshened as we got further south, tacked to starboard tack and rode that tack for an hour or longer. I really got it in the groove on this tack and made up tons of ground (trapped out and driving the boat off to get through the chop). Not overpowered, but the windward hull was lapping the tops of the waves. It is important to focus on your own boat speed and not worry about how high everyone is going. You’ve got to trust your setup and drive it hard. I was third across the line in fleet (two I-20s in front while one I-20 and two F18’s were behind). The boats finishing behind me went east out of the channel and got killed. Going east usually pays off, but not this year.

The second race was the same course, except in reverse. The wind had built to a steady 9 or 10 with some gusts. The sea state was very lumpy relative to wind strength. Down wind start on starboard, got through the fleet and popped the spin (not man enough to navigate the fleet with spin up, yet). Gybed just high of an I-20 and held that tack for a while. Tried to gybe and dumped it (again). Righted the boat fairly quickly, popped the chute again and made some good ground. Couple of gybes, all going well. I dumped it again at the last gybe to line up the channel (arrrrgh, that’s twice in one race). Righted again quickly (I am becoming quite good at this). The channel back through Casino Row is protected water (absolutely flat water) with a good breeze funneling through. Screaming close reach that I am pretty sure max hull speed was achieved. Out of the channel, bear off to the finish, raise spin and fly to the finish – well behind all boats in fleet. I am pretty sure I would have been last across the line even if I had not turned over twice. The F18s doublehanded were absolutely flying downwind and I am not yet comfortable in those conditions. One non-spin boat beat me to the beach (6.0na).

The third race was Sunday. Again light breeze at the start, beat out and through Casino Row. Spin run through the row this time, although I had trouble sailing high enough had to douse, get back to the high side of the channel and raised spin again (I-20 guys said my spin luff was too tight to go high enough - all other spin boats carried spins through the channel). Tack to starboard after clearing the last channel marker and a LONG beat to the last mark rounding. I was battling with a N5.8 and two N5.5SLs all the way. Hobie Tiger was maybe 200 yards ahead. Rounded the last mark behind all the above, but close The Tiger gybed out and stayed far from the shore. I held my course until I got to the shore line, then gybed over – thinking the breeze would be 90 degrees to the shore the closer you get to the beach. Turns out I was right and only had a few sort gybes to get to the finish line, while the Tiger sailed much more distance. The spin run was 30 to 45 minutes and great fun – no mishaps. Well ahead of Tiger and non-spin boats from the last mark rounding.

All in all, good fun. Learned a few more things and looking forward to more.