Crew: Brian, Seth, Bob & RW
Winds: WSW 8 to 0, G10; S 0 to 5 finish
Weather: clear
Current: flood - North Hill 1534
Start time: 1800, 02:26 into flood
Start/Finish: between Horseshoe & GLP
Course: s/f–V–I–s/f–V–s/f; Distance: 6.9nm
 Shrouds: +3,+1,+2, should have left at base  

There was a nice breeze of 8 knots when the RC set a course of s/f–B–I–s/f–V–s/f shortly after we arrived in the starting area. Brian cinched the rig slightly as we assessed the start.  At the gun, we were about a third of the way down the line in clear air, but with little speed, Salud trailing, and Watercolors nearer the committee boat.  We tacked to port as Watercolors began to roll us and carried short of Horseshoe for a tack offshore on starboard. 

We missed the posting of a course change & radio transmission as well, a couple minutes prior the warning gun. I ventured offshore three minutes or so longer then we would had we known the first mark to be Vixen. Also, on the long port west I began to suspect we had missed a wind band closer to shore. After eight minutes, we saw Wunder Dog round Vixen, then Watercolors and realized we had missed the change. 

We set after the rounding (as it was a tight port approach with no time on the layline), and favored inshore for current relief.  The subsequent douse was clean and we quickly tightened up on port, though we still had a short tack out to clear Horseshoe.  Two-thirds up the course, we tacked out for a wind band then continued to the layline, overstanding in the current.

With a great set, we again favored inshore, though not nearly a much as Ursa Minor.  Half way down to the finish, Seth noticed the fleet ahead had coming to a standstill.  We stuck to our inshore strategy, though came to a stop twice prior to clearing Horseshoe, finishing under genoa and a backed new breeze freshening out of the south.

We were fortunate to correct to fourth place, and would have to had to have been 11 ½ minutes faster to move into third.

Link to chart 

Crew: Brian, Bob & RW
Winds: S 6-12 kts, gusts 17, lulls 3
Weather: overcast
Current: ebb - North Hill 1428
Start time: 1800, 03:32 into ebb
Start/Finish: between Horseshoe & GLP
Course: s/f–N–I–s/f–N–s/f; Distance: 6.9nm
Shrouds: +3,+5,+2

In addition to being shorthanded last night, three or four mistakes set us back to a fifth place finish; one in sail handling, the others in strategy & tactics. The most obvious at the North Hill on the first set with sheet & guy crossed¹ on the hoist, where we lost a good minute if not more. That’s the second time this season that the chute has gone up with the clews together.  I’ll devise a better method of preventing crossed sheets.

We had a great midline start & quickly tacked to favored port, crossing Cosmic and a handful of boats. On both beats, we worked the middle^2&3 to cover Cosmic. On the second beat, we mistakingly overstood⁴ North Dumpling, not as badly as Cosmic ahead though.

Crew: Seth, Bob & RW
Winds: SE 5, SW 10 -18 kts
Weather: overcast light rain
Current: flood - North Hill 1529
Start time: 1800, 02:31 into flood
Start/Finish: between Horseshoe & GLP
Course: s/f –IR–LM–N–s/f; Distance: 4.2 nm
Heavy #1
Shrouds: Base

It was just three of us as Brian was on a business trip to Kentucky. The breeze was averaging five knots in the accompaniment of light rain at start.  I mistakenly set up on Salud’s weather hip near the committee boat as we approached the line in very light air.  A much wiser decision would have favored the pin-end farther up current, a move I shied away from worried about being rolled. As it was, we had a clear lane, yet a longer distance to sail. Cosmic got off to a great start and led around the GLP bouys in clear air.