After a season chasing the super yachts in Division 1s it was great to be back in Division 1 among yachts of similar capability. In a fleet of 17 yachts we were able to start 5 minutes later and finish 20 minutes earlier than we would have in Division 1s. On the day we made a good start at the boat end of a very well set line and mixed it with the fleet to windward in a way we could never do in Div 1s. A third of the way up the beat Izzi showed form and tacked just below our line. At the same time Amanti decided to tack right in front of us giving us a very big dose or disturbed air. Stuck between Izzi and Amanti it took some time to get clear air and wind back up to boat speed.
Crosshaven picked the wind shifts perfectly and made a good break on the fleet and Allegro powered away in the fresher patches of breeze.
We played the back stay as best we could flattening the main in the gusts and easing the back stay in the lulls and arrived at the windward mark in the top half of the fleet. Trim and Hanni were close behind and Hanni made a good charge up to take our wind. Once we had a bit of separation and had clear air we drew slowly away from Hanni and made up a little ground on Amanti, Allegro and Crosshaven. Foreign Affairs was being very foreign and cleared out from the fleet while the very lightly handicapped First 40, Leeward was enjoying the close racing among the lead group.
We never quite made up for the dumping Amanti gave us and finished a minute behind her and Allegro but it was a much more enjoyable race for all the crew .
The handicap place down at 12th out of 17 might look better as 10th out of 15 if the two casuals are really casuals but it was a bit of a disappointment being beaten by both the top and the bottom of the fastest times yachts. We needed to be three minutes faster to make it to a podium position and that was never going to be.
A happy crew back in Division 1 and mixing it with the fleet.
This is as close as we got to Allegro on the reach home
A wider shot of the fleet in front on the way home
Most of the tacking angles were good but Crosshaven picked the shifts better.