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Credit: Strong winds have hampered proceedings during the second day of Sail for Gold, with only four flights achieved on the match racing course today. Gusts of up to 35 knots kept us inside Portland Harbour, which gave some shelter, but still provided many exciting moments! The conditions were certainly testing for both the crews and the fleet of new Elliott 6m yachts, which seem to be holding up well.
Group B were first out on the water today, and completed three matches, bringing them up to 6 out of the 7 races needed to complete the round-robin. After some delay waiting for the conditions to moderate, Group C was sent out where we were able to complete one match before all remaining races were postponed until tomorrow, leaving Group A with a frustrating day spent ashore.
In the one match we did manage to complete today, we faced our fellow British team of Mary Rook, Bethan Carden, and my younger sister Kate Macgregor, which we’re pleased to have won while sailing in some pretty difficult conditions. We’re leading our group as the only team with four wins our of four so far, however the competition is now behind schedule and tomorrow’s forecast is for similar conditions. If the organising authority decides to eliminate any of the planned stages then this would put further emphasis on finishing in one of the top two spots in each round-robin group to progress through to the next round. Either way, we’re happy with our performance so far, and look forward to hopefully less waiting and more action on the water tomorrow!
Lucy
Tags: 2009, Elliott 6M, ISAF Sailing World Cup, Skandia Sail for Gold, Weymouth
