Race Day 1

2 Race today.
Conditions started out lighter than expected at about 15-17 knots for the first race. We had an average start with clear air but we struggled a little on the first beat with a smaller jib. We made it around the top, set and ripped down wind. We were plenty busy as on average the runs were about 8-10 minutes. As soon as the kite and staysail going, we got straight into swapping jibs. We gybed on layline and were hauling straight to the left hand mark. Just before the left mark, we had to go behind a boat and that delayed our drop. We really struggled with the drop getting the kite barely to the headstay on a weather drop with most of it in the water. We were lucky to not have shrimped it. After some tugging, we got it back on board, just slightly more damp than earlier. Mickey did a nice job on the beat sorting the kite but by the time we got to top mark again, it was time to swap to the A2. We finished the race in 4th.
Between races we were quite busy, bagging 2 jibs, packing 2 kites and bailing out some water. The breeze picked up for the second race with 20-23 knots. A few boats had some damage due to the conditions so were happy to keep it all in one piece. We had some fast runs with steady speeds around 18 knots. We also finished 4th in the second race. It was plenty physical work out there today. We are a little bummed to have not finished better but we also know where we can pick up a few lengths here and there. We are looking forward to getting back out there tomorrow.
Tomorrow looks to be more moderate with breeze forecast around 15-16 knots.
Doogie