-great day for the fans, maybe a little more frustrating for the sailors. W/NW wind 6-17 knots, with 30-40 degree wind shifts throughout. Winning the start today seemed not that important; boat 4 was over/hit the mark, spun, and was right back in it within 1/3 of the beat.

-what was key today was being able to tack off the line. the RC made the line generally big enough that you could find your own lane. The moment boats got locked into the boat next to them (or waited for another boat to tack) upwind, they failed. This was very evident today. Boats 5 & 4 seemed to (for the most part) minimize interference and maximize linking puffs upwind. Sometimes it’s OK to foot upwind, and today I’d argue that sometimes its OK to sail in small header to realize a much bigger gain.

-that said, there was some pretty random stuff, especially at the weather mark. Here, you need to maximize boat handling, avoid fouls, and always look ahead.

-downwind, the z420 will plane, today was not the day to do that with all the holes, but you could have eeked a little more speed out of the big puffs with aggressive weight trim (aft).

-gate choice was important but not vital. Again, the setup has to happen early on, and you always have to be talking and thinking about what’s next.

-Overall a great day of sailing for our team. Carloine/Abby showed the way today with patient, focused, and generally simple strategy, along with very good speed.