Delta Lloyd Regatta - Team Maclaren reaches quarterfinals

by Anna Tunnicliffe on 28 May 2011 Delta Lloyd Regatta 2011. Team Maclaren's Anna Tunnicliffe shares her account of the day's action and the team's victory that has put them through to the quarterfinals.

Team Maclaren had a scheduled day off yesterday that ended up being extended until around 2:30pm this afternoon. The team sailed in the gold round robin today and ended with a 4-1 record. Though not entirely sure of the scores, we think we won the round which would rank us first heading into the quarter finals

On Wednesday, we finished up our first round robin which advanced us to the gold round. We were scheduled to have yesterday off from racing so the second group, Group B, could finish their first round and the repecharge sail their race-off. Group B got in one and a half flights before the conditions got too windy (30-40kts) and racing was called for the day. This meant that yesterday's racing had to be caught up on today. The race committee put forth a fantastic effort in running the races and all races were sailed.

Our racing was for seeding into the quarterfinals. It was tight racing, but a great opportunity to race against the girls we hadn't yet sailed in this regatta. We had two very tight races, one against the Finnish team, and one against the Dutch team.

The race with the Finnish team started with them getting two penalties in the prestart. They spun their first one right off the line, but were only a length or two behind us up the first beat. We held them off on the first downwind, but they charged hard on the second upwind to round just behind us at the top mark. We extended to the right out from the mark, and played it safe enough to defend the lead and cross the line ahead to win the race.

The race with the Dutch also had two penalties in it, but they came later in the race. We had a great start and led them by a length at the top mark. Downwind, they closed the gap bringing down pressure, and rounded just behind us. They sailed into our lee, and luffed us. We responded and flagged the situation resulting in a penalty for them for sailing above their proper course.

At the top mark, we were bow to stern, with us still in the lead and them holding the penalty. They had a slightly better kite set than us and rolled over the top of us. We were able to keep the overlap and luffed them a few times. Eventually, they turned down a little too much and their boom hit Molly in the elbow resulting in their second penalty. We bore away and went on to win the race.

Also, CMRC is having their first home event of the season this weekend. Check it out online here.

We would very much like to thank our Title Sponsor, Maclaren, our Gold Level Sponsors 11th Hour Racing and Laser Performance, and our Bronze Level Sponsors Carmeuse, Trinity Yachts, and Chicago Match Race Center for their continued support of our campaign for the 2012 Olympic Games.

We would also like to thank US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics (USSTAG) and its sponsors for their continued support. Also, thank you to our private donors. Please remember that any and all donations/contributions to our campaign should be made payable directly to either The Sailing Foundation of New York (tax deductible) memo'd Anna Tunnicliffe, or to Anna Tunnicliffe. Event Team Maclaren website