Laser 4.7 Worlds Day 3- San Francisco, wear flowers in your hair?

by Rob Burn on 2 Aug 2011
Rob Burn reports from the third day's racing in the Laser 4.7 Worlds in San Francisco:

Hello all

Saturday night in San Francisco, wear flowers in your hair ...maybe not quite, but the St Francis Sailing Club did put on a 'party' for the sailors and supporters to mark the midway point of the regatta.

We had some interesting choices of music and food while viewing some great photos taken on the water ...and the latest results scrolling round and round, reminding the sailors of their triumphs or otherwise. The company was good, great to socialize with the other parents and have a drink once off the water.

Warmer and sunnier today, and supposedly lighter winds, the girls started early but as usual the wind duly came up and the currents raged.

Taylor and Liam were first up this afternoon in Yellow flight, after a couple of false starts and Line resets, they were finally away. Liam had a good race finishing 24, Taylor got a crack on the head from the boom of a Slovenian sailor on the start which did not set him up for the best race and he finished 30th with the added bonus of a big lump on his head.

Trent, Keith and Ryan started next in Blue flight, their flight had some real trouble getting away, numerous restarts and Black Flag penalties. The sailors were determined not to make the mistakes of the first flight and the three Kiwis all finished very well. Trent 7th, Ryan 11th and Keith 13th.

The current was changing from Max Flow to Ebb and the Committee Boat swung round ...wind pushing it one way but the stronger current the other. Same with the sea state, wind over current gave some great waves to surf down wind on, the eagle eyed Jury were keeping the sailors honest, Ryan and Taylor both got 'Rule 42' Pumping penalties ...some sailors have had three already.

The second start for Taylor and Liam was memorable as Taylor hit the pin end of the line at speed and zipped out to the front, Port
Tacked the fleet and was 1st to the top mark, but was deemed OCS (over the Starting Line and didn't go back to re cross)....Liam a little more conservative on the start and had a great race to finish 15th.

More General Recalls and a Black Flag start plagued the second flight, Ryan finishing 17th, Keith 23rd and Trent OCS.

There was quite a few OCS and Black Flag penalties and the above scores reflect after all these are taken out.

The Spaniards are still 1st and 2nd, our sailors are Keith 12th, Trent 20th, Ryan 42nd, Liam 49th and Taylor 52nd. All in all, another tough day at the office.

There are six races to go, this is the time for the sailors to dig deep and continue to give their best.

Early start tomorrow, maybe lighter for the first race. The first race was to be at 11am but has been put back to Noon as the San Francisco Marathon is being run tomorrow, with the associated traffic congestion etc. Should be exciting though ....where did I leave my runners?

There are some great shots of all the sailors on Sail World plus the 'Official' reports. For some real close up shots visit www.chucklantz.com and look in the 4.7 gallery.

Happy sailing and again a huge Thank You to everyone who has helped the boys in one way or another get to this regatta, it is very much appreciated and you can be sure they are all learning a huge amount from the experience.
Rob