Lightning Strikes
As the shore crews and race officials waited on the beach for the boats
to finish, Walter Cooper blew it for everybody. Walter is the official
photographer for the race and he is lucky enough to ride in a helicopter
to take pictures while the rest of us kick sand and try to guess what's
happening out on the water. When Walter lands he usually gets to the
beach just as anticipation among the fans is approaching a fever pitch.
Then he tells you! He tells you who was leading when he broke off to
watch the finish. The whole fun of watching is the anticipation and
anxiety that builds up prior to identifying the approaching boats.
The fleet started this evening in a Southerly breeze and made great time
towards Isle of Palms for 50 miles until a cold front arrived from the
Northwest. Sailing the last 18-25 miles upwind added at least an hour
to the finishing times of the fleet, making a leg record impossible.
Today's leg was tricky. Everyone knew that the cold front was
approaching, but when would it hit? Brian Lambert and Jamie Livingston
of Alexander's again mastered the fleet, protecting the inshore side of
the course in case the wind shifted Northwest. The boats were running
about 75 degrees on Starboard gybe, about 20 degrees above the lay line
to the finish. Some of the sailors thought the breeze would be stronger
off-shore, so they continued on Starboard, away from the shore. Some
thought the wind would shift Northwest, so they gybed to port and stayed
just on the inside of the rhumb line. "We kept gybing and gybing to stay
close to the rhumb line. We didn't want to go outside today," said an
exuberant Brian Lambert.
Alexander's was followed by Team Castrol who also stayed to the inside
of the rhumb line. But Lexis Nexis finished third, sailing far outside
of the rhumb line. The next 3 boats all sailed the inside of the course.
The view from the beach was eerie, as amber bolts of lightning flicked on
and off, illuminating the approaching boats for a split second. The
boats were invisible until 100 yards off-shore, but the occasional flash
of lightning would allow a subliminal glimpse of the finishers. Jay
Sonnenklar of Team Castrol liked the lightning, "when it flashed, it kind
of made it easier, we could see the other boats and the shoreline."
Most of the fleet has arrived on shore. We'll have a report from the
Start tomorrow evening.
