As the sun rose over a gorgeous overhead surf, race officials heaved a
sigh of relief. The wind has filled from the west at 10-12 knots and
once the boats make it through the surf they are looking at a 60 mile
reach through flat water with a puffy offshore wind. These boats can
really skate in flat water. The sharp bows slice effortlessly through
the water and the boats can sail at speeds greater than the speed of the wind.
At the start, many of the boats were focused on remaining square into
the surf, which was safer, but slow. These catamarans have to sail
tight angles to the wind, generating apparent wind before they can bear
off to a deep reach with speed. To stay square, facing into the surf
the boats had to sail on a dead run, with no apparent wind. They inched
away from the beach gingerly, afraid to get sideways to the surf and
sail fast on a reach. The waves were more than big enough to lift up a
boat that got sideways and slam it upside down, snapping the mast,
so discretion was the better part of valor.
Guidant hopped of to an early lead, daring to turn left onto a port tack
reach towards the finish in Virginia Beach. They found a smooth section
and turned up, ripping out ahead while Alexander's played it safe and
pointed perpendicular to the beach to stay square on into the waves.
Tomko and Gaines, of Spitfire Racing, took a risk raising their chute
just before the gun, to provide more horsepower to sail low through the
surf. They poked out of the surf line well, but then the wind filled and
they were sailing out to sea fast, while the others reached along the
beach pointing towards the finish, by the time they took the spinnaker
down they had lost a bundle with the gambit.
Kirk Newkirk, of Key Sailing, was on the beach this morning, as were Brad
Cavanaugh and Suzette Cruz of Redhook. Newkirk explained his decision
to withdraw on yesterday's leg. "The lack of sleep and nourishment made
us worried that we would make a mistake and get hurt," said a
disappointed Newkirk.
Cavanaugh and Cruz were really struggling in the lack of wind before
Cape Hatteras. "We couldn't make any time forward, the only way we
could get the boat moving was back towards the start," explained
Cavanaugh. "I'll be back next year with better planning and more
sailing time on these boats," he vowed.
Before the start Randy Williamson, of Cat Fever, put it all in
perspective. He sat on the hull taping over almost every piece of skin
on his hands with duct tape and waxed philosophical, "this race is not
for every kind of person, but I'll be able to tell my grandkids that I
sailed a little catamaran up the Atlantic coast."
We'll have a report from the finish in Virginia Beach later this afternoon.
