Light winds and lots of low riding

Low riding was the name of the game and the end of racing on Day 4 at the World Championships.

Race 8 saw a brief postponement while the wind gained strength.  44 boats took to the water to start the first race of the day at 13.30.  With a light but steady 7 knots all boats started with 1 OCS.  Simon Payne dominated at every mark rounding and across the finish line with superior tactics and speed.

Race 9 pushed many boats to the limits of light wind sailing with over half the fleet residing to low riding for the majority of the race.  Arnaud P took the lead from the start, however AMac took the bullet after out sailing the fleet on his final gybe.

With only 6 knots of breeze at the start line and tide running at the windward mark the race committee postponed the final race of the day until Saturday.

Final thought for the day from the fleet statistics

"When you pool all boats, then there is no correlation between age and performance. But when you do the same correlation by boat design, you’ll find:

1. If you ride a MACH 2: The older you are, the better you are ranked (so far)
2. If you ride a Bladerider, Fastacraft, Prowler, Fastacraft, etc: The younger you are, the better you are ranked (so far)

Does that mean that MACH 2 makes older men faster or does it mean that MACH 2 is the faster boat and only older guys can afford it (b/c it’s the most expensive)? Or is MACH 2 the most challenging boat so that you need to be very experienced to be able to sail it properly?"