2nd Day Report – sorry for delay

Sorry…I tried posting this yesterday morning but it didn’t go thru….standby for the report on day 3 of sailing.

The forecast was for big winds today and the forecast was spot on. The temperature dropped overnight and solidified the surface, but Pat Heppert noted at the skippers meeting the ice depth went from 9-11 inches to 7-9 inches given the incredible heat the day before.

Race Committee called the Silver Fleet to the line and Ed Demerest, having had issues with his mast the previous day, finished in third place. Nicely done, Ed! Milo is sailing very consistently, avoiding the big bummers, and is currently in sixth place overall. I also want to give a shout out to NEIYA Treasurer, Bob Haag, competing for the first this year. Our Commodore John Stanton is also being very consistent and is 27th in the standings.

When gold fleet was called to the line, the breeze was strong but definitely built throughout the race. I know at the start some people were measuring on their anemometers a range of 20-22 knots. It seemed an even split between those sailing with their MS1 and the ABSS and also split between 95s and 100 degree runners. I chose the MS1 and my 95 degree inserts.

By the third lap, most folks were just trying to get themselves and their boats over the line safely. The big wind brought several spin outs and others with significant boat/equipment damage. Most of us who sailed the race got a huge surge of adrenaline and satisfaction of crossing the line in the hairy conditions, but we all were relieved that racing was then called off for the day. Sixty of the seventy sailors dropped their sails in the pit area and bare poled it back to the shore. It was that hairy. For a comparison, if you did/attempted the Winnie the Hard Way a few years ago it was like that…

This morning, we awoke to a temperature of 2F. It will warm up later in the morning, but the ice will now be super hard and there is already breeze.

Results: https://iceresults.org/dn/2024nas.html

Video of the 3rd windward lap: https://www.facebook.com/julie.jankowski.12/videos/412353528115350/?idorvanity=432333643482302

Karen Binder
DN 5630