After a week of great north breeze, the Miami heat showed up again today killing the northerly and making conditions perfect for a light seabreeze. We waited on shore an extra hour and then ghosted out into a 4-6 knot easterly. The sailing was just beautiful all things considered, but a 20 degree lefty in the middle of the first two-mile beat spoiled our day. About ten boats were caught in the black flag starting penalty but even so we rounded well into the 50s after fighting our way back from the right side. We had intended to go right all along so I can’t beat myself up too much. And we had really nice pace around the course so we were able to make up nice gains and have a respectable finish in 20th place.
The real unfortunate part of the day was Brad’s back deteriorating as the day went on. He had spent yesterday rigging while I was racing the 32. But when we got to the boat today his back had tightened up so much that he could barely fit under the boom in tacks. Luckily it wasn’t too windy so he wasn’t over strained but by the end of the day Brad could barely walk without wincing in pain. So as I write we’re sitting at the doctor waiting for an MRI to hopefully confirm that it’s just a temporary problem demanding only rest and not actions more drastic. Meanwhile we’re scouring the boatpark for a replacement crew for the week. We’ll try to keep you updated at CampbellSailing.com.
