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Race 10

The gun went off for the first start on time as the boats headed for the first windward mark a mile and a half away. The course was again four legs with lots of chop and rollers for the boats to contend with as the breeze was 18-20 knots from the NNE. Contender unfortunately had to drop out as they broke a spreader and were worried about their rig in the strong breeze.

The left side of the course paid off for those who chose that way. Rough water and an outgoing tide made things interesting at the windward mark with some boats being swept into the mark and having to throw in last minute tacks. Tramp tacked right in front of USA 65 and snuck in to round the mark first, USA 65 rounded next a half a boat length behind. Pegasus was next around in third followed by Furry Creatures, Unicredito Italiano and Printel Wind who had to pinch to make the mark.

Keeping the bow out of the water and riding the waves was the key to the next leg. The wind was very gusty and you could see the gust make its way through the fleet as one boat after the other struggled with their spinnaker. This was a very challenging downwind ride! Most of the boats chose the right side of the gate with Tramp, USA 65, Furry Creatures, Pegasus and Breakout among the leaders. The left side again was favored as the boats headed back upwind.

Tramp and USA 65 performed a beautiful on the water ballet as they approached the windward. Tramp did a brilliant job of covering to protest their lead and actually increased it to a boat length or two. Pegasus snuck in on port at the mark to round in front of USA 65 so the order at the mark was Tramp, Pegasus and then USA 65. Furry Creatures rounded in fourth followed by Unicredito Italiano and then Printel Wind and Bold2 who were 10 boat lengths back.

As jets from the Naval Academy homecoming game buzzed the fleet, Pegasus was right on top of Tramp and they headed for the finish. Tramp chose the boat end and Pegasus headed for the pin as Tramp crossed and took the gun 2 seconds before Pegasus. USA 65 was next over the line surfing the waves beautifully. They were followed by Furry Creatures and the Unicredito Italiano. Printel Wind and Bold2 had an awesome jibing dual as they headed for the pin with Bold2 squeeking over less than a second in from of Printel Wind. You could see both boats congratulating each other after they crossed the line. Alina crossed justs after Printel Wind so this regatta will be decided on the last race!
Race 11

The breeze began to moderate for the last race of the day with a course of 5 legs, each a mile and a half long and a heading of 10. Furry Creatures was over early but made a quick turn around to clear themselves. Most boats have gone to a larger headsail with the breeze maxing out at 15 knots and the majority headed up the left side of the course.

Switching to a larger headsail might not have been the best idea for this race. The moderation of the breeze didn't last long as it increased again to 18 knots. Those boats that chose to switch have had to dump the main a lot to keep the boat flat. The windward mark has been set close to the mouth of the Severn River and the boats that went left fared much better than the others as there is a nice breeze coming out of the mouth of the Severn. The breeze is back down to 12 with most of the boats coming in on port. Steadfast is first to the mark followed by Illusion, Go Figure and Enigma in that order. The fleet is compressed which has made the rounding interesting. Printel Wind and Alina were towards the middle of the fleet at this mark.

All but two boats chose the western side of the course for the second leg. Steadfast rounded first and headed left. Illusion struggled with their take down but recovered nicely to round in second followed by Go Figure, Enigma, Asylum and Pegasus in that order. Foreign Affair snuck inside of Unicredito Italiano who had to duck their stern.

The spectator fleet increased and the breeze increased back up to 18 knots as the boats slogged their way through the chop to the last windward mark rounding of the regatta. Most of the boats chose to stay in the middle of the course, with maybe 10 boats going right. Steadfast was first around followed by Illusion, Go Figure, Foreign Affair, Enigma and Asylum in that order. With clean sets, the boats headed up to the leward gate.

Steadfast rounded the last mark and headed towards the finish with the championship still up for grabs. Illusion followed also at the east end of the gate with both boats rounding to port and heading up wind on port. Go Figure chose the west gate with a big gap between the top three boats and the rest of the fleet. Foreign Affair was next, jibed and headed west, followed by Enigma, Foreign Affair and Asylum in that order. Pegasus and Unicredito Italiano chose different sides of the gate and rounded even.

Boats that chose the left for this last leg got a big lift. Go Figure and Foreign Affair sandwiched Steadfast as Illusion moved into the lead. It's neck and neck for the top four boats heading to the finish line. Illusion gets the gun followed by Steadfast, Foreign Affair and Go Figure in that order. Banca Finnat tacked on the line to cross nest followed by Alina then Unicredito Italiano, Asylum and International Yacht Paint. It was a great finish to the regatta.

Preliminary results will be posted as soon as possible as I know everyone is on the edge of their seats. From my calculations at this point, Alina is the 2002 World Champion with Printel Wind holding onto second and Steadfast coming in third. Illusion is fourth followed by Foreign Affair in fifth.


Results are subject to protest

Pos	Skipper	Nat	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10	R11	Total
1	Guiseppe Abba	ITA	10	2	4	7	3	4	4	5	13	8	6	66
2	Paolo Cristofori	ITA	1	1	2	8	8	9	9	10	4	7	14	73
3	Fred Sherratt	CAN	2	4	20	2	1	2	14	7	1	21	2	76
4	John Podmajersky	USA	9	6	10	3	15	5	8	3	11	12	1	83
5	Richard Perini	AUS	5	24	5	5	2	13	1	13	3	14	3	88
6	Tom Ritter	USA	12	27	16	1	10	8	24	4	10	10	1	122
7	Recchi/Ubertalli	ITA	7	3	9	6	11.3	11.3	15	14	DSQ	5	8	124.6
8	Nelson Stephenson	USA	24	21	25	4	14	1	17	11	2	6	20	145
9	Kent Plunkett	USA	11	25	6	9	7	17	16	9	8	24	15	147
10	Phil Factor	USA	8	18	14	27	19	3	11	21	5	4	19	149