Practice Day..

It's was an easy day at the LMWs for me. Lazy morning. Bright sun out. A building breeze to about 15knots looks promising. I rigged the boat at about 2:00... left the beach at around 2:30.. I got to hike a bit and then reached down to the race course against a flood tide. The practice raced started at 3:00pm. The Apprentice Master (35-44 yrs) go first. Boat end looks favored. The wind seems to be subsiding a few knots every 15 minutes or so. Big positive current pushing you towards the weather mark at about 2 knots or more. Almost a downwind start just to stay behind the line. The 1st gun goes off and I'm way over! But so was the rest of the fleet which means it's general recalled back to start again. The black flag is up now for the second start ( this means auto disqualification if over the line at the gun). But its the practice race? should I care? Everyone's seems to be respectful and holds back a bit as best they can. Second start I start near the committee boat again but this time I'm ill-prepared to go. Centerboard was up (I was trying to slip sideways to get back behind the line), my cunningham was too loose, also vang was too loose. The leeward boat jumps me (John Bertrand USA) and I end up following him for the first 20 boat lengths. Now some big shifts are roll through.. I'm feeling the definition of "out of phase"! so time to tack and go right.. but I get slammed on by the boat directly in front of me (JB).. not good. I need to get out to the edges I'm thinking. So I sail through a few headers to get terminally right. It didn't pay.. the boat that slammed me is now up to tenth.. I'm maybe in 25th or worse and leaking! My luck slowly starts to change as I hit a little righty coming into the mark. Note to self.. don't overstand with a tide going upstream. Everybody makes it below me. Right after the weather mark I pick up maybe two more boats that went too low. The current is now going more right to left it seems. And because the downwinds are directly into the current, the leaders aren’t too far away.. they running on the treadmill and going nowhere! They're not far away at all I’m thinking. So I pull off the quick gybe at the offset mark and head off right to fight the current early. I'm feeling good half way down the run. The Jury boat(s) start to exercise their whistle muscles and proceed to passing out yellow flag (rule 42 infringements) like candy on halloween.. My downwind style seems different then everyone else's and maybe its ok with the judges? Consequently I'm able to pick off another six or seven boats this run. At the gate, Every boat in front of me goes safely to the left gate which is down current and closer. well.. It's a practice race right? Time to try the right gate Einstein. It's a much longer distance to sail but I'm best situated to get there then most others.. and I really like the idea of an open clean lane going off to the right. I'm all alone for a little bit of the lower beat but then decide to tack back to the middle on the first good shift. It payed off! I'm in now moved up to about 12th! So I round the weather mark smugly and reach towards a strange mark I'm not sure is part of the course. I think its the outer loop though. Boats are really heading off on strange angles maybe in anticipation of a foul current recking havoc later on? not sure why? Way too much hedging in my opinion.. so I sail more of a direct line towards the mark then the guys I rounded with. Well.. big Opps.. I've definitely lost big distance to my group by the time we get to the reaching mark. Andy Roy (CAN) puts 10 boat lengths on me at least. So the next leg is a dead downwind to the lower trap and again more boats are hedging to the right again of rumline. Now a Jury Boat is hovering right around me. A loud whistle sound shrieks out and it appears to be directed directly at me!!! I turn quickly to look in guilt.. Man! Luck has it that they've flagged the guy directly behind me that’s on my wind! Thank bro.. teach you to sit on my air! The rest of the way I'm doing the good "ABYC downwind surfing thing" and making money. Connecting the dots and charging down the middle of the track. I’m really closing on the leaders now! They're coming in from the sides as we approach the second to last mark. I round the lower trap mark and head for the last leeward mark feeling kinda ..Faaast! There's lots of good company around and right behind me at this point. I round the final mark in... shoot I better count.. 6th place! The gift of "no passing lanes" to the finish boat gives me the finish of 6th! (in the practice race). But I'm feeling pretty good about the whole practice.. Speed downwind is a good weapon when trying to catch up. I'm top US boat in my fleet (The Red fleet.. seem to be the tougher group today). Maybe 45 boats started the race. Now its a long sail in against the tide that is now ebbing out of the bay furiously. Opening ceremonies tonight at the club and then off to an early bed. Tomorrow we race for real.. Aloha.