Lake Eustis, Day 2

Sunday morning was clear, cool and calm with some forecasts of about 5 knots of wind. After a short postponement it filled in so we all hit the water, we'll most of us. Ron did the boat launch about 10 feet short of the water trick. It sounds really bad but the times I've seen this done not much damage is really done. A bunch of us picked up the stern while Ron cranked it back on the trailer and all was well. The is some heavy negative karma so we decided then to steer clear of the black boat!

The first race was the highlight for us as we flirted with winning it. On the first run we passed Zeke to take the lead and so he returned the favor at the end of the second run to grab the bullet, one of several. We were happy with a 2 though and think there is a lot to the idea of starting with the rest of the fleet.

The last race was a real scramble for us, we had a poor first beat and got seriously deep. Got a couple on the run as the lake was getting seriously flakey. The second beat was a lot better, we spotted one puff that looked like an auto tack so we were ready and hit it just right and that seemed to launch us. A pile of boats hit a hole near the weather mark and we hit another shift and it turned into a 4 th.

Being RV ers at these things we often rely on our friends for ramp launching/retrieving the boat. On the way out we called on Andy to help us out. He backs the trailer in, stops with the axel still dry so I walk out to attach the strap to the bow eye. I just get the hook on when we start backing into the water rather quickly! I turn to holler obscenities at Andy and notice his truck is not moving but the trailer is. Uh oh. As the trailer continues to disappear I grab the winch handle and try to hang on. This and the boat as an obstacle keeps the trailer from disappearing completely, so we straighten things up and hope the cameras were not at the ready! The culprit; 2 inch trailer plus a 1 7/8 inch ball plus someone standing out near the end of the trailer and voila! or, negative karma.

Congratulations to Zeke Horowitz and his dad Jay for a great regatta and really solid win! Mark and Andy were second filled by David Ames, Tom McNally and us.

Next up is Tampa March 8 and 9. Out.