Mercedes and crew sailed a great race for the Rhumbline Regatta and placed 3rd out of 8 in Spinnaker I division against really tough local and out-of-town competitors! The course was a triangle with a long upwind/downwind leg, 3 times around, for a total of about 17 miles. Winds were southwest at 10-16 knots, seas were 1-2 ft., and rain was threatening.
Our boatspeed with the North 3Di #2 and the S3 and S2 spinnakers was good, but crew work made the winning difference in this race! We observed various snafu's all around the course; a long course race like this sometimes turns into a war of attrition. We had one memorable misadventure when the spinnaker on deck in it's bag tried to escape the boat and float free! Dragging the spinnaker behind the boat turns out to be an effective sea anchor!
Steve B. accepted our flag on behalf of the Mercedes crew. Great job everyone!
