Day 2 saw an opposite start to the day as a light southwesterly wind built throughout the day into a blustery and squally breeze and we were forced to change down to the number 2 headsails for the last 2 flights of the day.

The decision at the morning briefing was to complete the final 3 flights of round robin 2, then reassess the weather and perhaps continue on with a third round robin. As it turned out the weather played along and we managed to complete 3 flights of the third round robin before conditions really started to deteriorate and we were sent home for the day.

We sailed well again today, although it didn’t all go our way as proved by our race against Phil Douglas. We were pushed hard in a close race which only saw us take the lead on the final run to the finish after an intense luffing dual which had the umpires on their toes as the protest flags got a workout. We were happy with the win, and it showed our ability to keep it close when behind and to be able to pounce and take the lead when the opportunity arose.

So we again finished the day unbeaten and in doing so completed a good regatta victory. It is encouraging to be sailing well as we head off to the USA on Wednesday to compete in three international regattas. The level of competition and close racing we experienced over the weekend was timely training as we move to the next stage of our programme.

It was a breezy start to the day today as the race committee sent us out for the first round robin of the MRX Winter Match Racing Series Three. We started the day with number 2 headsails, however after the first couple of flights the early breezy conditions soon eased, and a nice 10 – 12 knot northerly set in over the race course.

We started the day off on the right foot with a win against David Wood, gaining the favoured pin end of the start line and leading the race from start to finish. Our 2nd race against Phil Douglas had the umpires in the action right from the outset, awarding Phil 2 penalties within the first couple of minutes. This gave us an early advantage off the start line that we were able to defend easily around the course.

Our closest race of the day was against the female Olympic Development Squad team skippered by Sam Osborne. We were unlucky to receive a penalty in the pre start, but despite this we won the start and led up the first beat. We tried to create an opportunity to clear our infringement at the first top mark, however Sam defended well and we ended up heading down the first run with a 3 boat length lead, still carrying a penalty. We had increased our lead to around 5 lengths by the top 3rd of the second upwind leg and cleared our penalty on the starboard layline to keep a slight advantage coming into the top mark. We defended our small lead down the final run and through the finish.

Our last 2 races of the first round robin were against Jan Dawson and Reuben Corbett; we won our race against Jan easily leading from start to finish but had to fight hard for our win against Reuben. He had a slight lead at the top of the first beat but we fought back hard on the run and managed to close the gap right up at the bottom mark. The second beat was neck and neck as we came back at the top of the course with the Starboard advantage. We were able to convert this into a slight lead as we came down the final run which we sealed another race win.

With the first round robin completed, the race committee was keen to push on in the favourable conditions. We managed to get 2 races of the second round completed before the end of the day. We won both of these to end the day on 7 wins from 7 races. This puts us in a solid position heading into day 2 leading the series comfortably.