Dec 17, 2024 @ 19:42:27 EST
Saturday, October 14: The 2017 Sea Otter Regatta got off to a good start with winds a bit higher than the predicted 5-7 Kts. After a 7-minute postponement we started the regatta's first rotation with a northerly at 8 Kts that shifted to the NW as the day progressed. We moved all course marks multiple times to ensure fair racing. Winds built to a sustained 10-12 Kts by early afternoon until we were hit by 16 Kts of westerly with puffs measured at 20 Kts off the end of Wharf 2. Three Silver fleet boats capsized during this short duration blast of wind. The day ended after 14 races (both fleets) were completed in 10 Kts of wind that kept dwindling to less than 6 Kts as the boats finished the last race of the day.
Sunday, October 15: We were faced with predictions of 3-6 Kts of wind from the east, shifting to the SW in the afternoon. The weatherman again proved how fickle he or she is as we saw a NNW wind of 6 Kts by 11 AM and called for the boats. We postponed for 30 minutes as the boats fought light winds on the beach and were delayed in getting to the race course. As the first set of races started we experienced dying winds with a 40 degree shift to the right. At one point the left side of the course had wind from 300 degrees while the boats that had gone right were stuck in the dying breeze which was from 030 degrees!. Fortunately, the wind backed to a steady 280-290 degrees for the remainder of the day and 10 races (both fleets) were sailed in delightful conditions of 6-9 Kts. We started the day in flat water and ended in a light chop that favored skippers who were able to play the swells in downwind finishes.
| Sym. | Explanation |
|---|---|
| * | Number of high-place (1) finishes |
| ** | Head-to-head tiebreaker |
The following chart shows the relative rank of the teams as of the race indicated. Note that the races are ordered by number, then division, which may not represent the order in which the races were actually sailed.
The first place team as of a given race will always be at the top of the chart. The spacing from one team to the next shows relative gains/losses made from one race to the next. You may hover over the data points to display the total score as of that race.
