Friday was another wild day on Sarasota Bay as the wind was out of the north at 18 with gusts to 25. My new crew, Nadine Nassif, had been on a 2-year sabbatical from I -20 scow sailing but later agreed with me that getting thrown right back in the big air on Thursday and Friday was the best way, because there was no time to be nervous, and she did an awesome job. The big racing highlight on Friday must have been the start of the first race. It got messy when Peter Huff, who is well-trained in the Yost School of Barging, assumed that a hole would have to open up. With 30 seconds to go I realized Peter's intention and vocally assured him that he was in a bad place. Peter still believed that a hole would open up as they have for him in past regattas, but it was not to be. The RC was well-entertained with a very spirited, exciting, and close quarters start. In the future Pete might believe me. The wind was up and the racing was fun. Kyle and Liz Metzloff were sailing well and would have been hard to beat if Kyle had sailed to the right mark. This brings up Regatta Tip # 2: Always read the course board. Joe and LaCinda Terry,who we have not seen at a regatta since the 1999 Nationals, were having a great time flying down wind when a big wave grabbed their bow and they went for a swim and found out how slippery those fancy bilgeboards truly were.

Saturday was the kind of day you could only dream of, it was perfect. With winds around 10 to 12 and gusts to 16, it was great. The racing was super with Al Pezoldt and John Hayashi charging hot to the corners, Kyle and Liz jibing over and going to the inside and Peter and Theresa sailing deep, deep. How and whom do you cover? In true I-20 fashion nobody was ever out of the race and there were many lead changes. Saturday was just one of those days that you will replay in your head and we got in 3 races. The regatta hosts were also selling photos from a helicopter as a reminder of a great day with friends on the water.