This year we had some good wind at the Door County Breeze.
2008 Door County Breeze Results
Friday’s Fun Sail began with near zero wind, however it only took a few minutes to begin filling in again. We sailed out to Horseshoe island, then ventured out into the larger bay before turning back.
Saturday we managed to get in 5 races. the first two were an “I” course, and after the break it was expanded to a box course. Moderate winds and the lack of reaches made for a longboard friendly course. Most of the fleet was using large sails, yet Peter Hartwich and Phil Sage (when he remembered the course) were competitive. I found sailing the Prodigy different than a longboard and on the first day I couldn’t keep up with the pack.
Sunday winds began moderate and eventually filled in to 20-30mph for the long distance race. There were lots of gusts and holes making for a very tactical race. Getting caught in no wind for a few minutes could cost many places. We sailed an “M” course.
During the break a long distance course was set and the wind picked up some more. Andy Gratton and Colin Knight still managed to hold onto their 11 meter sails, and were quite fast. During the race there was some sail litter at each of the marks. Arden bypassed everyone on his formula board. Everyone else dropped their sail at least once. Andy lost a lot of time at the upwind mark getting his sail back out of the water. The Prodigy was quick in these conditions and I almost flew off the board several times. I managed to keep right behind Colin, then he dropped his sail at a mark and it stuck to the water. I was in second place heading for the downwind mark when out of nowhere Andy Gratton screamed down and cranked a turn around the mark. I couldn’t catch him upwind, but I managed to stay well ahead of everyone else and finished in third. Not bad for a Prodigy with an 8.5.
I found that the Prodigy was a whole lot of fun in 20 mph. It railed up for the upwind legs and blasted off on the reaches. Added stability in the turns allowed me to turn more quickly than I could have done on my longboard.
Jack Wiley/F1
