# 14566 - Resistance is Futile (sailing in honor of Tom Wells, killed by Leukemia) was fresh off the Lightning Masters and North American championships, so we were feeling pretty heady about ourselves going into the first race of the 2007 Presidents/Leukemia Cup. Our optimism lasted about 30 seconds after the start of race one, as many boats, but especially Pat McGee just walked away from us off the starting line. We rounded the 1^st weather mark  in a solid 7^th or 8^th place much to our chagrin…the depression continued downwind as we weren’t too quick about getting the bag up and drawing ..…we were stunned…

 

We talked about it downwind, and decided that we needed to be doing all the little things with better execution if we were going to avoid embarrassment that day….so we did….our tacks were better, we looked hard for wind shafts to take advantage of, and I got my fat butt out of the stern and moved forward whenever possible…to name a few improvements….we noticed that chandler was wicked fast downwind by staying way forward in the boat… We continued to work the little things and improved out position to 4^th by the finish……..not great…but better…

Our upwind speed was still suffering so we looked at the rig and moved a couple of thin mast blocks around and checked our centerboard and rudder for weeds…

 

Our speed gradually improved during the next two races…still playing catch-up too often but able to work our way to the front after a few marks…we tweaked the sails and changed gears whenever the wind lightened or picked up…our biggest gains  came by picking the proper sides…(when in doubt-go to Virginia) and finding better velocity....we got back to our N/A’s form for boat handling…jibing the bag and mark rounding…we won these two races , then the first two on Sunday….

 

It really is all about doing a lot of little things well and concentration….and of course, Rebecca’s bruised legs told the real story of hard work…and Brian’s  ever-present smile kept us cheery all day…