It has been a long time since day three of an LO300 has seen the bulk of the Main Duck fleet still out on the lake! The fleet is spread out with boats still 26 to 90 nm from the finish. Yesterday was filled with light winds with a large thunderstorm near the end of the day. Light wind sailing on Lake Ontario is tough because there are many currents in the water plus the wind shifts are difficult to predict. There were a few division leads change hands yesterday. The late afternoon squalls shook up the weather system so there is now some consistency and it looks as though there will be enough wind to finish most boats today.
Main Duck Course
Except for two boats (Red Leaf and Star Chaser), the majority of the fleet (39 boats) are still on the course. Most are doing a straight line to Niagara with a good northerly wind that should hold for most of the day. After the Niagara Mark, there will be a direct buck into the finish line. This will create an excellent tactical battle for some winning positions. At sunrise this morning, there are 4 division leading boats heading for the finish. Although the race has been predominated by light winds for these competitors out on the water, having a strong finish will make up for a lot of flies and sun.
Congratulations to Esprit de Corps IV (Volvo 60) who won Main Duck Course Line Honours. Afterburn (Soto 40) led the pack for most of the race in front of EdCIV, Suspect (Perry 59), and Flight Simulator (Corsair Cruze 970 Trimaran) but ran into a wind hole at the Niagara mark. They battled EdC right to the finish It was exciting for them and for all of us to watch.
PRHF 2 is currently a tight race between Zoom (Benneteau 10R), Blast (Benneteau 10R) and Lively (J109) and Hammertime II (Benneteau 36.7)
Scotch Bonnet Course
The last boats came in overnight and this course is done. Congratulations to Doralla, (C&C 27) for winning Scotch Bonnet Line Honours.
Race results will be posted on Yachtscoring. Come to the party this Friday at LSYC to hear all the stories and tell some of your own.
LO600
For the boats who plan to make the turn at the finish and head back around Main Duck a second time, the forecast is for some heavy winds building in the middle of the lake. This will definitely make the second time around a lot different than the first time around.
Special mention goes to Darren Gornall and Craig Perie on Afterburn for being the first boat to win the Sperry Cup and the Sperry Gold Cup!