[quote=david.ingram]The forecasters got this one right, it was a wild ride at the Mug Race this year. The race started in delightful 8 - 10 knot breezes sadly this breeze was short lived. By the time we turned the first corner which is about 4 miles from the start the breeze was filling in exactly as forecast the "Holy F!@K! That was a strong gust!" forecast. As we made our way north the breeze built and the gusts got more insane! At the midway point 'Shands Bridge' it was full on howling. It took us 3 attempts to get though the bridge, there were several things working against you, opposing current, opposing wind, and a dead spot with wicked header right in the middle. The key for us was to avoid the center span and just put the damn hammer down. If you came off the throttle or tried to be cautious you got punished. On the north side things got no better once we were past the bridge we were greeted with a chop that had a nice long fetch to build up properly. Our next and final leg was an off the wind run to the finish. By now I was in full chicken mode and got up against the lee shore to sail the final part of the race in some flat water. Unfortunately I had to come off my flat water haven to finish the race. Jib out and main traveler to the stopper and almost every bit of mainsheet I had played out, and I have lot of mainsheet. With every wave we crested I would think no gusts, no gusts, so with a bit a wave management we crossed the finish line and high tailed to the club! Fortunately the race was uneventful for us, no capsizes and no injuries. Many teams were not so fortunate the safety boats had their hands full.[/quote]
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