Course B3. Max outhaul, tight jib halyard, dialed in one inch of backstay. Boat favored end of the line. Started half way down the line from the boat thereby incurring an initial deficit relative to the rest of the fleet. Close hauled to the first mark. Had to tack onto port once to gain enough distance upwind to round the mark, then back onto starboard. Ended up fetching the mark behind LinGin and Wickeed. At the mark caught up to Asylum from behind within the zone. Asylum had to poke up sharply to make the mark. Argo poked up as well to avoid Asylum, as we were on the outside. In doing so, we left the jib to fly free. Asylum failed to free their jib, passed head to wind, and collided side to side with Argo. Still Asylum hit the mark. Protest flag flown.
Spinnaker broad reach to the next mark. LinGin was prepared and hoisted quickly. Neither Wicked nor Argo was ready for a spinnaker. Got the spinnaker rigged and flying. By the mark, we had made up some distance on both LinGin and Wicked, while Laughing Gull had caught up to us, but was several boat lengths to leeward. Rounded the mark and doused without issues.
Upwind leg to mark "E". Not quite a fetch. Had the jib somewhat eased to increase power due to the chop in the bay. The corner of the layline placed us about about 7 boat lengths to port, bayside, of the mark. During this leg, Wicked fell somewhat behind, three boat lengths. LinGin crossed our bow after tacking to fetch the mark. LinGin had sailed a lower course. We had closed the distance such that LinGin crossed up with two boat lengths to spare, but only two.
The leg around "A", R "4" and R "8" was not a spinnaker leg, but rather close to a beam reach. Nonetheless, both LinHad the jib somewhat eased to increase power due to the chop in the bay. Gin and Wicked set spinnakers; Argo in between them, did not. Speeds up to 6.2 knots at first. We made considerable distance on Wicked, stretching our lead to about 10 boat lengths. The wind softened somewhat as we rode down the leg, speeds dropping into the fives and then fours, LinGin neither getting ahead nor falling back. Trimmed the jib continously to maintain the best speed possible given the conditions. Even tried rigging an additional jibsheet farther forward on the track to exert more downward force on the leech. The clew was cocked to weather a bit with significant twist in the sail. Did not seem to provide much benefit. Perhaps, I failed to trim it correctly. Slackened the backstay, eased the jib halyard, and eased the outhaul. As we closed R "8", the wind softened much more bringing us up to LinGin before the wind died, leaving us bobbing to windward on port tack inside of LinGin about a boat length to leeward. Then the wind returned, this time from the northeast force 3. Miraculously, we became leeward, inside, starboard tack boat. Immediately, trimmed the sails, tightened the outhaul, and moved ahead of LinGin. LinGin reacted more slowly. Held course toward the Naval Academy till we could fetch G "SC".
Fell off onto a broad reach. LinGin set spinnaker. Set up the gear once again, and set the spinnaker. The wind would move forward and then aft requiring a good bit of spinnaker pole trim to keep the kite flying well. As we approached G "SC", LinGin tried to come up, cross our transom, and get above us. TC steered high to prevent this and LinGin gave up the effort. In diving lower, they got good speed nearly drawing even, but then falling back. Lots of spinnaker pole work on the approach to the finish. Finished about two boat lengths ahead of LinGin.
Finishing order: Argo, LinGin, Wicked, Laughing Gull, Asylum, Skybird, and Second-2-Nun.
Observations: