Wednesday night was near perfect conditions for Tsavo – plenty of wind but not overpowered. Probably 10 to 15 knots out of the South until close to the finish when it died just a bit. With two new crew members on board, Mellissa and Sean, and Todd and Martin searching for perfect sail trim we were balanced and fast. All of the boats except Yes got a good start, but Hustle grabbed the first good puff and pulled ahead to a nice lead. We were all pretty close out to the PCRC turning mark and heading out to the bay. We were a bit overpowered on the beam reach out to the red mark with the spinnaker out. After our usual debate we switched to the 155 Jib which turned out to be a good decision allowing us to stay high on the mark and make a very fast rounding. 
Hustle still had a pretty good lead at that point and Defiant was right with her. Wavelength was right on our tail the whole way back and tried to pass us twice but we covered her well and it paid off. We were slowly gaining on Hustle and Defiant but not enough to win. Then we got a huge break – Defiant, Hustle and Yes all hit a lull while we managed to stay right on the edge of the wind line and we made up ground very fast. Meanwhile Defiant was attempting to sink Vivace by turning right in front of her at the PCRC shoal mark causing her to miss the mark and for some reason Hustle went wide of the mark and that gave us the opening we needed. We turned the corner inches from the mark and we sprinted for the finish in clear air and managed to pass even Yes for a few moments. That felt soooo good. Then at the last red mark Yes came back charging hard at us on the starboard tack and I got ready to duck behind her until I hear Todd yelling “she’s tacking – she’s tacking.” I got the message! I immediately swerved back on course on the windward side of Yes – another great break! It was bow to bow all the way to the finish so we new we got Yes on corrected time. It wasn’t until I checked the standings this morning that I saw we took first place over Defiant by 6 seconds. Go Tsavo Grrrrr!
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