The Round-the-Islands race was a great race. The Race was a wet and windy affair, with a solid 25 to 33 Knots for most of the race. The start gave Dorade light conditions and by the time Dorade was out of the harbor, the crew ad done five sail changes.
By the time Dorade crossed over to Catalina, the winds were a stable 20kts and Dorade was in her element. Although this is a little more wind than suits the boat competitively, it was a great shake down for the Transpac Race and chance to build on some crew work and practice different sail combinations in these conditions. As night fell, Dorade rounded the islands and cracked-off until we had the number 3 poled out and were pushing hard down wind. The breeze rarely dropped bellow 25 and the decks certainly got a good was down.
As the results stand at the moment Dorade is second in class and seventh overall in PHRF. He crew just had a good breakfast at San Diego yacht club and are beginning to clean up the boat. Dorade held up very well with no breakages and we are all confident for the future.