As myself and other members of the Storck/Moore support team gathered ourselves this morning after having logged some hours in the famed, Cove House Inn last night, the athletes were suiting up for day two their Olympic regatta. As the 49ers made the short sail out to the Portland Harbor Course, the breeze strength remained very similar to day one, varying between 8 and 16 knots. There were occasional higher gusts during the racing, but mostly stayed in that range. The presence of marine-fog made conditions a bit colder and damper for the spectators, but I doubt the athletes cared.

 

The fleet showed a priority for the right side of the starting line in race one, and Erik and Trevor got off well from that end. As they worked up the right side, the course began to show more even than most expected. Two thirds of the way up the first leg, the Americans was forced to take one more tack out to the right due to some traffic in front of them. The top-left would soon fill hard, leaving them ahead of one boat at the first mark. In this tight fleet, passing lanes are hard to find. Erik and Trevor did a great job to catch a few boats and save themselves some crucial points over the next five legs.

 

Adjusting their strategy from the first race, the USA 49er team got themselves off to a great start near the pin in race two. Along with the Australians and the Irish, Erik and Trevor crossed the fleet coming back to the mark and had the lead at mark one. The Australians were going very well, and soon left the other two teams behind. Team USA sailed strong over the next four legs to extend slightly on IRL. Nearing the finish, Australia reminded everyone how difficult these boats really are to sail, as they capsized in a simple gybe. Erik and Trevor, along with two other teams buzzed past the Aussies before eventually recovering to a 4th. Winning race four, Erik and Trevor knew they had done everything they could to stay in contention on a day that saw many inconsistent scores.

 

Their day two performance has slipped them back to 9th overall, but the points have gotten tighter. With many races still to come, the next few days should be very fun. Two races are scheduled for each of the next two days, again on the Portland Harbor Course. Stay tuned to see how they go.

 

Go USA!

 

John Storck III