© Dan Nerney/rolex

OCRDay4

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Team 7 SailingSally Barkow, Debbie Capozzi, and Carrie HoweYnglingThe Miami weather turned sour on us [Thursday] as a forecast cold front rolled through, dropping temperatures by 10 or 12 degrees, and bringing with it rain and plenty of wind.All week during racing in the Yngling Class at the US SAILING Rolex Miami OCR we've been looking over our shoulders at Sarah Ayton and her British boat. She and her crew are a formidable combination. They had a solid day today and posted 1-2 finishes in the wind and waves while we scored 6-1.Yesterday we were tied for first on points with Anne Le Helley from France, but dropped to second place on the tiebreaker. After [Thursday's] cold, wet workout, Anne is fourth overall. And guess what? With one day of racing remaining before the Medal Race on Saturday, we're tied for first on points with Sarah but relegated to second on the tiebreaker. The names may be different but the territory is familiar.We knew from the forecast that a cold front was rolling through today. It brought with it extra wind and rain and sharply dropping temperatures. We started well in the first race, working the right hand side, which turned out to be the wrong way to go and rounded the top mark in tenth. We picked up a couple of boats on the run and when the frontal winds came through on the second beat we used them to reel in two more boats. We were sixth on the second run when the committee shortened the course by two legs and killed any chances we had of making more gains.We'd been figuring that a sixth or less would be sufficient for an outright cumulative points lead but we reckoned without Sarah's first place. We knew we needed a top finish to answer back. We did some setup adjustments between races and started the second race in 14 to 16 knots as the temperature continued to drop. We had a good start, rounded the top mark in third, had a solid run and then caught the two leading boats on the second weather leg and, with good boat speed, remained in front for the next two legs to finish first. We've been working on our speed in breezy conditions and it felt great to have it come together.We're expecting to sail three more races tomorrow and then the top ten boats will go on to the double points Medal Race on Saturday.You can follow our progress with almost-live reports from the race course in Miami. Check out our new Bulletin Board. We'll continue to send these nightly updates from Miami. Be sure to visit our new website at www.team7sailing.com. For full results check the Miami Rolex OCR site at www.rolexmiamiocr.org/results/yngling_06.htmTeam CroninCarol Cronin, Kim Couranz, and Margaret PodlichYnglingAn exciting day on the racecourse! We left the dock in a warm light southwesterly breeze; and returned 3 hours later in a puffy and cold northwesterly. Fortunately the weather forecast had predicted the front for midday and we had brought extra layers to keep us toasty when the temperature dropped.We had two races today and had our ups and downs. We started the first race well and had a great first lap in the top five, but then missed the huge right shift that came through on the second beat and dropped most of the fleet. We figured we still had another lap to make some gains back, but instead the course was shortened to finish at the end of the second run. To add insult to injury, we were a bit confused about where the finish line was and (with several other boats) probably will be scored DNF (Did Not Finish).We set up for the bigger breeze (and cooler temps) for the second race and got off the line well in good company at the left end. After a short drag race to the left corner we tacked with the group... and promptly found ourselves a bit overstood in a nice left shift. So we lost a bit there, and then struggled to find clear lanes downwind in the increasingly puffy breeze. The difference in velocity between puffs and non-puffs was big, as the breeze went up and down between 15 and 22 knots. After several more laps and a surprising lack of collisions with the boats wiping out in front of us, we finished with (as Kim likes to say) the Dacron still above the fiberglass, and the fleet headed in for the day.Tomorrow is our last day of regular fleet racing and we are hoping to end on a good note before the medal race on Saturday.For more, www.teamcronin.org