Awesome First Year Nov 19, 20:36
This email received today from Hamish Pepper and Carl Williams, sent to family, friends and supporters....
Today we finished off what has been an awesome 1st year winning the Star North American’s in Miami USA. Within a strong fleet of 77 boats, +/- a few teams from the Worlds.
This regatta went extremely well, we had great upwind and downwind speed in the light to moderate conditions. Again coming here early was a key to our success, having the extra time in the boat to iron out the wrinkles and learn about sailing the Miami conditions. Miami was completely different from San Francisco with short choppy waves, and on weekends there is a mass of cigarette boats blasting past adding to the confusion. We didn’t change anything from the worlds in fact we used all the same gear.
We started the regatta off well with 2 wins on the first day to have a 6 point lead from the French pair Xavier Rohart and Pascal Rambeau who placed 5th & 3rd. The 2004 Olympic silver medalists Ross Macdonald and Mike Wolfs where in 3rd position overall carrying a 2nd & 8th. Conditions were great for the star with 8-12kts and a few waves to catch down wind. We ended the day feeling that we were going fast enough but knew it was a strong fleet and that tomorrow was another day.
Day 2 was again excellent conditions with a range of 8-12kts with the exception of one 30kt squall on the final run of the 4th race. This was probably the most interesting race. As we rounded the final mark of race 4 there was thunder and lighting striking everywhere, the winds built instantly from 12kts to 30 kts! This can be a little dangerous in the Star as the smallest of mistakes can cause the rig to come tumbling down. We were lucky enough to escape with no such drama. But Macdonald/Wolfs where not so lucky dropping from 2nd to finish 54th over the line when a runner block broke. We ended day two with a 3rd & 7th to remain in the lead by 1 pt, us with a total of 12pts and Rohart/Rambeau on 13pts. In 3rd spot was Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada on 23pts
Day 3 turned out to be the trickiest day of all with only 1 race scheduled. The breeze shifting 15-30 degrees with big wholes and pressure lines all over the course. This race however turned out to be the regatta winner for us. We managed the tricky conditions safely and ended up in 2nd spot at the top mark with a comfortable lead from 3rd place. We pasted Hans Fogh up the second beat and that was where we finished. With Rohart/Rambeau finishing down the fleet and our win giving us an unbeatable lead. So we won the regatta with out having to race the last race.
From here Carl heads back to his 2 boys and wife in New Zealand while Annabel and I go to Valencia before leaving to Lake Como, Italy where I will help finish off our new boat that is being built as we speak. Next regatta will be Olympic classes regatta 21st of January in Miami which I will sail with David Giles while Carl is busy with BMW Oracle.
Thanks to everyone for their support over this year, it's been fantastic. Regards,
Carl and Hamish
Today we finished off what has been an awesome 1st year winning the Star North American’s in Miami USA. Within a strong fleet of 77 boats, +/- a few teams from the Worlds.
This regatta went extremely well, we had great upwind and downwind speed in the light to moderate conditions. Again coming here early was a key to our success, having the extra time in the boat to iron out the wrinkles and learn about sailing the Miami conditions. Miami was completely different from San Francisco with short choppy waves, and on weekends there is a mass of cigarette boats blasting past adding to the confusion. We didn’t change anything from the worlds in fact we used all the same gear.
We started the regatta off well with 2 wins on the first day to have a 6 point lead from the French pair Xavier Rohart and Pascal Rambeau who placed 5th & 3rd. The 2004 Olympic silver medalists Ross Macdonald and Mike Wolfs where in 3rd position overall carrying a 2nd & 8th. Conditions were great for the star with 8-12kts and a few waves to catch down wind. We ended the day feeling that we were going fast enough but knew it was a strong fleet and that tomorrow was another day.
Day 2 was again excellent conditions with a range of 8-12kts with the exception of one 30kt squall on the final run of the 4th race. This was probably the most interesting race. As we rounded the final mark of race 4 there was thunder and lighting striking everywhere, the winds built instantly from 12kts to 30 kts! This can be a little dangerous in the Star as the smallest of mistakes can cause the rig to come tumbling down. We were lucky enough to escape with no such drama. But Macdonald/Wolfs where not so lucky dropping from 2nd to finish 54th over the line when a runner block broke. We ended day two with a 3rd & 7th to remain in the lead by 1 pt, us with a total of 12pts and Rohart/Rambeau on 13pts. In 3rd spot was Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada on 23pts
Day 3 turned out to be the trickiest day of all with only 1 race scheduled. The breeze shifting 15-30 degrees with big wholes and pressure lines all over the course. This race however turned out to be the regatta winner for us. We managed the tricky conditions safely and ended up in 2nd spot at the top mark with a comfortable lead from 3rd place. We pasted Hans Fogh up the second beat and that was where we finished. With Rohart/Rambeau finishing down the fleet and our win giving us an unbeatable lead. So we won the regatta with out having to race the last race.
From here Carl heads back to his 2 boys and wife in New Zealand while Annabel and I go to Valencia before leaving to Lake Como, Italy where I will help finish off our new boat that is being built as we speak. Next regatta will be Olympic classes regatta 21st of January in Miami which I will sail with David Giles while Carl is busy with BMW Oracle.
Thanks to everyone for their support over this year, it's been fantastic. Regards,
Carl and Hamish
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Nice shot, and nice BMWOR branding. Terry Kohler and Tom Whidden (North Sails) will like this shot, too. Photo courtesy of Fried Elliott.
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BMWOR's Carl "Tiny" Williams and his skipper Hamish Pepper, winners of the Star North Americans, at the prizegiving ceremony in Miami Saturday evening. Turns out the top three at the NAs were the same as at the recent Worlds in SF. Photo courtesy of Fried Elliott.
Racing | by TFE
