And we're off! Dwight (far right) has the best start at the favoured leeward end. Sue Pilling (2nd from right) will also be in great shape as long as she can avoid falling into Dwight's backwind. Also in excellent position is Dave Hansman (3rd from right) who is well to leeward of the other two but sailing in better pressure, as is Marc Bennett who is however, about to fall into Dave's backwind. With the wind further inshore being very patchy though, Marc and Al have agreed that tacking to clear their air here is not an acceptable option for some time. Dave Richardson (orange hull) has also gotten a fine start, but is awfully close to the dead area in the wind.   - click here for full-size pic

John de Boer has tacked to port to try the risky right side. Meanwhile, Dwight (far right) is getting lifted inside Marc and Dave (3rd and 4th from right) to the point where he is nearly laying our first mark with Sue Pilling limping along in his backwind. Still, Dave and Al are getting marginally better pressure, and are slowly moving out on Dwight. - click here for full-size pic