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TSAC Race #3 – Closing in on Charleston

The first vessel of the fleet has crossed the finish line. PETER VON DANZIG crossed just moments after the 1400 UTC schedule of radio call-ins to Race Control aboard MIRCEA, the Romanian Training Vessel.

The rest of the leaders of the fleet, mostly Class D vessels with PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II tagging closely behind, are near and far spread behind the first finisher. FAZISI is not far from the finish. Behind her some distance and sailing along the coast is RONA II. Fanned out in a circle behind her nearly equidistant from the finish are PRIDE, well to the north near the coast, with XSAAR and URANIA nearly forming an arc to the south from PRIDE.

Today’s 1st and 2nd in Class and 1st and 2nd in Fleet are TECLA and JOLIE BRISE of Class B. Their ranking today goes to demonstrate how well sailed those vessels are as well just how slim the lead has been for PRIDE. Tomorrow is another day and the weather is proving a bit fickle in terms of producing what the forecasters suggested might happen. While this is frustrating to PRIDE because she is not gliding along with a fair breeze to the finish…rather she is tacking her way around the coastal shoals looking to get out of the current and stay in the off-shore breeze…maybe the other competitors are having as much frustration. Well, we will all find out tomorrow when the daily position report results are transmitted.

The most interesting thing to observe is EAGLE. She has gone and produced the longest distance between position reports for the second day in a row. This time she came back from being in the far south to being pretty far north. She may not be pointing very high, but she is surely sailing pretty fast! Meanwhile CAPITAN MIRANDA remains the most westerly Class A. She has done very well I think. I doubt any fickle weather will please her at this time. Way to the north of the fleet “the fox” EUROPA has managed to sail 40 miles in the direction of the finish. I hope the northerly winds suggested for her area come to pass for her. Certainly the NW winds forecast for today have not materialized.

In spite of the fickleness of the wind, the weather is clear. Hot and muggy with the wind from land. There have been heat advisories ashore posting 100 F temperatures when accounting for the humidity. Weather forecasts suggest the weather will become “more seasonable” with the crossing of the cold front. I cannot wait!

Jan C. Miles, Captain aboard Pride of Baltimore II