Digging Out of a Hole

The start is probably the most high risk time in any race. Today we had 2 starts a general recall and a start under the black flag. For us the first start was great and we would of been very happy to carry on sailing with a nice space to leeward. During Start number 2 we were fouled as the weather boat did not keep clear on the line and laid all over us as the gun went off. The race got worse from there as we were fouled by a port tacker trying to cross our bow and forcing us into a tack to avoid a collision. The Star Class is usually known for playing by the rules but in the basement of the fleet there seem to be some people that don't think it matters. We sailed the rest of the race with a protest flag flying. It was a long day of picking our way through the bottom feeders. Marek my crew for the week did a nice job of picking a few shifts on the 2nd beat and we worked our way back to the top half of the fleet. Finishing 40th on the day. It would of been hard for things to go much worse so I expect to do better over the next four days. We are currently in 35th much will change in the standings when the drop race comes into play later in the week.