It was an eventful day for the 43rd Oregon Offshore. Prior to the Skippers meeting on the 8th, we worked hard to come up with a reasonable solution. The problem was a big ebb starting at 4 am and continuing until noon, with 5.5 knot currents forecast in the mouth of the Columbia River. After long discussion with Mike Cassenelli and Bruce Hedrick and some head scratching on the part of your faithful race organizers, we came up with what proved to be a sort of workable solution and decided that a 9 am start would work. The trip out was fast and bumpy at the mouth but that 5+knot current helped and the fact that the wind was offshore and the seas had laid down outside made it possible. Only one boat had any problems and they managed to work through the bumps and join the race, if a little late. I am waiting for some pics of the start to come in and as soon as I have them I will post an update.
After the start, everyone took off on Starboard, heading offshore, apparently following the information gained at the skippers meeting. Wind was a light NE at the start and as the race progresses it appears that the predicted NW shift is starting to be felt by the fleet. Rage is ahead with Riva not far behind and the rest of the fleet appears well sorted per class divisions.
