#melges24 – Ireland's only Melges, "Embarr " ( IRL607) is back competing in the USA again. Having finished a disappointing third in Bacardi week in Miami earlier this year the crew led by Dun Laoghaire's Conor Clarke are keen to prove they can do better this week in the North American Championships in San Francisco. Clarke reports:
We've been here since Saturday and been out sailing practicing every day. It's very hard work, the hiking on these boats is a killer and San Francisco is really windy so everything is physical. We haven't sailed together for a few months and that presents some real challenges as we try to get ourselves back together as a team again for the event.
Our helm is Nathan Wilmot and he is completely uncompromising and demands absolute perfection from everyone sailing the boat. It makes for some interesting conversations on board sometimes.
Practice has been tough but we are moving through the water quickly and held our own well today against some of the main competitors in practice. The sailing area is amazing. We can see the Golden Gate and the San Francisco skyline as well as the AC45 boats out every day. We had a close encounter with one on Monday just before sailing under the Golden Gate. Coming back into SF bay under it again this time downwind at 18 knots was a thrill.
