The last match race regatta of the CMRC season turned out to be the best match races I have ever sailed.  Cutting right to Sunday where we had sailed to a 7 and 2 record in the saturday round robin good enough for the 2nd seed.  This meant we would be facing CMRC program founder Don Wilson with Eric Doyle helping on tactics.  While Bill Hardesty and Alan Field would face off in the 1 versus 4 match.  The schedule was set for two best of five series to decide the overall winner.  After winning the first race versus Don our team went down 2 to 1.  The low piont being a miscomunication between myself and Nathan that resulted in Don's team using starboard advantage to push us back on too starboard and away from the mark instead of the dial down and duck that I had set us up for.  I think earlier in the season a mistake like this would of been the end mentally for our team but we showed a lot of grit to come back and win the next race and to set up for the deciding race 5.  We had Nathan's older brother onboard to handle the upwind and downwind trim and he did a great job in the big chop and breeze we had both days.  

In the deciding race versus Don we recieved a penelty in the prestart for being too aggressive and hitting Don with our transom, silly mistake.  With a penelty still to clear on the 2nd beat and don breathing down our necks our chances for advancing to the next round looked slim.  Something needed to happen soon.  Don's team lead out to the right as we sailed to the left and tacked on Don's weather hip.  It didn't take long for Don to attack coming at us on Starboard.  We didnt have enough in it to cross so a tight lee bow was the call, forcing Don back on to port.  Agian we set up on port on Don's weather hip.  This time Don tacked on the starboard layline and again a lee bow was the call.  We tacked tight on don's lee bow I was concerned it might of been too close but no penelty.  Then the series winning move a hard luff that left Don's team sitting in Irons.  As we came back to a close hauled course we realized that our luff had been more effective than we could of hoped, as Don sat dead in the water we reached down outside the 2 boat length circle cleared our penalty and rounded the mark clear ahead.  A huge win for our team after many disappionting losses versus Don. 

The next round was not going to get any easier as Team Hardesty had advanced 3 to 1 against Field.  To my surprise we were able to win the first two races versus Hardesty by a decent margin.  Nathan executed a pin end start both races and we were able to sail in better pressure on the left and less disturbed chop from the nearby sea wall.  Going into the last leg of the 3rd race we held a slim 2 boat length lead and a regatta win was painfully close.  As we gybed to starboard Hardesty gybed on our breeze and advanced.  He did a masterful job of working his boat downwind in the confused chop and puffy wind.  Pumping the main with one hand and driving with the other.  As we pushed to the port layline it looked like a rule 17 call was in the future.  Hardesty threw the Y flag, green flag from the umpire.  As we rolled into the final gybe Hardesty gybed at the same time and it looked like we would have him in our wind showdow as we raced to the finish.  Again his downwind speed was too much as he soaked low and fast and then surged up to the finish line bow to bow with our position.  It looked liked a photo finish like he might have us by a fraction of a boat length, in a last second move Nathan called for a Gybe to starboard, too late we were already in the 2 boat length circle and Hardesty finished clear ahead.  The next race was our worst of the series a poor start and a penalty didnt give us much chance and while we closed the gap we were never able to get in control and gain a lead. 

Another deciding race 5, again we chose the left but this time the pressure was more even and Hardesty came out of the right pretty strong with Starboard advantage.  As the boats met near the middle of the course critical decision leebow or dial down and duck.  The leebow would of been tough Hardesty was going fast and the boats were nearly bow to bow hard to make a leebow stick.  The dial down was the call and we continued on port.  After a short while we tacked on Hardesty's hip and into a nice right shift.  Enough to give us a 3 boat length lead at the first rounding.  Again the downwind was where Hardesty made his move gained control just sailing faster and positioning his boat well.  Rounding the leeward mark bow to stern with Hardesty we rolled into a immediate tack and a bow out position heading right.  We couldn't make any gains as Bill to weather made the best of a puff and lifted to weather of us.  That was pretty much all she wrote as we couldnt get close enough on the down wind leg to attack. 

Overall we made a nice improvement from earlier in the season.  We need to look for a bit more speed on the downwind legs, that may mean moving the crew weight a bit and working the main trim a bit more aggressivly.  The start and upwind leg continue to be a strength for our team which is nice.  We were able to close distance, make passes and clear penalties on the upwind legs. 

The Chicago Match Race Center has been a huge asset to our team.  I think the last two series on sunday showed the results of a summer spent practicing at the center.  Im really looking forward to next spring.