This is still winter... winds are a bit light. I don't know who
you were racing with or on what kind of boats, but it sounds
a bit feeble to me. I don't race, so I can't really speak to it.

"Pony Express" wrote in message
link.net...
I got back from a week out in the Oakland area.
I've always heard about these 'heavy air' sailors
out there, but I'm a little confused.
Sunday, we were sailing in the rain and 15-18k
winds (gust to 21k). This was a buoy race. I
couldn't believe I was hearing discussion of
whether they should hoist the #3 of the #4.
Is this normal? It wasn't just the boat I was on
as many were flying #3's and/or reefed mains.
Us 'light air' sailors on the Chesapeake might be
considering dropping to a #2 in those winds.
What do you do when it really blows?
--
----
Steve
S/V Pony Express