Leader of the pack ... temporarily

Good crew and a great start gave Black Magic the lead during the first few miles of this past weekend's Sunrise Regatta at Elephant Butte Lake. At right is the Etchells Constellation, owned and skippered by Zorro, the perennial fleet champion. Many of the boats had difficulty in keeping clear of others and in getting good air in the light conditions. Team Black Magic was able to hold off Constellation for about an hour and a half and a third of the distance, but finally got passed for good after sailing into a wind "hole" near Rattlesnake Island and fell further behind with a bad spinnaker douse at the turning mark, settling for 2nd place in the 10-mile spinnaker division. But just wait until next time!

For the first hour or so after the start, boats were moving slowly; here Constellation is followed by Chuck A.'s Freedom 21, Wind Rush.