High Noon Withstands Lyric's Furious Rally to Win!
High Noon, Lyric, and Optiminium gathered at the north end of Portland Island on June 19, for the start of the inaugural Admiralty Island Rally (AIR). The three skippers agreed to move the starting line farther up Saginaw Channel due to the light wind. The start was moved to 11:30 and the boats reached across Lynn canal in light conditions toward Whitestone Harbor. The conditions frustrated the boats until all three retired before motoring into Whitestone Harbor.
On the 20th, the boats began leg 2 at 8:30 in a moderate southerly breeze. The boats were beating south down Chatham Strait as the breeze began to rise, and the day wore on. By evening the waves were beginning to get quite large, and breaking. The breeze had built to 25 knots, and the boats were really slogging their way south. High Noon took advantage of her upwind capabilities to really stretch a lead and get into Warm Springs Bay after 2300, eight hours in front of the second place finisher, the tenacious Optiminium. Lyric retired in the evening at the south side of the mouth of Peril Strait by Catherine Island, and motored into Warm Springs the next morning about four hours after Optiminium finished.