We had beautiful sailing conditions today! Winds out of the (mostly) north at maybe 4 to 12 MPH. Except for the start of the third race. Five boats raced. First race. Tony got off the line well and picked all the right shifts. Leaving me with the not as desirable second choice. Tony lead the whole first lap but on the second upwind he let me get off to the side. Mistake. If boats are 100 yards apart, and the wind shifts 10 degrees, the boat on the shift side will gain a whopping 25 yards! I only needed about 4 boat lengths to be back in the game. In the second race, we were all going up the left side of the lake while the wind was slowly shifting right. As Tony reached the shore he had to tack out against the shift. Next, Doug had to do the same. I, however got really lucky. As I neared the shore, the wind continued to shift lifting me all the way up to the mark on a single tack. For the start of the third race there was zero wind. Race committee Don Towle blew the three minute horn while I was sitting directly behind the committee boat. At the two minute horn, I was still there. At the one minute horn I was still there. We were all on a port reach looking at the black water coming down the lake when the race started. Tony hit the lay line first with me just below him. This put him in a vulnerable position because with a lift he would over stand and with a knock he would have to tack again. There was a lift and I was able to sneak inside of him and round first. Many people think sailing is all luck or man vs. nature or some other esoteric idea. It's a geometry game.