Steve Dunn, the 27 year old who finished well up in the 2003 Lark Nationals and 2nd in the 2002 Hunter 707 Nationals, sailed Heatwave in the Bloody Mary persuit race at Queen Mary S.C. on January 10th

It was a dull day, with winds of 6-10 knots and an air temperature of about 11°C. We were very keen to sail in this race, as there were 280 other boats to compare with.
As an untried and therefore unknown quantity, Heatwave was given a swingeing handicap: Steve had to start with the Merlins and Tasers, and 3 minutes behind the Phantoms. In the light winds it was difficult for him to get clear wind, but we've done some analysis of the results.

1. Steve finished over 4 minutes ahead of the leading Phantom. (relative PY: Phantom 1048 / Heatwave 1014), more than 7 minutes ahead of the only Finn (relative PY: Finn 1072 / Heatwave 1011), and well ahead of all the Tasers.
2. He beat about a third of the Merlins boat for boat.

Here are some pictures of Steve sailing Heatwave before the start of the Bloody Mary - click on the picture to see a larger version.