With wind in the forecast we were excited to get racing today. With much to be gained in the results we put it all on the line.

Race 7
With the the wind finally moving into the more southern quadrant of the bay, it opened up the course tactically. We started at the boat end and held a great lane to the top left. We tacked on top of the fleet and held steady pressure to put ourselves toward the front. We tacked in front of the lead group and rounded just behind the ARG boys in 2nd. We had a very unpredictable downwind but found a great lane to extend away from the pack. We rounded the bottom marks equal first with GRE and split sides. We played the same tactics upwind again and rounded in 2nd to the Greeks. We held off a late charge by the NED brothers and took a 2nd across the line.

Race 8
Feeling confident in our decision making and boat speed we knew what to do. We started at the boat end again with a great start and were able to put the bow down and roll the majority of the fleet. Unfortunately a small right shift came through and we were unable to cross the fleet when we wanted. We held out for a little more pressure and tacked in a comfortable lane. We sailed fast and approached the top mark in the top 5. With so many boats approaching and exiting the mark at the same time we had to navigate through some traffic before tacking. BAM! And we stopped… As it turned out while attempting to keep clear of the second place boat (RSA) we didn’t quite leave enough space and consequently caught their shroud through our deck while they were setting the spinnaker. We both immediately stopped with one boat pointing downwind and us pointing upwind. We immediately checked that everyone was okay and then set about to dislodging ourselves. After a few minutes we found it impossible and had to ask our coach to come over and help. After trying to pull us apart with no luck we set about to taking down our sails which required assistance from the coaches. After dropping sails RSA had to loosen their rig tension and pull out the shroud pin and let it pull through our deck. Not a pretty sight but happy to come away uninjured. At the end of the day we were scored a RAF for retiring from the race because of a foul.

At the end of the day we are tied for 5th and still have a shot at the medals if we put together a solid day tomorrow. Our boat was fixed within 4 hours and is fully ready to go tomorrow. Happy to report there was no major structural damage and it was mostly cosmetic.

Full results HERE

With more breeze in the forecast everyone was eager to get out and race. Luckily the breeze stuck around enough for some full trapeezing but there was still lots of action with the wind.

Race 5
With the wind a little unstable we elected for a boat end start because there appeared to be more pressure there. We got an alright start but soon found ourselves tacking out right. we had good position but either tacked to early or not early enough. We sailed through a big shift to get left thinking it would be better but found ourselves quickly in the back. We kept our heads in it and sailed our best to catch up to 11th.

Race 6
We tried to position ourselves for the first pressure coming down the course but got just to far left to get the full benefit. We got a great start but being just out of the pressure fell behind. We tried to play shifts again but had a hard time putting a solid upwind together. We rounded well back again and set to work. We steadily passed boats but made our big gain on the second upwind when we headed right. We hooked into some good breeze and came back into the pack around 8th. We passed another boat on the run and managed a 7th across the line.

Still plenty of racing and lots of points to gain. Currently standing 6th. Full results HERE

Day 2 of the Rolex Miami OCR began early. 7:15am to be exact. With only one race completed yesterday we were in for 3 races starting at 10:30. We had hoped there to be stronger breeze in the morning but we didn’t quite get it. Instead we were left with similar conditions to yesterdays racing, with maybe a bit more pressure.

Race 2
After discussing with our coaches we decided left looked like a good bet with better pressure and angle. We got a good start and continued in our lane to the left side. Things werent looking so good at the time with boats inside getting more pressure and shift, so we tried our hardest to make the left work. Eventually we gave in and had to take a tack back to cover our losses. We caught a magic lane through the middle of the course on port tack and sailed right back up to the front. We rounded in 5th/6th and worked our way downwind. We managed to keep close to our lead pack only to pick up one boat who received a penalty for kinetics prior to the final leg. We were across the line in 4th.

Race 3
Again the left looked good but so did the right… We headed out left with a good start and tried to work our shifts. The left group just got in front of us but we found a good lane under them and held our way to the mark. We rounded in 3rd and set off on the run getting into 2nd. Unfortunately at the bottom we made a big tactical error and were swallowed up by the pack behind us and were sent the wrong way on the next upwind. We were able to sail our way back up from 8th/9th to 5th by the finish line.

Race 4
Deciding the left was better once again we won the pin end and sailed as fast as we could out to the left side. We hooked into some pressure and took it across to the top right to round about 3rd. Again we had a pretty solid downwind staying right with the leaders. At the bottom marks we split right and were looking good initially. We had difficulty coming back and the left group just got in front of us. But just to confuse us even more the SWE team who went more right then us beat us to the mark also! We tried our hardest downwind to come back but got a little lost with the shifts and could only manage a 9th at the line.

Standing 5th overall with plenty of racing to go in difficult conditions. Results HERE

The 2012 Rolex Miami OCR kicked off today with sunny skies. Unfortunately the wind didn’t stick around as we hoped it would and we were left with more light air racing. This year we have 23 teams including 8 of the top 10. Should be some good racing throughout the week.

Race 1

With the sea breeze dying we looked to the right for steadier pressure. We got a good start at the boat end and held our lane to the far left side of the course. A few boats from the left beat us to the shift and we elected to tack under them. We continued to play the inside of the left and briefly had a chance to cross into 3rd but missed the opportunity. We settled for a 5th place rounding at the 1st mark and set off on the reach. Heading down the run we struggled with out speed and lost a boat by the gate. We decided to go right again and briefly had caught back up to 4th but missed out on a late left shift as the breeze began to really drop. We settled for a 6th at the last upwind mark and held our position across the line.

Generally happy with the first race of the series and there are plenty more to come. It won’t be easy with so many of the worlds top 470 sailors in such a small fleet!

Results HERE

To start the 2012 Season off we’re back in Miami to defend our title of 470 North American Champions. We have a few less boats competing this year but the racing is still quality. IN total we have around 22 boats so there are plenty on the starting line.

Day 1 was supposed to bring 7-10 knots but with an approaching low the sea breeze and offshore were fighting all day. We were postponed onshore for a few hours before heading out to a shifty 0-6 knots.

Race 1
We opted for a pin end start simply because it was favored, but needed to tack shortly after because the mark was so far to the right. We almost had a bad start because we had difficulty finding a hole but at the last second swooped in at the pin and took it. We waited for the first left shift and took it across to the right. We battled with the Swedes and they just beat us to the first mark. Everything was even on the reach so we set to attacking on the downwind. We had some brief pressure from the Dutch downwind but after a split at the gate we didn’t see them much after. On the 2nd upwind we played shifts and were able to sail through the Swedes and into first place. We continued to extend and took a 1st across the line. Great way to start 2012!

Race 2
With the wind now slightly more right the boat end was more favored which is where we started. We got slightly out of position and had to fight for our start. We were able to reposition nicely and had lots of options to work with on the first upwind. We played the middle left and were able to gain nicely on those that got a nice start. The top 3 were launched and we were able to round 5th at the first mark. We were held up a little by a newer team on the reach, props to them for getting up in the front, but pulled through on the downwind and closed in on the leaders. At the bottom mark we almost rounded in 3rd but because the wind started to drop were simply weren’t moving fast enough to give mark room and fouled the Swedes. We did our penalty turns and in the almost drifting conditions set about to nail some shifts. With 1-2 way ahead we stayed close to 3-4 and worked any advantage we got. By the last upwind mark we were able to pick our way through and round in 3rd. The last downwind turned into a true drifter with the majority of the fleet even dropping spinnakers! We managed to keep ours flying until the bottom marks and held our 3rd across the line.

We believe at the end of the day we stand 2nd just one point behind the Dutch brothers who scored a 1-2 today. Still 2 days of racing and lots of races to go!

After all the hoopla over the past month with US Olympic Trials and such, it was extremely nice to have a decent break to do whatever we wanted. Kiteboarding was in the cards for me and it was awesome to help clear the mind and re-energize me for the coming months. Hopefully I can find some more time to kite between training and events.

For the coming weeks we’re in Miami prepping for the Rolex Miami OCR. I believe this will be my 11th OCR. Crazy. Friday starts the 470 North American Championship and we will be trying our hardest to defend our title. After NAs we’ve got some photoshoots scheduled during the week before OCR so that’ll be a fun change of pace.

Check back in a few days for reports from the NAs!

With the front completely gone now it was a toss up as to what the wind would do today. All the forecasts indicated a very light and confused day. Upon arriving to Sandringham Yacht Club we found a left over westerly greeting us. We headed out in a pretty light breeze and were hoping the wind would back left and pick up a bit. One word for the days racing: scrappy.

Race 1
After a few postponements due to the shifting breeze we finally got into sequence with a black flag. The left end was very biased and a tack at go was the plan. We started a few boats up from the left in and threw in a tack immediately at go to get ourselves clear and across the fleet. We tacked back again on top of everyone and were ping ponged a few times before settling into our lane. We wanted to the left but were still unsure of how reliable it would be because of the westerly direction. We settled for a lane on port tack under everyone which paid out pretty good in the end. The 3rd place team overall managed to find the sweet lane and extended out which left us chasing. We rounded in about 4th and proceeded to chase down the boats in front. By the bottom mark we had moved up to 2 places. We passed one more boat on the final upwind, and didn’t have much of a chance of catching 1st. 2nd it was across the line.

Race 2
The left trend was finally working itself out and a little more breeze accompanied it. We settled for a mid line start and wanting to go left held a nice little lane. However all the boats that had bad starts and went right came across ahead as the wind mysteriously changed its mind. That big wind shift meant that the top 4 boys teams were stuck in the back of the pack fighting to get back up front. We rounded well back on first mark and tried to make up some distance downwind. At the bottom of the next beat we made a pretty bold move and went pretty far left hoping it might go back, and it did. We immediately went clear of our group and were already nipping at the heels of the lead pack. We closed more distance on the run and again on the upwind managed to pass a few boats. With the wind still going left the Race Committee had lots of marks in the water and boats all over the place. Down the final run all the action got a bit confusing as our entire fleet went to the wrong mark. We luckily caught the marks just in time to heat it up on a reach and just get clear of a pack of boys and managed to pass one in front in the process. Through all the chaos we came away with a 3rd and were very pleased.

At the end of the day we retained our lead and even gained some points on the boats behind. Having sailed such a consistent series we are well clear of 4th and thus guaranteed a medal no matter how we do tomorrow in the Medal Race. Here are the standings going into tomorrow:

USA 1713 - 21pts
AUS 13 - 24pts
AUS 11 - 28pts

Start time is 12:15 Melbourne time and there will be tracking available at sailmelbourne.com. Full results available HERE.

WISH US LUCK!!!

With the big storm passing overnight leaving the Melbourne area flooded, hailed on, and a water spout locally it was anyones guess what the day would bring. As we arrived to the club we found a fresh westerly in the teens with sunny skies and nice waves, perfect sailing conditions. We headed out happy and excited to race in the perfect conditions.

Then the clouds came in…

Race 1
With the sky now overcast and some rain showers to our south and north it was a very hard guess as to what to do. We felt the wind was coming a little more from the right and started in that area. We didn’t have the best start but were forced to tack out and at least head in the direction we wanted. We hooked into some nice breeze and were able to sail across the group from the left and lead them into the mark. We lost a little bit of ground missing out on a late lefty at the top but still rounded in good shape. However on the downwind we missed a crucial time to jibe and a lot of boats from behind slotted inside us with more pressure. After the downwind things got a bit crazy with the weather and it was anyones guess what was going on. We would gain some, and lose some, but we kept fighting knowing it would be a long race. The wind also began to die off which made it even more difficult. In the end we had a hard time keep up with the wind shifts and sailed our drop race, an 8th.

Race 2
After a bit of a let down from race 1 we took a deep breath and shrugged it off. The breeze built again just before the next start and with a left biased line we timed our approach perfectly to get a great start. We shot off the line in a good shift, played one back towards the middle and found ourselves on top of the fleet. We sailed with the fleet and found a great lane of pressure into the mark for a long port tack. We rounded first and took off on the downwind extending our lead. We continued extending always playing the left side for breeze and took a 1st at the line. All smiles.

Race 3
The time was 5:30pm and we still had another race to go. Time to dig deep. We took a look at the course and decided it was another left side play, this time not many boats challenged us for a left end start and we got ourselves a good lane. We re-positioned once and found a nice lane on port tack again that sailed us most of the way to the mark. We played with our positioning with a few other close boats and just weaseled our way into 1st by the top mark. At this point the wind was starting to shut off and shift left. We led for another lap and then the wind really started to die. Because of all the mark changes and wind shifts we lost track of which one was ours and allowed 3 boats to get inside us at the last gate. The top three all took a right turn and we did the unconventional left turn which meant a bit more distance sailed. After the mark we found ourselves in good position and tried to work the shifts to get back in it. Now because the wind had died down to about 4 knots, and we started in about 14, our kinetics flag was still up. We decided to get it going with rocking and immediately started making distance. The top 4 quickly turned into a rock-off or rock-a-thon, whatever you want to call it and we came out on top extending even by the top mark. We defended our position to the bottom mark and took another 1st across the line!

It was a very long day for everyone and it definitely cut into our dinner plans. But we are very happy with the days results and will be taking the yellow jersey into the final day of racing before the medal race. We hold a one point lead and its still anyones game. Tomorrow is forecasted to bring light air so we’ll have to see what happens.

Full results HERE.

From one extreme to the next. After yesterdays no trapeze light air conditions, today showed exactly what Melbourne is know for; the change in weather.

Race 1
In a blustery and shifty northerly and a general recall we finally got our start off. We were sort of forced into a mid line start after not sure whether to go left or right and thats how our first beat went. With 2 groups splitting we elected to head to the right hoping for a big shift and puff coming off the land to send us across. Unfortunately we didn’t really get what we wanted and had to watch as the left group came clear across with good pressure. We rounded again about mid fleet and set out to passing boats. Each leg we managed to either catch up distance or pass a boat a two. With such a long race on our hands, by the end of it we were able to catch up to 5th which wasn’t bad considering where we had been at the first mark. After we crossed the finish line we had been notified that 2 of our competitors (RSA and AUS 11) were OCS. So a 3rd it was, psyched.

Race 2
Just as we were getting ready for race 2 we saw a breeze line start to march through the course area and exactly at the 5 min gun it hit, nearly knocking us a few other boats over. We scrabbled to change settings with about 30 seconds to our 4 min warning (after 4 min we cannot change pins or spreaders) and made it just in time to take a look at the breeze and course. With the breeze came a big left shift so we headed down to the pin and defended it pretty hard. A few of us had pretty good starts and were able to tack and cross the fleet which soon followed us to the right. At this point the puffs were pretty big, 25+ meaning we were flogging sails to get upwind. At the end of the drag race out right it was us, the japanese, and AUS 11 out in front. The 3 of us were pretty tight coming to the top mark and we were hot on Japans transom as we turned to the reach with puffs now reaching the 30s. No one set kites and we all decided to wait till the run to make it happen. We had a pretty good run just missing out on some inside pressure which allowed the Aussies to slot low inside us and just get us at the mark. After rounding we saw then that the Race Committee had decided to abandon the days racing and to head to shore.

Just a reminder of last year, we had a pretty good size squall come in and knocked everyone over and broke some gear. With the damage from last year the organizers were very cautious in sending us in. With Perth in our sites we all wanted to stay out and race, but good call as the RC saw some more wind and potentially dangerous storms coming in later in the day.

At the end of the day we moved up to 2nd with a drop being factored in and closed a point on the leaders. Tomorrow is forecasting for 15-20 so it should be another great day of racing. But as we saw today the weather can move in pretty fast and we’ll just have to wait and see what the morning brings.

Full results HERE.

We knew it was going to be a weird day when we were woken by thunder and lightning at 7:30 this morning. After the rain cells pushed through and we made our way down to Sandringham Yacht Club, we found ourselves looking out at a completely glassed off Port Philip Bay. Quite unusual to see such a large body of water so calm. After a few hours delay we were sent out in a light and flukey thermal building out of the south.

Race 1
All the pre start info we received told us to watch out for the left side, but when looking up the course all the breeze was on the right. Decision time. With about 3 minutes to go before the start we saw the wind lift off the left side and it looked like there would be nothing. We elected for a right end start and hoped the wind would do its thing. We played a small shift off the line right but then decided to go with the fleet and sailed on top of everyone heading out left. Over the course of the beat the boats out left were slowly gaining, and when the breeze filled back in that side had us. We fought our way over to the left and managed a mid fleet rounding. We pushed hard in the fickle conditions and very slowly passed boats by being consistent. In the end we did about as we could have getting a 4th across the line.

Race 2
The breeze briefly looked like it might fill but it was just a little too late in the day at this point. We opted for a left end start based on what happened the previous beat, and because we could get a clean start. We had a decent start and all was looking good until a pretty good size right shift moved through and pinwheeled us around the fleet. We were left digging back through the fleet trying to find lanes and make it to the first mark. We managed another mid fleet rounding which was good considering some other boats around us went to the back. The wind was on and off, left and right for the entire race making it very tricky. There were lots of position changes and we tried our best to catch the boats in front. We managed to pass a few and got close to the top 3 by the end but could still only manage a 4th.

Overall a 4-4 wasn’t too bad, but our closest competitors each got a 1-1 and 2-2. At the end of the day we are tied for 2nd but scored 3rd. Tomorrows forecast is for really strong wind and when we get our discard, that will surely tighten up the points.

Full results HERE.