Racing was slightly delayed due to the high Mistral winds this morning. However, the race committee still decided to send us out in hope to get a race before the Mistral built, and so our qualifying series can conclude with a drop. Heading out to the course it wasn’t as windy as we had all expected as the Mistral hadn’t filled in completely across the bay. They favored the pin end of the line heavily, and we weren’t able to take full advantage of it. We had a poor start in bad air and when we finally got a lane out, we were tacked on again. We struggled up the first beat in breezy conditions where luffing both sails was necessary at times to keep from tipping over. While rounding the top mark we noticed the abandon race flag so we sheeted in and continued back to the harbor. I guess the rest of the fleet forgot to take notice as they continued to race down the reach and then onto the run setting their spinnakers. We were 2nd back into the harbor struggling against the conditions including one knock down puff that flipped us as it hit. All in all, nothing is broken, and we’ve made the final cut for gold fleet. Also a congrats to our Polish training partners of Patryk (21) and Kacper (17) who are still standing 2nd after 4 races. They must now finish top 26 to win their Olympic selections as their competition unfortunately didn’t make the cut for gold fleet. Stay tuned for some racing as tomorrow is supposed to be sailable.�
Day 2 of racing brought great breeze again but from the opposite direction. After a few recalls and a postponement, we finally got our first race off. We had a decent start at the pin end, and sailed off into clear breeze on the left side. We hooked into a nice left shift and sailed across most of the fleet. However we missed an even bigger left shift just before the mark and lost all that we had gained. Fortunately on the first reach we set low and took the low road in the breeze, and passed a huge group putting us right into the top 10. We sailed a great 2nd beat and made a great move inside on the run to pass a few more boats to take 5th at the line. For race 2, the breeze built a little more. We didnt get a great start off the line but were able to exit into a nice lane going right. We made a great initial gain, and tacked at a good time. We were looking very good but then missed another big shift before the mark to put us back. We pressed hard around the course, and had a few opportunities to pass a lot of boats, but somehow our speed seemed to be off which effected our decision making. We did make a great move on the last downwind to pass a lot of boats and we finished 18th. Tomorrows forecast looks really breezy. Hope we actually get to race!
Day 1 of racing brought big breeze. We were all set to go having Kei, the North Sails 470 sail designer riding with Nigel. We got a great start near the boat end in the first race, and carried our lane across the fleet. About when we were ready to tack, a big waved popped up out of nowhere and pulled Stu right out of the boat. We struggled around the rest of the race course trying to catch up, but the course was small. In the end we finished 26th. The disappointing thing about the race was the boat crossing us when we flipped finished 3rd, and the boat below us finished 4th. At least our tactics and speed were all set. Race 2 brought even more breeze and waves, with puffs into the mid 20s. We had a decent start near the pin and then found a great lane across the fleet. We rounded the first mark just outside the top 10 and caught a few on the run. Our next beat didnt go so well and we lost a few a big left shift. We did however keep the mast upright which seemed to help in the end with most of the fleet capsized or broken. We managed a 12th. Tomorrow is to be more of the same but from the opposite direction. We currently stand 40th/81.�
The 2008 Spring Cup finished rather uneventfully. The last 2 days were completely blown out and unsailable. Nigel and I even tried to take out the coach boat to check it out, and almost managed to flip backwards off a wave even at half throttle. After our near catastrophe we turned around and decided to pack up. All in all it was a great event. We managed to find our new breeze speed with a different version of the Goldspar, and are happy moving forward to Hyeres next week. We finished in 8th overall which was a good result considering the 4 days of 20+ racing we had!
Day 1 brought big breeze and big waves. After spending all morning rigging and tuning a new mast we made it out 50 minutes before the first race. After a few quick tuning runs a one general recall, we were off. We had decent speed, enough to make it into the front pack. Our big gains were downwind where we werent afraid to charge down the waves. A few teams were holding back. Race 1 we scored a 8th. Race 2 was more of the same, but for some reason our speed felt a little off. We also missed out on a pressure swing when the shift went left but the pressure stayed right. We watched a team in front of us sail from 8th to 2nd while we fell back to 10th where we finished. All in all, a solid day, we stand 8th/37.
Day 1 brought a mix of wind conditions with very choppy seas. In race one we didnt get the best start but made the most of it by hitting a few shifts and getting back in the mix. We had a great gain downwind with the pumping flag now in effect with the increased breeze. We battled hard with many of the top players and recorded a 5th in the end. Race 2 we saw a mix of wind strengths before the start. After finalizing our equipment settings we got a great start. Unfortunately we missed out on the first few shifts and were back in the pack. We made a great move downwind in the tricky china-like conditions and climbed back into the top 10. However we had a difficult time finding shifts upwind and down, and finished 15th. At the end of the day we stand 24th. Plenty of room for improvement on the scorecard with 4 races of qualifying left. �
