To say the least Worlds didnt quite end up how we expected and we are a little let down and disappointed after the event. In the lead up to the event we showed a lot of promise and our training partners from CRO took the win this year by sailing a great series.
Our pre worlds strategy was to sail as consistent as possible. Time and time again this proves to be the key ingredient to a successful event. The qualifying series went great and headed into the finals is where we had some road bumps.
The first day of the finals wasnt a perfect start but it still kept us in the game. Our BFD in race one was a let down but 1/3 of the fleet received penalties, and of those who sailed that race, many of the top also received their drop score. We came back charging for the 2nd race and rounded the top mark in 2nd but lost a few boats in the tricky downwinds. Our big hit came in the last downwind when a massive left shift came through and sent 6 boats past us and we salvaged a 10th. After that day we were only 4 points out from 4th so the racing was wide open.
The second day of finals is where we met our match. In the entire 3 weeks of training we had prior to worlds we never saw the conditions we got on this day. We had a solid breeze and short steep chop. We learned a lot that day but the damage was done after we scored a 18-22. We were way off in our set up and learned that we needed more rake to compete with the rest of the fleet in those conditions.
From the second day of finals we took what we learned and applied it to the 3rd day. In race one we battled all the way around the course starting in 12th and moving up to 7th at one point. Unfortunately a giant left shift filled in and we were caught out right. We finished in the 20s. The shift was unpredictable and boats from last ended up top 10 which goes to show a little bit of luck is needed now and again, and it wasnt our turn. After a let down like that its hard to get back into things, and our next race suffered as well. At the end of the day we slipped down to 20th.
For the last race we went out and really gave it our all. We won the pin end and hit the shifts correctly until half way up and decided to head left instead of right. At that point we had a healthy lead but gave it all up. The rest of the race not much changed and we finished 12th. At the end of the series we came 21st. Not our best to date and certainly not what we expected, but there were a lot of lessons learned.
If we were to start the worlds again tomorrow we would not change a single thing. Our planning has been rock solid thus far, we just got a little unlucky.
We now have a week off to relax and we’ve gone our separate ways. We’ll meet back up in Weymouth, England on the 7th to begin a little practice for World Cup #7, the Sail for Gold Regatta. We have a legitimate chance to win the World Cup title this year and that is our focus at the Sail for Gold.
Until then we’ll be on blog silence on holidays unless some other interesting news pops up! Continue to check our Facebook Page “Team MB” for news and updates. Thanks everyone!
Today was the first day of the finals series and the tension was definitely there. Everyone was very edgy and pushy today about everything! We had several general recalls under a black flag which means immediate disqualification for that race…
Race 1
Never got to actually sail because we scored a black flag penalty on the first recall. However, there was a second recall which meant that 1/3 of the fleet scored a BFD. Of those that didnt get a BFD it was a big opportunity to score very valuable points. Of the leaders, CRO and AUS were the only boats who didnt sail a drop. We were laughing as we followed everyone around, because it meant the racing was still wide open.
Race 2
Got a great start near the boat end and bailed out right hard because thats what the major play has been. We rounded 2nd at the top mark but unfortunately lost 2 boats downwind who carried better pressure outside on the run. Upwind we worked everything we got and held onto 4th. For the reach things started to get a little scary with the fleet coming from behind with pressure. We elected to jibe because 1st, 2nd, and 3rd did, so we figured to follow. A few boats went straight off the mark and caught a super random puff/shift that carried them down in front of our lead pack. We lost 6 boats to finish 10th. We salvaged what we could and although while still disappointed, realized that the Aussies fell from 2nd to 11th in the downwind!
At the end of the day things are not nearly as bad as we thought. Somehow we managed to gain points on nearly everyone! Heres the quick breakdown with 4 races remaining:
1. NED 1 24pts
2. CRO 83 28pts
3. JPN 4340 32pts
4. SUI 11 39pts
5. AUS 13 40pts
6. NZL 212 40pts
7. GBR 834 41pts
8. AUS 11 41pts
9. AUT 3 42pts
10. USA 1713 42pts
Well the qualifying series has finished now so i’ll give a little recap on how it all went. We had great breeze for all our races and boatspeed was a must.
Day 2
The second day of qualifying looked very challenging and we were a bit flustered before the start. There was a current line that ran from the committee boat upwind, which heavily favored the right side so that anyone who tacked at go would immediately be ahead. We had a massive fight for the boat end with 30 others and came out pretty decent in 3rd! We sailed the whole race in 3rd, no chances to pass or get passed. The next race was more of the same and this time we didnt get such a good start. Up the first beat we were not looking good but did take advantage of a lane under the fleet to round in the middle. We worked hard the entire race knowing every point counted and end the end made some great moves to finish 9th. We were very pleased with our result given where we were earlier in the race, and after many other top teams struggled to find their way back. The organizers elected to go for a 3rd race with the building breeze and we were up for it! With the breeze up, it swung left which took the right side play away thankfully! We got a decent start in the middle and worked left where we saw breeze. Unfortunately we lost our perfect lane due to the mixing fleets and were forced deep left. We still had good speed but got lost in the 2 fleets so we were a little confused where we were standing. At the top mark we rounded top 10 and worked hard downwind. We played some nice shifts on the 2nd upwind with really good speed to catch a few and get really close to the lead pack. In the end we managed a 7th which we were pretty happy about to finish off the day.
Day 3
We had only one race scheduled per the NOR and we wanted to make it a good one. We decided early on the right was the way to go again and a boat end start would be the way to go. We were pretty aggressive in getting to the line and made it work very well being one of the top boats to exit right off the line. We played a tight lane out to the far right corner then took a long starboard tack to the mark to round 4th. Down the run we caught one boat and then worked hard up the next beat to round 2nd with some really good boatspeed. On the reach we cut the lead in half and when it got to the run we went to work. We were very aggressive in pumping and catching waves with the pumping flag still up. In the end we closed distance on the leaders and got the out of sync on some up/downs and caught a nice wave low to get an easy pass. We extended and came across in 1st!
At the end of qualifying we stand 10th but the points are very close. It’ll be a big fight now that we’re separated and nearly every score from hear on out will be a carry. We accomplished out goal but qualifying with no significant drops and only 4 boats are carrying a drop better than ours. This is a big plus for us if we can keep up our top 10 finishes! Stay tuned for tomorrows racing!
Day 1 brought a light air forecast which doesnt help the nervousness everyone feels on race day. We were postponed shortly after arriving for 2 hours before we finally headed off. There was a light sea breeze but by race one we had pumping flag conditions!
The mens group is 99 participants strong which means we’ve been split into 3 groups of 33 for the qualifying series which will be 3 days or 6 races before we head into the finals.
Race1
We got a great start in the middle of the line just to leward of the boat pack. We took to some aggressive kinetics off the line and blasted out to a clear lane. The wind swung a little right which means we werent going to be tacking anytime soon. We hung it out to the left side where there was a bit more pressure and found a nice lane back towards the mark. We rounded in about 8th and worked our position downwind to catch up to the leaders. Off the gate marks we got in phase and seemed to play the shifts perfectly to pick off 2 boats. We passed another on the reach and finished in 5th! A great way to start the Worlds!
Race 2
It breezed up even more for the 2nd race and we even dropped pins! We got an okay start near the boat end but a little bow back. Stu called for an exit out of our lane and we blasted out to the right side with a few other boats. We were the last boat out of the right to tack and got a great shift with pressure to put us in the top. Approaching the top mark we battled it out with GER for 1st but they got to the mark just before us. The 2 of us extended on the reach and also down the run away from the fleet. Off the gate we tacked a little to early and things seemed to go downhill from there. We got out of phase with the wind and also started to feel a little off pace with our boatspeed. We looked around trying to solve the problem but couldnt manage. The damage had been done and the group behind us had caught up and were really pressing us now. We rounded in a close 4/5/6 and got forced out a little on the downwind which allowed one boat to get by on the run. We came across the line in 7th. We were a little disappointed knowing we were right there but a 7 is still a good result to take forward into the Finals. Tomorrow is another day and another opportunity.
At the end of the day we stand 16th but its the first day so theres not much to read into it. Tomorrow waits!
If you wish to watch the races from our GPS tracking check out: http://www.tractrac.com/?page=470worlds
For overall results: http://www.worlds470.kdy.dk/viewer.php4?uniq_id=1010006
To wrap up our training for Worlds the breeze came in big yesterday. We postponed on shore for a little while and watched the JPN guys try to have a go in the breeze with not much success.
An hour later we rigged up and headed out in a steady 25+ knots with some good sized waves. We did some reaching around and then some upwind before the final race against CRO and TUR and were very fast again with slightly better twist on the sails. Headed downwind we were double high siding the whole way and high side jibing on the whistle and felt really comfortable. We mixed it with ISR for a min and they dumped pretty hard to weather going into a jibe.
For the final race we opted for a midline start with an objective to stay on starboard. We accomplished this and pulled away from the fleet then picked off a solid lane to head right. Shortly after our tack our main halyard broke so it was time to head in. The disappointing thing about that race was that the group we were leading rounded first at the top mark… Guess we’ll save the good stuff for the big show and just be thankful our halyard let go in practice instead of on the first day.
So we packed it up and took the mast down in preparation for measurement in a few days. The boat held up in pretty extreme conditions but we’ll give it another going over just to be sure. We feel very confident in our handling, set up, and speed. Overall the pre worlds was a great success and we even came out 300 DKK richer!
Now we’re just relaxing for the next 2 days and charging our batteries.
To finish up our training for Worlds we’re taking part in a Pre Worlds regatta put on by the Danish coaches, so many thanks to them! About 30 mens teams are participating in the racing, with many of them being top teams. Its a great opportunity to check our speed last minute and prepare for some real racing.
The first day brought pretty extreme conditions with 20-25+ across the course with small chop. Race one we had a decent upwind to round in 4th and took off downwind. Unfortunately we missed our lane downwind and got passed pretty quickly! We missed our one chance to get back in it but managed to pass a few boats on the final run to finish top 15. A little upset from our poor decision making we pinned down for the heavy breeze and went to it. We had a bad first upwind after i missed a crucial shift off the line and we were playing catch up. Fortunately we found the magic lane downwind on the outside to round the bottom mark in 3rd. We headed out right and found nice pressure and shift to come to the mark in 2nd. Hot on the heels of the bronze medalist we pushed hard. He pulled out and headed in and we went to it extending from the fleet. By the bottom mark we had a great lead but totally blew it after to quick a round up onto the final reach causing us to capsize! We recovered after losing only 1 boat but managed to pass them back because they didnt have their kite up! Race win for us!
I had to get a little ass kicking and do some thinking myself trying to remember my role in breezy conditions. Its pretty rare for a crew to get chewed out for something but i definitely had to step it up with some decisions on the upwinds in the real breezy stuff. Stus job is to make the boat go fast and i need to make sure hes going the right way!
Today i brought my “A” game out with me on the water and was super fired up to show Stu and Coach Leandro i was ready. It wasnt quite as windy but windy enough that the calls were mine again. Race 1 we got a perfect start near the boat and tacked immediately to fly out to the right corner. We caught one shift and were gone! No looking back as we led all the way round the course. Race 2 we won the pin end and headed out left to find a huge lefty that took us all the way to the mark to round 4th. We stayed close on the reach and jibed immediately into 2nd with the passing shift. We sailed hard to take 1st and led the rest of the race until we got caught out on the outside on the last downwind and 3 of us fought for the win. In the end we werent positioned correctly and we had to settle for 3rd.
All in all we are very happy with our performance around the race course and are feeling ready for Worlds next Sunday. We will finish up racing tomorrow then take 2 days off to rest ourselves for the event! Be sure to follow us here or our Facebook page “Team MB.”
We’ve now landed in Rungsted, Denmark to prepare for our 2009 World Championships.
3 months off seems to have done us a lot of good and we seem to be very in tune with each other and our boat and gear. Its really amazing how time off can really motivate you to get back at it and bring a new level of enthusiasm into a program.
We’ve been training with our friends from GRE, SUI, SWE, CRO, and NED who are all very good and we’re going very well against all of them. Most days we’ve been finishing top 4 in all the races which include about 15 boats. Starting has been good, and downwind is still top notch. Always nice to find out we’re still one of the fastest in most conditions downwind.
It has been pretty light the last week, but we did manage to get some breezy days in there and we have still had plenty of speed to burn. Stu had been sailing V15s a lot the last month and has learned how to correctly nail down pin settings for a given wind strength so its been really easy for us so far. Funny how basic boats can re-teach you the simplicity in sailing such a complex machine like a 470.
Our living situation is not so typical for our program but we are loving it. We’re sharing a cabin/bungalow with americans Adam Roberts/Nick Martin. Its a 2 room bungalow with one room being the sleeping quarters and the other one the living room, kitchen, and dining table. It is very small but we are enjoying it a lot.
We have another week of training, hopefully in a bit more breeze before we have a pre-worlds tune up regatta. Wind in Denmark seems to be dominated by the weather systems while Sweden only about 30km away has an awesome sea breeze of about 15 knots nearly everyday. Go figure…
Im a little sad to say im not at moth worlds but i probably would have gotten my butt kicked and it seems like everyone has been breaking a lot of equipment, so maybe it was a good call to not attend. However its really cool to be following up on some of the development in the fleet via blogs and im thinking how to get my hands on some of the hot new gadgets for my boat!
