Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Kiel Week

I am competing in Kiel Week, an ISAF Grade 1 event held in Kiel, Germany. This event is a good lead up event before the Youth Worlds in Denmark, which start on July 10th.
Results: http://www.kielerwoche.de/eng/livecenter/olympic.php
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Wednesday, June 25
Today was the first day of sailing at Kiel Week. There are 156 boats sailing in the Laser fleet, so the fleet is split into three fleets for the two qualifying days. In the first race today I had a bad start, but was able to make up a lot on the first beat with good boat speed and rounded the first mark around 10-15th. I was a bit slow at the top of the run but gained back again on the second beat and finished 12th. In the second race I punched out well at the start, but got rolled and got bounced around before finding a good groove. I sailed quickly throughout the rest of the race and finished 16th. After one day of racing I am in 35th.
Weather: Partly cloudy, 18 degrees, 6-14 knots.

Thursday, June 26
The second day of racing saw stronger winds and big waves. In the first race I had a poor first beat but a great first run and a good second beat and finished in 17th. In the second race I had a poor start, and was very slow at the top of the first run and finished 23rd. In the last race of the day I had a poor start, tacked a couple too many times and didn't have great downwind speed and finished 29th. With one discard after the five qualifying races I sit in 57th, just outside of the gold fleet cutoff.
Weather: Partly cloudy, 20 degrees, 16-20 knots

Friday, June 27
Today started out with a light southerly wind that clocked and gradually increased throughout the day. In the first race I had an okay start, but got pinched off shortly after and then bounced around on the wrong side of the course. I had a quick run and top reach and finished 18th. In the second race I bailed on the boat end start too late and didn't find a hole on the line, leaving me second row. I picked the wrong side up the beat as well and was very deep around the windward and finished 48th. With forecast of a 90 degree wind shift and high winds racing was called off for the rest of the day. After 7 races I am 64th overall.
Weather: Rain, 16 degrees, 6-14 knots

Saturday, June 28
Today was another "typical Kiel day" with light rain, cold and wind. In the first race I had an okay start, but lost my lane. I still managed to sail a quick beat and picked off boats on each leg and finished 10th. In the second race I had a good start, but was caught on the wrong side up the first beat and rounded the windward mark around 30th. I sailed a great first run and passed 10-15 boats and passed another couple of boats upwind and three more downwind to finish 7th. In the last race I had my best start of the day, but couldn't tack so I was forced to sail through the first shift and had to try to catch up. I sailed a slow first run, but passed boats on the next beat and on the final beat to the finish line and finished 28th. Tomorrow is the last day of the regatta and there is one race scheduled. I am currently sitting in 62nd.
Weather: mostly cloudy, drizzle, 16 degrees, 15-23 knots

Sunday, June 29
Today was the last day of racing. My fleet had 3 general recalls before finally getting underway. With the confusion of the three generals I forgot that my watch was two seconds late and I was late pulling the trigger on the start. I was deep around the first windward mark, but passed 10 boats on the first run and another couple on the last beat and finished 9th. I finished 60th overall in the 156 boat fleet. Now I am heading back up to Norway to relax and train a bit before I head down to Aarhus for the Youth Worlds.
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 16 degrees, 12-18 knots.