I am in Weymouth, England for the Sail for Gold regatta. The venue will be used for the sailing competition in the 2012 Olympic Games.
Racing runs August 9-14. Results can be found here.
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Saturday, August 7
Today was my first day back on the water after two weeks off because of a foot injury. I was a bit slow in my maneuvers but hiking was not an issue. It was good to get back in the boat again.
Weather: 21 degrees, cloudy, 12 knots
Sunday, August 8
I spent the day organizing my spare gear and making sure everything is ready to go for tomorrow. Racing begins at 10am with 2 races scheduled.
Monday, August 9
Today was the first day of racing. We waited for an hour and a half for the wind to settle in before the first race got underway. I did not have a very good start, and when I tacked out I got tacked on and had to immediately tack back. With all the lanes to the right gone, I was forced to go hitch up on the left of the fleet. The right side faded and I found myself in the top 20 around the weather mark. I lost a couple of boats on each of the next legs, but had a good last run, passing a group of boats to finish 15. In the second race I had a good start, but got out of phase and was left back of the leaders. I did not have a good top reach and lost a couple of boats and a lot of distance and finished 33rd. Qualifying continues tomorrow with two more races scheduled and a forecast of more wind.
Weather: Cloudy, 18 degrees, 10-14 knots.
Tuesday, August 10
After waiting around for a couple of hours for the radials to get underway we got started. It was windier today, with the wind ranging 14-20 and a big swell. In the first race I bailed a bit too early after the start and had to fight to get back. I didn't have great downhills but sailed okay upwind and finished 32. In the second race I made some gains on the oscillations on the beat and made a good move upwind to get into the top 20 at the first leeward. I wasn't as quick on the second run and lost a few to finish 21. After 4 races I am in 80. Qualifying races continue tomorrow with less wind forecasted.
Weather: Cloudy, 16 degrees, 14-22 knots
Wednesday, August 11
Today the wind was from the northwest and ranging from 8-14. In the first race I had a good start relative to the closest boats but there was some localized pressure and I was back from the front row. I did not do a good job of staying in phase on the beat and rounded near the back but was able to make some small gains to come back to 40th. In the second race I had a good clear start and held out to the first leftie and tacked back with a group of boats, well up on the rest of the pack that had started higher and flipped earlier. I played the beat well until the last 50 yards when the wind went wonky and rounded around 20. I made a poor move at the start of the run and was out of the pressure and lost a few boats and a lot of distance. I had a good top reach and put 5 lengths on the boats behind, but again I forced a move downwind and fell out of the pressure to loose 10+ boats and finished 40th. I am in 94 after the qualifying series, putting me in silver fleet for the remaining two days of racing.
Weather: Partly cloudy, 17 degrees, 8-14 knots
Thursday, August 12
Today the wind was offshore which caused very unstable winds. In the first race I was able to sail relatively well after a poor start to come back to a mid fleet finish. In the second race I did not have a good start and after sailing into a hole I was left too far back to make any gains and finished near the back of the fleet. Racing continues tomorrow.
Weather: Cloudy, 17 degrees, 5-12 knots
Friday, August 13
Today was the last day of racing. Again the wind was offshore which meant some tricky sailing with winds ranging from 4-14 knots and 50 degree shifts. In the first race I did not get out great, but had a good first run and played the second beat well to come back to 32. In the second race I had a great start and was back and forth at the front of the fleet throughout and finished 13.
