Monday, August 23, 2010

Laser World Championships

I am in Hayling Island, UK for the Laser World Championships.
The Canadian Team is training here August 20-29 and the Worlds run August 30th - September 5th.
Click on read more for daily reports.
Read more...


Monday, August 30
Today was the first day of racing. We had a medium offshore wind with significant pressure and direction changes making the racing quite tricky. In the first race I had a good start and was able to get myself cleanly out to the first puff on the left. I hitched back out left near the top of the beat and missed out on some pressure and lost to a pack on the right. I had a good first run and second beat, and passed 3 boats on the last beat to finish 20th. In the second race I did not do a good job of identifying the favoured end and started in the middle of the line, and was significantly behind the group of boats that started near the pin. I did not have a good first run and leeward mark rounding, but was able to make gains on the final half of the course to finish 33. Racing continues tomorrow with another 2 qualifying races scheduled.
Weather: Partly cloudy, 18 degrees, 5-10 knots

Tuesday, August 31
Today was a tough day at the office for me. The wind was quite light and we had a strong current making the racing very tricky. I did not account for the current well on the starts and did not get off the line well. In the first race I came out in okay shape but went up the wrong side of the course and lost out when the wind went right. In the second race I did not have a good start but was able to get clear quickly. I missed a few pressure lines near the top of the first beat and faded throughout the race. I posted a 48,46 today dropping me to 124.
Weather: Sunny, 20 degrees, 5 knots

Wednesday, September 1
Today we had a nice gradient wind with decent sized waves. In the first race I got a clear lane to the right and came back nicely with pressure to round the top mark in the top 20. I did not have a good reach, but made up 10 boats on the second beat and finished 18. In the second race I got out nicely again and rounded in the top 20, but did not have good pace on the reach. I lost out a bit on the second beat, but was able to make some gains on the final beat to finish 27th.
Weather: Sunny, 20 degrees, 12 knots

Thursday, September 2
Today I had to sail a solid day in order to remain in the silver fleet. I started well today and rounded the weather mark in good position but got run over on the first reach. In the first race I was able to make some gains on the second run and finished 24. In the second race I was higher up to begin and dropped a few throughout to finish 22.
Weather: Sunny, 20 degrees, 12 knots

Friday, September 3
Today's conditions were quite similar to Wednesday's, but with the current a bigger factor many boats were black flagged (a total of 39 BFDs in the senior fleet today), including myself in the first race. In the second race I had a clean start at the boat end. I didn't play the first beat as well as I had hoped, but rounded the weather mark in the top 20. I did not go the right way on the run and found myself back in the pack at the bottom, but was able to make some gains to finish 28 in the race. Two days of racing remain.
Weather: Sunny, 20 degrees, 12 knots

------- Training -----

Saturday, August 21
After sorting out my charter equipment I sailed out and joined the training group for a short session. I did a few races with a large group before heading back in.
Weather: 20 degrees, partly cloudy, 15 knots

Sunday, August 22
Today the wind was lighter with some swell left over from the day before. We ran through some practice starts and races and had a good downwind back against the current.
Weather: 22 degrees, cloudy, 5-10 knots

Monday, August 23
Day off

Tuesday, August 24
Today it was quite windy with winds in the 30-35 range and big waves. We did several races and I spent a fair amount of time swimming but it was good to get some practice in this amount of wind and some good pointers on what I was doing wrong.
Weather: 22 degrees, partly cloudy, 30-35 knots

Wednesday, August 25
When we first got out today it was quite light so we got some practice in light air. The wind picked up throughout the session and by the end we had nice hiking conditions.
Weather: 17 degrees, cloudy, 5 knots increasing to 18

Thursday, August 26
It was quite windy this morning with big waves, but by the time we got out the wind had come down to around 18 with the big waves left over. Again we ran some practice races.
Weather: 17 degrees, partly cloudy, 18 decreasing to 8
Friday, August 27
Day off

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Sail for Gold

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.
Click read more for daily reports.
Read more...

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.