Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Sail for Gold Regatta

I am back in Weymouth, England for the Sail for Gold Regatta.
Results can be found here.

Click here for daily reports...


Monday, June6
Today was the first day of racing. After a long wait onshore for wind the Laser fleets were sent out. We sailed one race in medium wind, with a strong current against the wind. The current made the start quite tricky, and I misjudged the line and was forced to tack out right away. I sailed a poor first beat and rounded near the back. I had a solid first run, passing 10 boats, passed a few more on the next beat, and had another good run and was able to come back to the middle of the fleet and finish 31. Racing continues tomorrow with 3 races scheduled to make up for the lost race and 16-20 knots.

Tuesday, June 7
In the first race I was a bit late on the start but was able to get clear immediately. I played up the right side of the course, but the leaders all came from the left and I rounded the first weather mark around 30. I stayed relatively even to finish 32. In the second race I had a great start near the boat end and held to near the port tack layline with the rest of the fleet. I rounded the first weather mark around 20. I lost a few boats throughout to finish 25. In the third race I again had a solid start at the boat end, but didn't identify the bias in the line. The boats from the leeward end had a jump, and when the wind went left they were considerably ahead. I rounded the first weather mark around 25. My rudder downhaul line loosened and my rudder kicked up a bit, causing me to spin out several times on the first run, and I found myself at the back of the fleet and finished 49. Racing continues tomorrow with the final two qualifying races scheduled.

Wednesday, June 8
Today was the last day of qualifying races. In the first race I quickly got a lane out to the right hand side of the course. I had decent pace and rounded 20ish and stayed relatively even throughout to finish 24. In the second race I did not have a good start, but played the first beat well and rounded in near 20 again. I sailed well on the second beat but made a mental error at the top and misjudged the layline. I did a double tack and capsized, dropping about 8 boats, and finished 32. Despite the error, my scores on the day were just good enough to move me up from 66 to 61, qualifying me for the gold fleet.

Thursday, June 9
Today it was slightly lighter than the previous days. In the first race I did not have a good start, but was able to make some moves up to first beat to round around 35. I fell out of the pressure on the run and lost some boats and was caught on the outside of a pinwheel at the bottom gate. I was not able to catch up much, and finished 52. In the second race I was late at the pin, but held out to the left and played the left side well to round the weather mark around 15. I was able to hook into pressure on the run when the leaders fell into a lull, and I was able to sail around the majority of the pack and rounded the bottom in 3rd. I dropped a few boats on the next beat and 5 on the last run when I fell out of pressure and finished 12. I am in 55th overall with the final two races scheduled for tomorrow.