Well the the first day is over and I can say it was a great day for sailing. Temperature 34C and upto 15kts from the NE, gusting to 20-23kts during the afternoon, a bay full of 185 Lasers....
The day started very quietly, will with little to no breeze, but at 11:30 and on time the wind picked up to 10 to 15, from the NE. It steadied, as the boat park commenced getting ready for a good afternoon sail.
For me I launched around an hour before my start, as I just wanted to get sometime on the water. It was amazing to see all 185 Lasers being launched from the shore and sailing around in close proximity. I took a couple of moments to take in the sites of my first Regatta and it was an fantastic site to see. So onto Race 1.
Race 1
As I was sailing in a Full Rig Masters division. I was lucky to be the four start, so in the pre-start I was keenly watching the large fleets already heading upto to the first mark to see if the left or right had any advantages. Good planning, but in our start sequence I got lost in the moment, which resulted in Kerry yelling at me to get a hurry on, as I missed the start by a few boat lengths. So already at the back of the fleet I had my work cut out. I was reasonable pleased with my up wind work for this race, as I was able to catch a few boats, but it was my downwind legs that cost me. As primarily a Lake sailor I still do not feel comfortable downwind using the waves. The result was the boats in front increased the gap and the boats behind caught up. So the result for me was me that I ended up at the tail end of the fleet.
Speaking to Kerry after the race 1. He suggested that I should sit a bit further back in the boat to help surfing down the waves. Lets see if I can put this into practice for the second race.
Race 2
By this time the wind was picking up to 15 and above. I did learn from Race 1. Start was much better. Still not on the front line, but a much better start. Generally I was further up the fleet and I did listen to Kerry, by sitting further back in the boat and I did feel that I did sail downwind a bit better, but I need to keep working on using the waves to my advantage.
So bring on tomorrow and lets see what it brings.
The day started very quietly, will with little to no breeze, but at 11:30 and on time the wind picked up to 10 to 15, from the NE. It steadied, as the boat park commenced getting ready for a good afternoon sail.
For me I launched around an hour before my start, as I just wanted to get sometime on the water. It was amazing to see all 185 Lasers being launched from the shore and sailing around in close proximity. I took a couple of moments to take in the sites of my first Regatta and it was an fantastic site to see. So onto Race 1.
Race 1
As I was sailing in a Full Rig Masters division. I was lucky to be the four start, so in the pre-start I was keenly watching the large fleets already heading upto to the first mark to see if the left or right had any advantages. Good planning, but in our start sequence I got lost in the moment, which resulted in Kerry yelling at me to get a hurry on, as I missed the start by a few boat lengths. So already at the back of the fleet I had my work cut out. I was reasonable pleased with my up wind work for this race, as I was able to catch a few boats, but it was my downwind legs that cost me. As primarily a Lake sailor I still do not feel comfortable downwind using the waves. The result was the boats in front increased the gap and the boats behind caught up. So the result for me was me that I ended up at the tail end of the fleet.
Speaking to Kerry after the race 1. He suggested that I should sit a bit further back in the boat to help surfing down the waves. Lets see if I can put this into practice for the second race.
Race 2
By this time the wind was picking up to 15 and above. I did learn from Race 1. Start was much better. Still not on the front line, but a much better start. Generally I was further up the fleet and I did listen to Kerry, by sitting further back in the boat and I did feel that I did sail downwind a bit better, but I need to keep working on using the waves to my advantage.
So bring on tomorrow and lets see what it brings.
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