Sunday, May 15, 2005

2005 elvestrom regatta- SF

Day 1 Elvestrom regatta- light to med breeze with strong flood on inside early and outside later. I rigged 11.0 with new r13 s-64 fin and at times it had lots of speed but at other fleet god awful out of the game. Part of it was that my head wasn't in the game at all.

First race- I tried starting on port on a small line and rc boat at opposite end. There was a wind shadow and I got spun out and lot it right at the start. So I think I was over that race. Upwind though grinding in the next few races, I felt ok but not hot. I was stuck in the middle of the fleet just behind Percy, Steve and Seth.
First mistake was to not go as far inside towards the shore as I could and stay out of the flood in the afternoon as it was there later in the afternoon. Seth was always the inside boat and got the inside lift. As well as Percy who was just inside me in race3. I tacked back just to have Steve tack 10 boards in front of me and have him really be able to hold his lane while in the light stuff with the 64 fin I was in no condition to foot. I t really takes a lot to stay sure footed in those conditions. The fin was nice when it was lit up. Race 1 - good off the line but missed the inside life and the 3 got away. I was dueling it out back with Soheil and just got him on the last gybe to the finish.

Race 2- better start but not far enough. I was down the line too much but looking for clear air/ Keep looking over your shoulder downwind for the puffs behind.
I felt strong at times but not all the way.

Keep thinking as your in the top of the game or how to get there. Don't take your self out early.

Day 2 Elvestrom regatta- lighter forecast today so I tried c3 70 fx which seemed good earlier in the week but I couldn't find any angle upwind for most of the time and really suffered and lost a lot on the upwind where I gave up 2-3 board. I was getting good starts as evident with the ocs but as soon as we tacked at the shore and did the long port tack to the ebb in the middle, I was toast….no angle. It was a bit frustrating not being able to play the game but I did learn a few things along the way. The c3 does not seem to perform well on that board. Upwind angle is important to keep the dame alive- esp. after the leeward mark. The newer mast are really more effective and reflect better in the new sails compared to the older one. I tried to heel the board and foot when I was feeling underpowered but had to go way low to get some speed.Its often easy to get frustrated when in the current and trying to get around the windward mark in a flood. There were at least 3 times where I needed to double or even tack 4-5x to get around. Its really better to overstand and come by. A little luck often goes a long way.

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