Calcup May 20, 2006 Berkeley

The forecast didn't look so good going into Saturday but eventually the wind came up and just as fast went away! During that brief time we got 4 races in with a fleet of 16 formula racers just of His Lordships in Berkley.
I managed to get 3 really good starts where I squired out and got clear air and a lane.
The first start, I was a little thrown off thinking we were going to start with the RC boat at the starboard end but it was the reverse so I got off the line in the middle while the rest of the fleet was near the pin end. I did have a clear lane and managed to work up on the fleet. Mike Z and Percy rounded in front of me with Steve S and Eric rounding with me a few board lengths behind. The 3 of us were overlapped going off the breeze with Steve to leeward. Steve realized Eric and I were rolling him and headed up. Unfortunately Eric got caught off guard and went over the bars and Steve and I escaped. I saw Steve fumbling with his hat and knew I had to make my move. We both gybed at the same time and got out in front of him keeping him behind me for the rest of the race. The next upwind things heated up some as we were all overpowered on our 11s and big fins. I found myself going upwind quite well with the big sail but the fin was a bit too overpowering. I managed to hang on and finish 3rd behind the 2 Mikes. We all went in to change down and got 2 more decent races off before the wind lighted up again.
The 2nd race I started well again getting a jump on the fleet but didn't quite have the speed to hang on for the rest of the race. I rounded 4th and kept my position to the end. Next race- same thing: good start off the line banging the left corner. It wasn't much of a decision as it was short 15 minute course and going left was the only choice. Mike tacked off after the next race after getting gassed but it didn't pay off too much. The 4 of us were sailing well in front of the rest of the fleet but there was still a strong pack fighting it out for 5-10.
I really only we thought we had 3 races but everyone swore we had 4 so no report on race 3.
The last race, things had lighted up to the point where a lot of the fleet wasn't planning during the race. I managed to get a real good jump on the fleet but it was too good as I was over early. I found out after rounding the leeward mark but kept going as it would be my through-out.
Overall a good day of starts but still need to work on my speed. I felt my angle was much better when I had a clear lane with the Kashy fin

2006 Elevstrom Regatta

Day 1: 6 boards on the line for the first race. Where
is everybody? Anyways more wind for us as the breeze
was building all afternoon to a solid 22-29k in the
afternoon for the last race. The formula class raced 4
races on the same course as the Lasers, Radials, Finns
and 29'ers. The RC called for the W course which made
some interesting downwind reaching. In the first race,
the fleet was caught by surprise by the starting
sequence. Mist were on the line but with the strong
flood got a late start. I had set my watch to 6 in but
came reaching in and was 7 sec late but won the start
with good speed and racing to the middle of the Bay
where the ebb started. Percy, Soheil, JK and Royce
were all below me and tacked early for the windward
mark but I knew there was some seriously strong flood
on the inside so I overstood and made it around in 1
tack as the rest of the fleet had to double to take to
get around the 2k flood. It was follow the leader from
then on as I made my way around the downwind slalom
back up top to the outside and a downwind finish.
Percy finished 2nd, Soheil in 3rd.
Next race, everybody on the line with decent speed
going strong. Percy had a bit of a jump on me to
windward and stated to gain some angle with the inside
lift. I went for speed to get to the ebb first. He
rounded in from of me and we did the downwind slalom
course again with a typical follow the leader pattern.
Back upwind, Percy had gained a bit as I got to the
layline but realized my harness line had broke. I
tried to manhandle it for 30 sec but realized I
wouldn't make the mark so I quickly put my rig in the
water and re-tied my lines onto the boom and got back
up to stay in 2nd with Soheil and Royce on my tail.
3rd race- breeze was building and strong ebb on the
outside made a tough patch of water to get through. RC
had 'C; course posted for fleet before us and I saw
that and thought we were on C as well. Unfortunately
they switched to A course with our class flag and I
went on to sail the wrong course. Percy and Soheil
battled it out to finish 1-2 in a comedy of errors
that say Percy bouncing off the leeward mark and
Soheil quickly catching up. I was in my own race
thinking I was sailing the correct course until I got
to the finish and didn't get a horn.
4th race- Now the breeze up strong and our fleet was
down to 3 boards as the day was taking its toll on the
sailors early in the season. Both Percy and I were
overpowered upwind on our 10's but very evenly
matched. He made it to the top mark first as I
overstood a bit and came down with speed to round a 10
board lengths behind him. Off the breeze it was a
simple downwind course going as deep as we could- feet
in the chicken or even leeward strap to stay upright
in the gnarly chop. I saw Percy loose his balance and
dig his clew into the water and go down. My chance to
take over! I made it past him did a overly careful
gybe and rounded only to stumble on my transition
upwind. Percy was quick to round behind me as I was up
hauling my sail but he to floundered in his
transition- stalling out- giving me enough time so we
could head upwind overlapped. We were both Op-ed
upwind but the real struggle came when we both tacked.
I let Mike tack early but he struggled to get going
again. I overstood to put some money in the bank and
made it around in 1 tack and continued downwind to
finish first with Percy just behind and Soheil in 3rd.
4 more races planned for Sunday with the breeze
expected to be the same- looking forward to more good
racing on the city front.
Well the battle continued into Sunday with Mike's
promises of showing up holding true. The forecast
looked to be the same but it was lighter to begin
with. Mike P rigged his 10.8 while the rest of us went
for the 10. Mike walked away the first race holding
onto a plane the whole race while the rest of us
struggled in the light conditions near shore and the
building flood.

In the second race of the day, Mike and I lead to the
top mark but Mike make a slow transition which I
quickly seized on and got away on the last downwind
and finished first. JK showed some amazing speed off
the starting line with a near perfect start at the pin
heading off the right side of the course wit the
rest of us in his bad air.
Going into race 7 we now had a drop race and we're
tied with 8 points a piece. Mike switched down to a
10.0 as the breeze was building and continued to
dominate with superior upwind angle. There wasn't much
I could do, I tried all the tricks in the bag- tacking
early to catch the puff, staying inshore to take
advantage of the flood but I just couldn't grind him
down and again we finished 1-2 with Mike in the lead.

On the last race things got considerably lighter on the
inside and we struggled to get going on the start.
Luckily some old imco habits of pumping like a madam
were instilled in me and I was able to get off the
line clear- looking back to see the rest of the fleet
standing on the line. Unfortunately that means calling
the layline on your own and I missed it by just a few
feet as Mike P rounded just onto of me and me missing
the goods and having to double tack and let Mike get
away. Olan slipped in there as well to show a solid
performance as the breeze dying to was 10-15k.

After the race, I asked Mike if I could sail the new
Hansen sail. After a few runs, I could honestly say I
was impressed with the hard work of the past few
months. The Hansen sail had a solid feel- very stable
upwind and off the breeze! I couldn't nail it down if
it was a fin or sail difference but Mike won the
regatta with some serious angle. Congrats to him and
the new line of Hansen sails!
I look forward to the rest of the season where we can
continue to develop and push each other. I hope to
see the rest of you on the line for the next Friday
night race and CalCup next w-end.

2006 midwinters

Day one- Winds were light and variable today with only one race for the formula fleet. I managed to get off to a decent start near the pin end of the line with Devon just below me. My goal was to get clear air and a lane to the left where there was a bit more wind. I wasn't able to hang in there with Devon's angle but I did get to the left side early and round the top mark in the top 10. Jimmy Diaz rounded just in front of me as it was really light and we had to pump to get around the mark. Once off the breeze, things stayed heated up and I was able to pass Phil McCain but let Seth get by me. At the leeward mark, I was ahead of Peter Bilj, NED 0 as we rounded but he hit the end of my booms with the front of my board and I went down to windward. I was pretty pissed off since I had the right of way but got up and continued. 6-7 boards managed to sneak by as my attention was still at the collision and what I could do about it. Well there was nothing I could do about it at the time so I switched my attention back to racing and picking off one board at time. Luckily, it was still early in the race so I had time to get a few boards back and finish 14th. I was on my 11.9 2005 warp and r13 68 s +6 debocheit fin with the ML06.
I did protest Peter as I was in the right of way and the protest committee agreed and threw him out of the race. My big mistake though was not asking for redress in the protest hearing. I did mark it on the form but did not present it in the argument. This ultimately cost me the potential of a few points- and we all know places are determined by just a few points. A big lesson learned but in someway I'm glad I learned it as to avoid the same mistake in the future.

Day two- typical Florida conditions- light and variable conditions. We tried at 2 races but failed to get anything off as the breeze died both times, Finally around 1pm the breeze started to build as the other fleets were racing. It came up in a big way getting to the high teens and low 20's I switched down to my 11.0 and Kashy 65 cm fin for more control. The 1st race I was well positioned on the line but has some goof drop his sail right on top of me and we both went in the water 10 sec. before the start. I tried to remain calm as there was nothing to gain from a burst of anger. I got on my way on port tack as the rest of the fleet was off the left side. Nothing to do but catch up. I managed to slowly pick one sailor off after another but finished 17th.
Next race- better start but still behind the top guys. I was off the left side with power and rounded well in the hunt. 2 upwind and downwinds later, I pretty much stayed the same with another 14th but ahead of Steve Sylvester!
Race 3- Cant remember much about this one except finishing 14th again. Room to improve. Conditions were picking up with stronger gust in the mid 20's.
Race 4- Ok I knew I had to get a decent start to do well this race. I placed myself well on the line going for a pin end start. Seth was just above me and Dave Kashy just below. We were all a few seconds early and had to stall before running out of room. With around 10 seconds to go, we all accelerated and shot across the line. Dave caught his fin on the anchor line and wiped out while Seth failed to get going with was still looking good in 9th. Off the breeze, I was fighting with a Brazilian sailor who had really good speed. Unfortunately for him, he caught something on his fin and dropped back. I was feeling good with only William Shurman behind me. He climbed on me upwind and had some leverage but I was 5 board lengths ahead. I knew he night have better angle but had gotten slammed 2x already this race. My strategy was play in conservative to the finish. I overstood the windward mark a few board lengths as to not have to double tack as there were a few guys already in that situation. BRA 999 tacked at the same time just inside me and we rounded the windward mark with in a few boards lengths of each other. The top reach was pretty hairy with a 11.0 and I got stood up a few times while Shurman on his 9.8 any speed. I however had a great start and managed to sail a decent race. I rounded the top mark in 7th with Jimmy right on m tail. I held him off till the bottom mark where the guy in front of me had a sloppy rounding and I had to leave a bit off room which Jimmy quickly too advantage of and snuck in there. He had better speed and rolled me to windward as I had to foot to get clear air. Seth too managed to sneak in there as well but I crossed just in front of me. I still managed 10th- my nest race so far of the regatta. As of Sat. Night I am in 4th in the men's fleet with 69 points for 5 races. Tommorow's forecast doesn't look so good but we'll have to wait and see.

Sunday Day 3- The Formula fleet stayed ashore today as there wasn't enough wind to get planning. The results changed some as the organizer recalculated 5 races to include a throw-out. Seth moved up to the pro fleet in 9th place and I moved up to 2nd place in the men's fleet to 13th overall. Sylvester ended up first in (+35) master's class, finishing 16th over all with Ron Kern in 2nd in the class and 17th overall. 51 sailors total in the A-Formula fleet. Overall results at calema website.

It was interesting to see all the new gear on the beach. Most innovative was the adjustable plates in the cut outs of the F2 and Exocet boards. Sailors were coming in changing according to the conditions. It brings up a greater number of possibilities for changing your setup. Now you can adjust the plates in 3 positions as well as the stiffness, rake, size and shape of your fin. Quite an opportunity to find the fastest set up. The F2 still has pipes but were elongated on the deck. Also noteworthy is the fact that the F2 boards have a very shallow Tuttle box with a recessed fin screws. A lot of people were sanding their fins to fit the box as well as finding out the top of the fin box was too thin to over-tighten their fins!

The starboard has smaller and shallower cutouts and seemed to be performing well with most of the top pro riders on it or the F2 boards.

The Fanatic board was really wide at the tail and with other set of extreme cutouts and sharp rails at the back end. Arnon and Peter were having a tough time sailing in the breeze on Saturday on the 06 Fanatic board getting stood up and noticing it took a lot of back foot pressure to control the board.

The new ML seemed almost simple compared to the all the things going on with the other boards. Less things to break or go wrong I say! I didn't find any real disadvantage to it in speed or pointing when I was sailing at the top of the fleet. The 06 ML was easy to control in the breeze with a 65 cm fin. I would guess an even smaller fin could be more efficient in medium to strong winds.

As for the new sails- the NP and North sails both took a step forward with wider luff sleeves improving the wind range of the sail. It's still a personal choice as to what strategy to follow: keep holding a big sail for as long as possible or switch down to something smaller and more efficient if the wind stays steady. Both theories seem to work as Gonzolo and Wotejk and Sylvester used a 9.8 - 10.0 on Saturday while Antoine, Jimmy, Seth and myself stayed on 10.7 - 11.0.

The Aerotech sails took a big change as well with a much straighter mast shape and luff curve. It's a wide sleeve luff with 11 battens! Devon was using his 05 Windwing sails from the worlds last December.

As suspected a few NP mast from last year breaking in the hot weather! The new NP mast seem to be improved but most sailors are now de- rigging their sails between races on shore. It didn't help that the races were getting off slowly with 20-30 minutes between heats.

Also new on the beach this year was the hybrids. The RS-X Olympic class had the most sailors, with a fleet of 25, as there are a lot of young sailors (under 20) campaigning for the Olympics. In the men's fleet, top ranked US sailor Ben Barger won over the No 2 ranked Canadian, Alain Bolduc. In the women's fleet Canadian Dominique Vallee won easily over another young fleet of sailors. The RS-X fleet raced along side the Prodigy class and the Open hybrids. The Prodigy class was mainly the older guys who switched a few years ago from long-boarding when the prodigy arrived in the scene. They are just as competitive but not using kinetics as efficiently as the younger Olympic class sailors.
In the open hybrid class the new F2 lighting looked pretty cool with a raised deck over the centerboard giving you a nice platform to rail the boards in lighter winds. It also had cut outs similar to the F2 formula board but with no adjustable plates.

On Sunday in the light winds, the hybrid and long boards raced in sub planning conditions giving everybody a workout with lots of pumping. I don't think the formula boards would have been able to get up wind like the hybrids and long-boards with the centerboards. Thus proving, maybe the hybrid class is the best thing to race when the conditions are light and you still want to race. I don't find it so exciting to race in these conditions as it is so different from the planning experience of formula racing. Perhaps that's why I ended up in San Francisco with mainly medium to high wind racing,

I wasn't able to re-open my case to get redress for Fridays race. SF rules guru, Brian McDonald coached me through some pointers on the phone on Sunday to try to get the case re-opened but to no avail. The Protest Committee said it wasn't enough to only check the box for redress. 2 SF judges disagreed! The big lesson here is never leave anything to chance in the protest room. Everything is subjective. I could appeal the decision and see what another protest committee would decide but with the added throw-out on Sunday, I wouldn't have moved up any in the fleet.

Overall, a good event early in the year with some chances to line up with top sailors and tune my gear. I feel my sailing has stepped up a notch at this event from the recent regattas Ive done in Melbourne and Miami. Hopefully I can continue the improvements with better results this year. I'm still contemplating more RS-X racing later in the year but will stay focused on formula racing with the start of our SF season soon. It's just a few more weeks before we can start seeing typical SF conditions and hopefully some exciting racing on the Bay.

2006 Miami OCR

Greetings from the Miami Olympic class regatta. While its not exactly our San Francisco mikes lab one design fleet, it is one design windsurifng racing. Alot of you already got the taste of the rs-x board in san francisco last september, this time, the fleet is a bit biger and a bit stronger and a bit more expereienced. The only thing we dont seem to have is a decent supply of breeze. With one day of racing so far, we have 2 races in and 10 more planned for the next 4 days. The first race got off with 15-17k and planning conditions. It was rather shify up the first beat but
still able to stay on a plane the whole time. We did a double windward leeward course, finishing downwinf. I managed to get oof to a horrible start but clawed my way back through the middle of the fleet for a 16th while Seth maintined his place up top with a 6th
place. By the next race, the wind had died to 6-10k. Getting off the line, proved to be rather difficult for most of the fleet and the majority of the fleet was track forward and centerboards down. Pumping doesnt seem to make a big difference in these conditions so it seems like eternity to get through the course. Most of the fleet was spread out and there was a time limit o 10 minute after the first finisher. With that said, only 16 sailors managed to get scored. I missed the cut off by a few minutes but didnt realize it, pumping my way to the downwind finsih, exhauting myself! Seth managed another decent finsih with in seconds of the cut off
to finish 15th.

Day 2 Miami OCR-
With John Craig at the helm of the RC on the RS-X course, I thought there would be some compassion but unfortunately not as we made our way through 2 more races in 4-9k of breeze. It is painfully obvious who has spent time on the board and who has not!
Today was another "learning day" trying to get up to speed or at least maintain it in the fickle breeze. We were on postponement till 1pm and then started a race in 5-6k, maybe gusting up to 7- defiantly not planning but moving around the course like small displacement dinghies! Pumping doesn't seem to make a lot of difference up wind, maybe a 10% increase and most of the fleet is pumping off the line and the top guys around the entire course. If you aren't pumping in the correct technique, it's actually worse and you foot off-something I found after 2 unsuccessful races. Downwind, its the rowing pump that works the best- pumping theclew in , then throwing the mast forward and scooping the mast back- creating your own wind.
Seth and I were battling it out in the back, trying to figure out how this new thing works. Meanwhile, the other US hopeful, Ben Barger, who has spent a lot of time training in light wind Florida, was up in the front of the fleet with 2 top 10 finishes.
Wednesday's forecast looks better with some more breeze filling in the afternoon.

Day 3: Miami Olympic Class Regatta: 3 more races today in a dying breeze. The wind was directly off shore, which made it shifty and gusty with the course set just to leeward of the skyscrapers of downtown Miami.I was expecting the breeze to go right all day as itdecreased as forecast suggested. All but 1 of the upwind legs, it either stayed steady or shifted leftwhich made banging the right corner a disastrous strategy. The fleet really got spread out in the lightstuff as the lightweight sailors had a big advantage. I even managed to finish 20 minutes beyond to top guys in the 2nd race and get DSQ'ed for not finishing in time. It defiantly took a skilled eye to stay in the wind, especially downwind where you had to gybe 8- 10x to stay in the puffs down to the leeward mark. Once planning in 10-12k, the different sailor weights even out and in 14k+ the heavier sailors had an advantage. Of course, it's never always steady and the wind was very shifty so it made today's racing very tactical. The best sailors are still coming out on top.
Final day: The new Olympic class racing format was tried today with the top 10 sailors advancing to the metal round for a race that would count double and could not be discarded. The idea behind the change is to make the sport more media friendly and understandable to the public. The new metal round does have it's pros and cons and will probably be worked out as the format is used more before the next Olympics. The rest of the fleet raced in a consolationrace counting just like every other race. It was the best breeze of the regatta and Seth and I lined up and both felt pretty good in our normal SF conditions. I planned to go left so I started at thepin with clear air but immediately got chucked as I crossed the pin end committee board and got caught up their way too long anchor line. It just goes to show you that you should probably run a few dry runs of your planned start on the line where you want to start just to make sure you know what's there! Bad luck struck again on the downwind as my outhaul became unthreaded from the back of my boom on the first downwind. I managed to tie it off and completed the next legs with a very baggy sail. Seth went on to finish first in the consolation round and took 14thoverall while I got 24th overall.
On the bright side, both Seth and I qualified for the US Sailing Team in 2nd and 3rd place. With a limited amount of funding from the US Olympic Committee ($3000 for entire 5 person US team), we will probably both be running scaled back campaigns. The good news is, the formula class is a decent cross trainer for the new Olympic class and with another strong west coast formula season in front of us, I will continue to race in the strongest fleet in the country!

2005 Formula World Championship

Thursday December 8th-
I arrived todayafter a 13 hour flight from San Francisco into Melbourne. After the long journey, I was ready to let my body rest for a day before I went out to practice. My equipment arrived in one piece after much repacking at the airport to bring the weight down and lots of hassling to even get it on the plane. You'd think, it was the first time the airline had dealt with oversized windsurfing equipment. I met up with a few other sailors and got some food before I checked into my hostel with Yugi from Japan. The regatta site is well laid out with storage area in the Elwood sailing center and storage crates nearby for easy access to the beach. It was already blowing 15-20k and lots of sailors on the water getting tuned up. I decided to check in early and get some needed sleep. I will provide updates when I can here and you can also find more info at the www.formulawindsurfing.org site and www.sailmelbourne.com

Friday December 9th-
The wind was considerably less on Friday afternoon when I arrived at the sailing center. A few people were out in the marginal conditions and after registering for the event and getting my equipment measured in, I rigged up my 11.0 and hit the water for a hour or so before the wind really shut off. I managed to get things dialed in and line up with a few people. I think with a little more wind and power, I will be at my best performance. The warm up regatta starts tomorrow and will run for two days before another days rest and the world championships on Tuesday. I fell ready and confident! More to come later!
Saturday, December 10,
Warm up regatta started today with around 30-40 boards. Most of top guys still tuning with each other or team mates. I decided to sail regatta as I hadn't sailed much in the past 2 months and needed some race experience and to get a feel for the course next week.
We had 5 races total today but I think only 3 or 4 counted as the abandoned a few due to the fluky winds. By the afternoon things had heated up and it was a good 18k on the course with a decent swell coming in. I finally got things dialed in by the last race where I was finishing in the top 25%. The starting line was set really tight so the fleet was pushing the line and we had a few general recalls due to the anxious starters. I got stuck in at least 2 starts in the 2nd or 3rd row and got gassed off the line. In light wind, clear air and speed are king! You can go anywhere without them. The breeze was really patchy in the morning and early afternoon with big holes and puffs coming down. I started off on my 10.0 as it was blowing a good 15-20k when we started but I was soon underpowered and wishing I had taken the 11.0. The next race was immediately after the first so no time to change sails. I was doing a little better but hit some deep holes and got caught drifting as boards on the other side of the course flew by and rounded well ahead of me. During the last downwind leg, my harness line blew out and I managed to stay out of the harness and pumping the rest of the leg to the finish and even caught a few boards. Funny how that works! By the next race, I had come in and switched to the 11.0 and felt better and in more control. We had at least 2 more races as I remember and by the last race, I was really dialed in, passing people both upwind and downwind, I had a great start the last race at the boat getting clear air and speed. With the Kashy fin, I found if I had clear air, I could really wind it up and get good angle. Off the breeze, it was really fast and I was trucking on my nearest competition.. A few things, I learned today: always climb if you can especially on the last beat to the windward mark, As they say, save your money in the bank, so you can use it later. I had laid the windward mark early by going to the right corner and was coming in strong with a lot of boards coming from the left side. Some of them tacked in front of me and by the time we got to the windward mark in a group of about 20 boards, I got hosed out the back door and had to round the unfavoured gate.
Next lesson was to be aware of what the rest of the fleet is doing- especially after the start. Keep your eyes open and look around!
Another day of racing tomorrow before a day of rest on Monday and the big regatta on Tuesday. Ive got everything measured in already so no waiting around. Ill stay clear and rest up.

The formula worlds finally started after a long afternoon on the beach. The wind was teasing us up and down all day with puffs coming in and staying for 10 min butt never really built until after 5 pm. With 10k on the course, they sent the men out for the first start. 87 men on one line with 10 knots of wind. This would challenging o say the least!

I wasn’t able to get of the line but neither did ½ the fleet. I struggled to get going for what seemed like eternity and finally went out to the right side where the breeze was stronger. I was deep in the fleet but I managed to reel in a few at a time. I know I finished deep but without a decent start, that’s all you can expect.

2^nd race- same seranero with 10 knots of breeze, a big fleet and a small line. Again I struggled to get off the line and get going but most of the fleet was in the same position. Its hard to tell how things went as it was very spread out but once I got some clear air, I found myself going well- climbing upwind with speed. The Kashy fin has a lot of potential but lacks the grunt off the line. Its hard to have a fin that will do everything well but I am finding sometimes you have to compromise.

One big lesson I learned today was to overstand the layline in a crowd. In the 2^nd race, I understood the top mark and had to double tack to get around the gate. I lost quit a few boards here which could have been avoided. Next upwind, I had clear air on the layline and actually understood as I banged the corner upwind and came in strong pinching a few people off who overstood. Well again the big lesson today is to get off the line clean in a big fleet. Everything else is secondary. You need big sail and a big fin in this light stuff to get going.

Tomorrow should be windier but you never know as the winds change here like the four seasons.

Wednesday day 3 worlds championship: still waiting for breeze today as teaser winds are up and down. RC sent girls out for their first race and they planned marginally around course. Men are on standby. Fortunalty there is a decent clubhouse where there is some shade and relief from brutal sun and flies. A few broken mast already with the inrense sun down here. Most people don’t rig until just before they go out. Lots of interesting and new equipment on beach: new north warps look really good as well as NP.

Another day at the office….We got off 2 races in the early afternoon and then came in for lunch. It was the waiting game from then on. I did however manage 2 better races breaking into the top 40. There was actually some wind early in the day from the north which made it really gusty. In fact, it was well in the upper 20’s and most people were lit on 10.0s. I started on port both races getting over to the shore where the wind was the strongest. I was early to the layline and a lot of people came up and tacked infront of me giving me some real bad air, but I stuck with it and squeezed around the windward mark in the middle group. Off the breeze, there were a few holes outside but inside- well lit even in the chicken strap. I rounded the bottom mark with a group and managed to squeeze up to some clear air. Its amazing what a little determination will do for you. I wanted to go over to the right side so I sucked up some bad air at the beginning to get to the favoured side of the course. It was a parade on the top reach with not much changing but I did make one mistake costing me 5 or 6 boards as I stayed on starboard and didn’t gybe right away while the other group got better breeze by going back inside. I did move up a few positions today and my sailing improved so I am quite happy with the performance. There was a bit of luck involved in today’s racing and I was on the lucky side. We should be getting a discard soon so Ill manage to throw out my 60^th place and perhaps move up a few more. With 2 more days left, I have to move up to 44^th place to reach my goal for the regatta.

Friday evening update:

Well another day of waiting…we almost didn’t get any racing in today as the wind failed to materialize until later in the afternoon and then in marginal conditions we had the race abandoned after the wind dropped to 0 near the finish. I was really lucky as I got the short end of the stick and finished near the back of the fleet. We had multiple general recalls leading up to that race and a lot of people black flagged- since we re-raced race 6, those who got black flagged could not race. We ended up starting at around 7:30 in a building breeze. I had my 11.0 and r13 68. It was a little too big as I got passed on the reaches but found it grunty upwind. I prefer the new Kashy in terms of speed but it lacks a little grunt overall- similar to the c3s I was using a while ago.

So we finally started. I was in bad air so I tacked over to get back to the right side and clear air. Most of the fleet was there already so I was catching up. Off the breeze, I was in a big pack and not feeling as strong as I did before with the big fin and fighting it out in the middle of the fleet. Back upwind, I rounded with a big group and fought my way to the right layline where I caught a few people. Off the breeze, it was a little sketchy as things were light and gust were coming down randomly. I kept my position but just near the leeward mark, I feel into a big hole. Nothing you can do but wait for the wind to fill in. Meanwhile 10-15 boards came screaming in from the other side and rounded in front of me. On the last leg, I climbed high and shot down to the finish, getting a few of them for a 41^st place. I sailed a much better race but didn’t finish through at the end. Well that’s what counts. I m leaning a lot here and hopefully, it will show later.

Saturday morning update:

Still waiting for wind. They say its coming in strong but we’ve got a 4pm deadline for last possible race.
Saturday evening update:

Wind finally came up and was gusting 30-40 mph. At 3:40 when the RC pulled down the AP flag from the flag pole, the shore-break was well above my head. There were several wave sailors in front of Elwood beach- entertaining to see next to a formula board and 9.8 heading through the break! I launched with my 9.0 and had some troubles with my outhaul from the git-go when I had to retie the line in the water with some decent sets pounding on me 200m from the shore. I sailed through the startling line to get some points but I was a bit late as I wasn’t scored. If the RC had scored me I would have moved up a few positions but as it stands they didn’t and I kept my 51st position from the day before as I used this race as my 2nd throwout for the regatta. Big lesson learned- always be prepared to race no matter how late it is or what the conditions are.

2005 RSX Pac Coast Champs

The first new olympic class equipment made its American debut with 40 charter boards arriving in San Francisco one day before the Pacific Coast Championships. I picked up my charter rs-x on Thursday afternoon and finally got set up and on the water by 5:30 for a quick session. My first impression was that this was going to be a big challenge. There are still many issues to be worked out with the board and rig design as we are finding out but you have to work with what you have.It was quite windy on Thursday so getting to know the board was rather interesting on a first impression. I spent some time in the water after getting slammed multiple times upwind. Getting the board to turn off the breeze was also interesting and I was using the way leeward strap to get going. One thing I learned today was that the centerboard has a tenancy to come down.

First day of racing included 37 competitors on the water, most of them for the first time on the board. When I arrived at the site on 10 on Saturday morning, it was really windy: 25-30 with no sign of relief. I rigged up and went out to practice , knowing I would need as much time on the water as possible. We delayed the start till after 3pm when the wind was still howling. Only 10 or so people made it out to the first race and it was too windy to race for the majority of the fleet. They were struggling all over the bay just to get down to the starting line. I sailed the course, figured out what side I wanted to sail as there was a big flood tide coming in on the inside with the ebb building on the outside throughout the day. I was on the line at the start and managed to go well upwind. I found myself pointing well with my booms low and track 3 forward from the back.

At the top of the fleet was William Sherman, Sam Ireland, Seth Besse and Alian Buldoc. Also up there was our own SF heavyweight Jean Rathle making it around the course without a knockdown. I blew up once upwind on the first beat and struggled to get going again. Downwind, things were a bit easier but still scary as it was 25-30k. Rounding the leeward mark was a challenge and I struggled in the water for some time with a few other guys around me as well trying to get the board going again. Frankly at this point, I was ready to call it quits but kept the train going. Back upwind, I got launched again but was still around 5th. Off the breeze for the last downwind run, I gybed but the cams didn't pop over so it was a struggle to the finish fighting the sail.After a brief struggle to get back to the beach, I had a rest of 30 minutes before the next race where the wind had died down to 18-20k. I managed a good start and first upwind, rounding in the top 5 and staying there and actually gaining 2 boards around the leeward mark and Zac and Jean struggled to make a tight rounding and I took it wide and tacked in front of the club and got in front of them. Next up was a good breeze and the ebb tide upwind. Unfortunately it wasn't that easy as I climbed my way back through the fleet. My harness line broke and I re rigged something on the water to finish 11th. Oh well, racing is all about disaster recovery.On Friday evening, we had a christening celbration with the new board and MR Neil Pyrde giving a speech and one of the juniors breaking a bottle of champaign over th enew board. Good times!

With only 2 races, here are the preliminarily results after 1 day
1 Willheim Shurmann
2 Sam Ireland
3 Seth Besse
4 Jean Rathle
5 Alain Bulduc
6 Chris Radkowski
7 Steve Bodner
8 John Davenport
9. Zach P
10 Mike Percy
11 Gal Fridman
12 Randall Barna
13 Elon Wing
14 Mark Borsma
15 Eric R
16+ 2 DNS's
Day 2 RS-X Pacific Coast Championships:
With another day on the water, I was getting a more comfortable feel for the new board and rig. We got a chance to start in non planning conditions but things heated up to classic San Francisco conditions with 15-20k by mid afternoon. By 8-10 k, it was possible to bring the centerboard up and the mast track back to formula type racing; everything leading up to that was somewhat difficult to transition the board from a non planning displacement hull to full on planning board.
In the light stuff, there is a time when you need the centerboard down and mast track forward. Then the centerboard comes up 50% to balance things out as you lean the rig further back. Finally, with enough wind and pumping, you can get the heavy board up and going. It is my impression that the new equipment covers the range of 3-30k, as the Olympic requirements ask for. Unfortunately, it doesn't too anything too well within that range. It is not a specialist set up like the formula class for light to medium air racing, nor is it strong in enough in light winds to be comparable to the long board class, and in no way would it make a good slalom class s it is quite hard to sail on a board reach with 9' and 50 lbs in front of out. BUT it is the new one design Olympic boardsailing class so everyone must deal with the same situation. The best sailor will end up wining and that's what's happening here as we are getting the range of conditions.

With 7 races complete, Shurman, from Brazil is leading the fleet with Sam Ireland from Canada close behind in second. I have been consistent with top ten finishes, putting me in 6th overall going into the last day of racing. When were all out there racing on the bay with the fleet tacking up the city front, the racing is quite intense and I am really enjoying it, despite the equipments' shortcomings. In all but the first race, we have been starting in a typical formula fashion- planning to the start with tracks back and boards up. From there, the strategy was to stay in the wind, first and foremost and then think about the current. In the first race, it was the racers who tacked early and got to the middle of the bay where the wind was who really got out in front and out in the lead, while most of the fleet sailed towards the shore out of the flood tide. We were running a double windward leeward course finishing downwind with lots of boat traffic to deal with throughout the course. In spectacular fashion, one of the red and white ferries came across our starting line just after the start of the 5th race with the whole fleet on starboard heading directly into its path. He managed to do a 180 degree turn and avoid the fleet but scared quite a few people in the process. Next up was the 'Lovely Martha'- a commercial tour boat who I managed to cross with 2 or 3 feet to spare and knocking a few competitors in the water. Other distractions were a fleet of 20-30 classic wooden boats stating just below us as well as a plethora of short boarders once the wind picked up in the afternoon. So you can see it, it always interesting sharing the city front waters with everyone else and racing requires your full attention to make it around the course.




I was feeling more confident as the day went on but a little tired as well from 4 hours in the sun while racing. The last few battles of the day, I had to give up as pumping to the finish required that extra 5% that I just didn't have. I let a few people go by when I should have pushed it, but I thing everyone was feeling the heat as even Gal, the current gold medallist from Israel didn't race the last race. The rest of our fleet was showing better standings with Bill Wier finishing in the top 10 as well and Steve Sylvester and Mike Percy all battling it out together as well.

After 7 races here are the standings:
1.W. Schurmann

2.2. Sam Ireland

3.Seth Besse

4.Alain Bolduc

5.Zack Plavsic

6.Steve Bodner

7.Mike Percy

8.Gal Fridman

9.Chris Radkowski

10.Jean Rathle

11.Steve Sylvester

12.Peter Bonello

13.Bill Weir

14.Mark Borsma

15.Chip Wasson

Day 3 RS-X Pacific Coast Champs-
With time something's become easier. By the 3rd day of the regattas, sailing the new board and rig was a bit easier and more comfortable. It didn't seem as foreign as the first day and with 2 more races today, the board was actually fun to sail in the fleet. I really like the idea of one design sailing, especially with in windsurfing where the gear is in unlimited and keeping things in perspective is sometimes difficult. There is plenty of fine tuning to do in this class and a lot of physical training to be done to get to the top of the class. I'm sure by the next Olympics, the best sailor will come out on top. Until then there is a tour planned in the US for 2006 with 6 stops as well as charter boards available. I'm sure the class will draw some talent from the formula fleet as well as some new up and coming sailors.

One the final day of the rs-x regatta, we had to wait for the breeze to fill in and it finally came in around 2pm and we got 2 races off for a total of 9 races and 3 throw outs. Wilhelm was able to maintain his lead today with a first and second over Sam and Seth rounding up the top 3. We had full planning conditions in 15-18k and lots of exciting racing. In race one, I had a great start off to the middle of the line and got to the beach and tacked back to get back to the wind. I was looking good coming into the windward mark but got stuck in a hole and had to double tack along with the rest if the fleet behind me. I got around behind Alain and held onto the position for the rest of the leg where Zach and Pierre were close on my tail. We all headed over to the beach where I tacked inside and got a nice puff and got some separation and from there sailed conservatively to finish behind Alain in 5th. Percy was deep in that race so he had a throwout but with one more race left he still had a chance to catch me.

The next race, things lightened up some what and the same situation happed where we headed into the beach, This time Percy was able to tack sooner and get the puff and walk away. I was slow to get back to the right side and rounded the top mark around 10th with some catching up to do. I passed one or 2 boards off the breeze and realized there was more pressure out in the middle so my plan was to tack immediately after the mark. Steve and Percy rounded in front of me and kept going so I gained some ground and kept grounding away. I tacked to soon and was forced back into a hole on the near shore and Zack was able to get in between us and ended up finishing between us to make it a closer race between Percy and myself. We finished 1 point apart for 6th and 7th while the top of the fleet was Sam, Wilhelm, Seth, Alain, and Zach.

Overall, a great regatta with lots of talent. The new class was fun to sail. Always a challenge!

2005 calcup sept 10

Wind was up to 16-20k. I rigged 10.0 and r13 64 s. I felt good upwind on port but not on starboard. Luckily, I was able to start all 4 races on port and got off with clean air and a good lane. By the 4th race, the wind died on the right side while the left side had the more favorable current. Before the last race, I thought it might have been better to go left early and get stronger air, but the temptation to port tack the fleet was too great and I went for it and crossed everyone but 10 min later got caught in no wind and rounded deep. I came back to 5th or 6th and think I was tied with Ben for 3rd place overall behind Mike Z and Steve S.First race, I was still up top checking out the course when the sequence began. I came down with a 1:30 to start and lined up with Soheil and Steve S on port. We all heald our own upwind with Steve S able to climb a bit higher with his 9.0. You've really got to find your own groove here and jest go as fast as you can. Once we tacked over Steve S had a definite advantage in the stronger flood. Soheil and I didn't have the same angle at all and we let Steve go to round 2nd behind Mike Z. From there, Eric began to catch up downwind he gybed at the same time as me and caught a nice puff to round in front of me. Around the leeward pin, Eric rounded wide and I got nose inside and worked my way up and had better angle to whole way up. At the point, Steve and Mike were sailing their own race up in front going to the starboard layline again. I had built up a bit of a distance on Eric by the top mark and was keeping a closer eye on him for the final downwind leg. We were both going deep and as I went to gybe, so did he and out of the corner of my eye, I saw him go over the top. Glad it wasn't me in that situation. I sailed the rest of the leg, not able to catch up with Steve and finished in 3rd.Next race, same situation: start on port and go the right side early. This time Ben tacked back early and got a nice puff on the port layline and rounded in front of me in 3rd. He kept his position downwind but back upwind for the 2nd leg, he was not pointing as high and I caught up a but with clear air and a long beat. Rounding the top mark for the 2nd time, I wa still a few board lengths behind and I needed to catch him downwind to beat him to the finish. There was only one move left- gybe a the same time but behind and ride the puff down. We gybed ad just like I thought the new breeze filled in and I was able to climb over him and while still 20 board lengths to go, Ben began to jockey for position. He went up for speed and to the pin. I went up. He goes downs, I go down. We continued like this for 4 or 5 attempts but finally the finish line came and I was able to keep my lead on him and finish 3rd.Next race- don't remember too many details expect right side still favored but left side showing more potential and the guys who started on starboard and went closer to the island and came back were looking good on the upwind.Final race- A great start- port tacking the fleet with thither guys on port behind me. I pushed the gun early and got out in front. Unfortunately, I sailed right into a big whole hole and let the whole fleet sail by. Nothing you can do but be more aware of what people are doing on the other side of the course. 200' over guys were fully planning. Ash the frustration of formula! Well I managed to dig my way back through the middle of the fleet to finish 5th behind Steve, Mike, Ben and Eric.

Overall, better performance with only one big mistake in the last race, not keeping my head in the game but with a through out, I was consistent with 3 3rds. Still need to keep pushing the line and every situation .

2005 Calcup August 20

Light west wind 12-16k with strong flood tide in first race, by 4th race, things heated up to 18-22 and a big ebb. Lots of traffic in the middle of the bay, with fishermen, ferries, and recreational lollygaggers to look out for.

The biggest lesson of the day is something I have learned before and will continue to learn: clear air is king. I got off the line one race buried and ate it the whole upwind. The other big lesson, I learned with to get out early and check the conditions. I was the first one our and began to realize the right side had more wind and better current. After the first race, we came in and switched down to 10.0s and the right side was beginning to ebb already. I started off on a 11.0 with 68 cm fin- just right up wind but by the second lap, I was noticing it a little dragon the downwind. I was 4th at the bottom mark but failed to cover the boats behind me who tacked early. I knew that the boats leading the other to the right side would be ones that would fare well. If you didn't lay the windward mark on the starboard layline, you really sailed a lot of extra distance with the flood up top. 2 times, I was able to pick a board or 2 off by doing this. Marks were rounded to starboard, so while coming in hot on the 3rd race on the starboard layline, I approached Percy who was just laying the mark on port. We crossed just in front of the r2 marker and when he ducked me, I thought he was going right into the mark. Luckily he missed it by inches and we fought it out downwind. I was going deeper but didn't feel my speed was the best/ In the first race, I was in the outside strap, making lots of progress off wind, then as it got windier, I came inside to the chicken strap. Mike Z and Steve have the best angle and speed in the fleet. I lined up against them in the 2nd start and they really got alot of distance on me. Again, get clear air and you will do well.
With the 10.0 up and a 64 cm fin, I felt dialed in and finally got a decent start on the 4th race, starting on port and leading the fleet to the right side. I rounded in 3rd and kept my position behind Steve and Percy. Overall, still need to be a bit more consistent. My finishes were all over the place with a 3, 5,5,6- making it a 5th place for the day. Good practice!

2005 US Nationals- the Gorge

Here's some highlights from the slalom racing on day 2 at the gorge- enjoy


Heres a second video from Brian McDonald on day 3 of the event

2005 us nationals Day 1- no racing. Race Director dismissed fleet at 2pm with no traces of wind on the water. A group of us went kayaking down the white salmon river for a good adventure as well as a decent work out. A word of caution- snow melt is cold!






Day 2 update 10 am- racing postponed till 2pm today with no wind in sight. Event site looks glassy! No wind activity was cliff diving and swimming in hood river at punch bowl. I came back to site around 5:30 and got a decent session on the 11.0 and new r13 70 fin. Things felt good against Yugi when I lined up and down wind. Angle much improved but speed may be a bit compromised with bigger fin. This week will tell.
Day 3- Thursday July 28: The nuclear gorge winds finally arrived this morning. By the time we arrived at the site, the river was full of white caps and 25-30k. The organizer started of with slalom right away and we ran 2 heats of the modified gorge slalom course. Things were a little slow to get going as the fleets were spread out over 2 laps on the slalom course. The pros were noticeable ahead and the rest if the fleet battled among themselves. After slalom racing in the afternoon, the wind had dropped off a bit and we switched to formula racing. We got off 4 races but after the 2nd race got abandoned and the fleet sat on shore and waited for an hour. We continued and raced till 7:30 making it a long day at the site. The organizer will run the same set up tomorrow, trying to catch up for the 1st days of no win.


Running the modified slalom course was indeed an interning feat. The first leg was a normal downwind start and reach then a gybe with all 23 competitors rounding. Next up was a tighter reach and back upwind where you needed to tack your slalom board , run back deep downwind, gybe, come up and gybe around the rc boat and back for lap 2. The race lasted around 6 mins. and I was managing to stay just behind the top group of pros when I inevitable blew a gybe or tack and got shot back to the middle of the fleet. As I said before, getting the job dome is what you need to do. Just when you thing you have it wrapped up, I gybed and fell near the finish. My goal is to sail conservative around the course and not fall. Speed feels a bit off on the slalom stuff as well.
Course racing was a bit better for me. The first race we abandoned after we all stopped planning on the first downwind. After a rest, we restarted and I banged the Washington side and stayed in the air. I was running the 11.0 and 70 cm fin and stayed ahead of Bill Wier just to the finish where he managed to gybe before me on the layline. Good finish- probably around 6th. The next race, I stayed on the same set up and was in a much tougher fleet, with Bill, Wier, Steve S, Mike P, Bruce Peterson, Seth and Jesper. I rounded near the top guys and decided to continue back up the right side again with Bill on the second upwind. We fell into a hole and few guys got by going back up the middle with stronger breeze. Andreas Maake got in front of me and stayed there for a top ten finish. None the less I thing I am in the top 25% which should get me up in the gold fleet. We have 4 more qualifying rounds which we should knock out tomorrow.



Day 4: Another windy day at the event site. Amazingly we started off with course racing first thing as we were behind from 2 days of no racing. 25-30k was enough for me to stay powered on the 10.0 for 2 laps around the course. We are still sailing the qualifying series so the fleets are mixed up and quite confusing. Jean managed to power over on the last reach but after racing realized he sailed in the wrong fleet. I finished around 6th. The next race things heated up even more and they switched to slalom right away. We were lit up for the next 4 hours doing heat after heat. The rc was a little slow to get things going but the break was nice staying in the shade and making comments with the rest of the peanut gallery! The first mark was 100' off the shire so the first mark pile up was exciting and the crowds were in full amazement.
Around 4 pm we switched to course racing again but I had a long break as they ran the two other groups. Around 6 pm I got my first race in with the 9.0 lit up like a fire cracker. The 9.0 is a slalom sail but it was the only thing I could hold onto. I finished around 8th again with Andreas hot on my tail and Bill W just in front of me.
Tomorrow is the last day and the breeze is expected to hold. The question is if I hold up till tomorrow after 2 weeks of racing








.Day 5- 2 final races of qualifying series in course racing. I managed to sail a really good 2 races with a 7 and a 6th place finish. Race 1- I started off on starboard and banged the left shore with Mike Z and made it around the first leg with one tack- pumping and pinching around the top mark and going deep to the Washington side to the breeze. A few guys were pushing from behind but I managed to keep good angle up wind and even get past Mike Z but he sailed deeper on the downwind and passed me to leeward. As we approached the final layline, Mike gybed and I gybed inside him and was working my ass off downwind pumping to the finish but he managed to stay deep and get reach up for speed near the finish.Race 2- Another good finish in 6th as I sailed well up near the top of the fleet. A good start will go a long way if you have speed and clear air.Next we broke the fleets up into the gold and silver and got 2 final course races in for a 4pm finish. Things were a tighter up here with no room for mistakes. I got buried a few times on mark roundings and as a result got shot out the back. The real gains come from recovering from mistakes. The guys up top make few and if they do recover well. These were my 2 throw outs with a 17th and 20th as with most everyone. Still I moved up 3 spots from earlier today to finish 15th overall and 5th US men behind Seth, Bill W, Steve S, and MIke Z- perhaps earning a qulaifying spot to the worlds.

2005 Formula North Americans- Squamish, Ca

Day one- North Americans- 1 formula race and 3 slalom heats. Wind was up to 25k with holes and shifts near upwind mark. 25 racers from Denmark, Brazil, Japan and Virgin Islands- 5 pros! A lot of other decent sailors in fleet.
First race- good start off the line ahead of Yugi and Alan. I went ¾ of the way over to the left with Seth, Devon, and William while several others tacked early and headed towards the wall and more favorable current. We are racing at the mouth of 2 rivers. At 11 am the tide was out several hundred feet and by the end of the racing day at 530- the tide was up to the last 10' of the shore.
I ran into weeds on the 1st upwind after tacking over and just ducking Yugi. I ducked in to the water and cleared them. Down wind there is a big shift in the wind making it easy to overstand the leeward mark- I could have gybed sooner on both legs. A lot more wind near the bottom off the course. It seemed better off to go right early upwind, and take advantage of the geographical lift near the cliff. I headed that way on the 2nd upwind but got caught up in the mudflats on the low tide L. Overall I managed to get around on the course in 25k breeze comfortably with my 10.0. I had my booms set lower for the breeze and it didn't feel so good in the light stuff near the top. After 1 course race we stopped and started slalom.
During the slalom races- there were 3 heats consisting of one qualifying round and one championship round. I qualified in all my heats with a bit of luck as a number of the other sailors in my fleet either dropped out or didn't make it around. I think I averaged around 4th or 5th and them in the championship round I was 7th or 8th. The legs are a bit longer than those in SF with speed playing a big part of it. I managed 2 decent starts but was out sped on the drag way to the marks. My transitions for the most part were ok- getting around clean but I did fall on 2 gybes out 9 as there was a lot of traffic getting around the marks in the championship round. One start I was completely hosed on and got shot out the back. I have been a bit early lining up and the fleet has come screaming over and up me 10 sec before the start.
Best option is to sail out towards the 1st mark once the 3 min gun goes off, gybe back 45 sec. later and cross the line around 2 min. Finally gybe back around 1:10 to 1 min and get a good approach to the line.

Currently in 7th in fw race- need to beat out another guy or 2 to qualify for worlds. Qualified sailors- William, Jesper?. Yugi?
Not qualified- Seth, Devon, Alan, Zak.
Tomorrow's goal- be top 5. Keep eyes open after start. Dial in slalom gear.

Day 2- light to medium winds 10-15k, 4 races. Race is getting to the right side early and taking advantage of the gradient shift along the cliff wall. There is a bit of an outgoing ebb tide as well on the right side to make it a quicker ride to the first mark. The unfortunate thing about going right early on the low tide is the shallow water. I have run around 3x now giving up everything Ive worked for and shooting back to the middle pack.
First race I felt a little under finned with the r13 64 and 11.0. I gave up some angle upwind but really felt decent downwind gaining a board or 2. Ive been around 5-6 then seem to take myself out with low water or collecting some weeds on my fin to finish around 12th for the first race.
Second race- wind was up a bit more to 12-14k- better upwind performance and downwind as well. I moved mast track back to ¾ of the way back and was flying off the breeze. You really need to pay attention to all the crap in the water as there are tree trunks, bark, weeds and mud flats to keep you on your toes. Good first ½ of the race with 6th steady and then more bad luck 2nd time up.
Third race- don't remember much except battling it out with Yugi and Alan and coming up short at the end, Another 9th.
Fourth race- wind was really light and questionable for racing. Wind line was just upwind of the starting line. I decided to start on port with 6 other guys and I got off clean going to the right side. The rest of the fleet was stuck on the line. I had 5th wrapped up by the leeward mark with the next competitor way back. I managed to wrap my fin around a decent size collection of wood and bark and that really slowed me down. I had to jump off to clear them and get on my way. 1 board lost, 1 close on my tail. Back upwind, I kept my position and downwind played the same strategy as before- going deep to the layline and coming in hot to the leeward mark with speed. This time there was a big hole at the bottom of the course and I got skunked. 3 more boards got past me and I had to tack to make it around the leeward mark. Bad luck I guess going from 5th to 11th in a matter of minutes but that's what racing is- some luck and some skill. You've got to roll with the punches. Tomorrow's another day- another chance to move up


Day 3- wind looked like it was ramping up for an exciting day of formula racing. I rigged up 10.0 and went out to check the course out before the first start. While sailing down from the right hand side of the course, I hit something in the water and went over the front. The collision broke my mast and I missed the first race and was back on shore making a quick repair- trying to make it back out for race 2. Luckily I did get out in time and got the next 2 races in - finishing mid pack.
It was a bit different scenario with the wind filling in stronger on the left side. The right side was full of holes as well as a flood tide. I n the lighter stuff, I felt under finned as I was running a 64 r13. I couldn't hang with the top guys upwind but was fin in the middle group- always gaining some off the breeze.
I will try out a r13 70 if it gets lighter in the gorge.

Day 4- Long distance race today up and around the paper mill factory a few miles up the sound. The winds were very inconsistent only making a appearance near the shore. I sat not planning for at least 10 min waiting for the breeze to fill in while other sailors on the other side of the course were fully powered. The view from the top of the sound was amazing coming back towards Squamish. Although the strong breeze didn't stick around in the afternoon for slalom racing, we had our series in and called it a day and a regatta.
Overall a good arm up for next weeks racing. I finished 7th amoung the north American competitors- still room to improve but things are starting to come together. I know where I should be sailing and minimizing the mistakes is the only thing you can do.
The US Nationals start on Tuesday- a few days to rest up and start again.