Final Day of Sail for Gold

The final day of Sail For Gold was the longest day of the event, and in fact, the longest day of 49er sailing we have ever had. Having left the dock sometime around 12, we did not reach the ramp till 7pm! What an exhausting day of sailing- especially for the Zan working hard up in the front of the boat. We completed 3 races, and had one race abandoned in an incredibly shifty North Westerly of 5-18knots.

Racing wise, it was probably our best day at this event as we were able to string together some good things in each of the 3 races (and the race abandoned). In the first race of the day we were in 6th at the windward, and they were able to improve on it by gybe-setting and putting our nose into the current seeing us move up to 3rd! However, the breeze died as we approached the leeward mark and they abandoned the race. AH! In the resail, we managed to match the quality of the abandoned race, and rounded the first windward in 7th or 8th, and finished in the low teens. Race 2 saw us round the first windward pretty deep, but we were able to grind it out and pass a few boats by the finish. In the final race of the day, we put together a really good first upwind beat where we were winning for a little bit! But ended up rounding 4th. Soon after the breeze got really funky, and our downwind speed in light wind and chop was not great seeing us fall back. Not how you want to end the day and the event, but nonetheless there certainly were a few highlights on the day.

We were quite pleased with our starting as we managed to get off the line in good shape in all of the starts. The best start of the day for us came in the second race when we won the boat in a committee-favored starting line- what a great feeling to look under the boom and see the entire fleet! Unfortunately we got caught on the wrong side of a lefty half way up the beat as we got caught too far right (what we thought was the favored side… ) But nonetheless, we were quite happy with the start, and starting by and large on the day. Another positive on the day was our heavy wind gybes and tacks where we were becoming competitive with the fleet AND we did not flip on the day!

So, as we move forward, again we will aim to tackle the boat handling while also start focusing on getting consistently up to speed with the fleet. When we reflect on the event, a few notable things stick out. 1. Our starting was good! We managed to have around 7 good/front row starts. 2. Our speed and pointing is not quite there on a consistent basis, BUT, not surprising as have focused primarily on boat handling, not speed. 3. As I just mentioned, we focused on boat handling for a majority of the time before the event, and we certainly saw a significant improvement.

Now, we are going to take a 3 day break and explore the Cornwall region. After sailing 9 out of the last 10 days your muscles and mind get pretty tired! Then somewhat rejuvenated, we go back to Weymouth to do some more intensive boat handling practice before heading home on the 25h.