Blustery Day One

The first day of the Delta Lloyd event was FULL-ON. After being postponed on shore because of reported 28+ knots on our course, we were sent out when the breeze died to 20-25+kts… The Race Committee got off three races during the late afternoon session with the breeze becoming more volatile as the day went on. By the second race, the breeze ranged anywhere from 15-28 knots. Capsized boats were a common site throughout the day’s racing- lots of carnage out there!

Our results on paper do not do us justice for how we performed. There were many positives for the day despite our finishes. First off, our upwind speed was good. We were able to rip around the racetrack with above average speed all day. This is a big boost for us as we continue to gain confidence with our rig settings. Secondly, we had a good consistency with our gybe’s and tacks except for the odd one or two. This was a big plus considering the breeze strength.

The problems that led to our subpar results were due to a few different things. In the first race (arguably the windiest of the day), we flipped prior to the start and were 8 minutes late to crossing the start line. Despite getting a DNS because we crossed the start line after the time limit, we were able to catch up to the pack and finish a respectable finish. In the second race, after having a good start and first half of the beat, we found ourselves in a big righty crossing the whole fleet with the eventual 1st round the windward(top 3); however, a knock followed by a 20 degree, 28knot righty cleanbowled us (Jesse also got sent on the main and put a hole in it). We managed to get back into the race, but a missed shift/downwind speed was mediocre on the final downwind saw us lose 5 boats. In the last race, we had our one bad tack on the day seeing us fall behind early. After catching up on both the upwind and the downwind we got caught in a sticky situation at the leeward mark with a couple boats and flipped. After having issues getting it back up, we found ourselves too far behind to finish within the time limit.

So all in all, a really exhausting day of sailing. With many travails throughout the races, we see ourselves sitting below our potential. A couple critical mistakes alongside one incredibly unfortunate situation saw us blow a potentially good day. Though, our upwind speed was certainly the highlight of the day and leave us with some good feelings.

Keep posted for racing tomorrow! Look to be light before another few days of BREEZE follows.
Heres a shot of us on one of the downwinds!