Today was by far the most challenging day I have had this week. Sure enough the local south wind kicked in at 12:30 and instantly the wind strength went from 0 – 20kts. The girls had to wait on shore while the gold fleet did two races.
It wasn’t very long though until our flag went up and all of a sudden we were all wondering which sails to take. Some weren’t sure if the wind would drop as it has the past few days, and others were taking the safe option by chosing smaller sails.
I decided to test my ability and equipment to the max and took the biggest sail I had the 10.7. Dorota and most of the girls went for a 9.8 or smaller which supprised me a little. It was a risky decision and probably didn’t pay all that well for the first race but I still had fun in the trying conditions.
This regatta has been a tremendous learning experience for me. Not only have I had some really close racing and great competition but I have also learnt alot about my equipment and how far I can push myself. Of course there where many people complaining about holes in the wind, big shifts, and most of all, the weed that seemed to swim toward your fin and attach in nearly every race.
Today in the last race I had half a tree stuck on my fin for 100m until I just had to stop and sail backwards to rid myself of the pest. Although costly to my overall placing everyone at sometime or another had something similar happen too them.
Its almost worth while looking for the obstacles in the water to avoid rather then watching for windshifts!
I am looking forward to spending more time on my equipment before the Worlds so I will know exactly what I can handle and which gear is best for each condition.
Allison Shreeve – AUS911
