The final day of racing started with fog and a southerly in the morning. Local knowledge calls this the 'Catalina Eddy' and indicates that the sea breeze will fill in late or not at all. This proved to be true, and we sailed two races in very light air and some waves. The sea breeze filled in in full force at around 3:30.
I was proud of myself for recognizing that it was a light air day, getting to the edge of the course for clear air would be important, and looking for pressure would be important too. At the top of the first beat, I didn't go far enough though, and lost a lot to boats on my hip that were in better pressure. I took this lesson to heart the rest of the day, often passing boats by sailing on the edge of the fleet. My boat speed was not great however, and I often lost my lane and had to do two extra tacks, or let boats cross me so I could get out to the edge. Another humbling day!
Another thing that I learned about is how wide the upwind laylines are in waves. I was constantly amazed at how much farther I had to sail to get to the layline after I had thought I was on it. In flat water, boats travel basically the direction they are pointing, but in waves - especially skewed ones, you can have a lot of leeway.
My number one resolution for the next few months is to spend more time sailing in ocean waves, in both light and windy conditions.
I ended up in 20th out of 102 boats. Not exactly the performance I was hoping for, top ten would have been more like what I expected. This regatta was a great learning experience. It was an extremely difficult event and just reinforces that I need to spend as much time as I can sailing!
Hello,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Lizzie and I am currently on summer placement with ADPR. We are a PR firm in Somerset, UK that specialise in marine and outdoor campaigns. We are currently working on the Governor’s Cup 2014. In case you’re not aware, this is a boat race that goes from South Africa to St Helena. This year will be the last it takes place this way, as there is an airport being built on the island of St Helena.
We are hoping to gain as much global BLOGGER coverage as possible about this amazing chance, as it is something that keen sailors will not want to miss out on! It is a fabulous event and appeals to absolutely everybody.
For more info, please see here: http://governorscup.sh/.
I wondered if there was a contact email address for the best person to speak to regarding editorial and spreading the news of this wonderful opportunity. I would be very grateful as we absolutely love your blog!
Thank you so much for your help. I look forward to hearing from you! If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me on ADPRtemp@gmail.com.
Lizzie