Dean's Blog

All over in Cartagena

I didn't get a chance to write a report after we finished as things were pretty hectic in getting packed up and onto the plane to get home.

The last two days were fantastic for the team as the breeze came in and we lifted our level to sail 5 very strong races to finish out the event.

The Saturday was a single windward/leeward in a 20 knot offshore breeze which we led from start to finish.  This was followed by a coastal race around the bay off Cartagena.  Again we sailed well to take a good win and a 9 point lead into the last day.

The final day was then scheduled for 3 races which meant that even with the lead we had it would still require 3 good races to win the event.

We had a solid 2nd in the first race of the day, finished 4th in the second race (although after coming ashore we were disqualified after an incident with Quantum at the top mark), and then a win in the final race to not only win the event but extend our season lead to 46.5 points. 

The disqualification was dissappointing given the on water umpires saw the incident but did not blow a whistle to indicate they had witnessed an incident which is the normal procedure.  There are a lot of situations which arise on the race course and when there are judges on the water you tend to rely on their judgement for the 'grey area' infractions.  When there was no whistle we wrongly assumed that the judges had seen the incident and felt it to be ok.  A good lesson going into the last event.

I am home now for a couple of action packed weeks.  We have our 4th baby due in the next 10 days, and on the sailing front the Americas Cup Protocol, AC date, and AC Calss Rule will be released.

Interesting times ahead!

Dean

Day 3 in Cartagena

Today we had 3 very difficult races in a 6 - 10 knot sea breeze with a very one sided race track.  We finished the day with a 5,4,3 scoreline which was 2nd best for the day behing Origin who had a strong day.  This has moved us up to 2nd overall for the reagtta and extended our season lead to just over 40 points.

Tomorrow we have a windward leeward race to start, and then the coastal race.  We should have 15-20 knots today although it will be an offshore wind and very shifty.

Dean

No wind no racing

Well the sea breeze just never got going today.  The forecast was hopeful at best for any good breeze and it was certainly the case.  We sat around ashore for 2 hours before going out to the race course for another 3 hours and racing never looked likely.

Forecast for tomorrow looks similar or slightly worse than today!   Fingers crossed for the forecasts to be wrong.

Dean

Day 1 in Cartagena

Today was the first day of racing and after a delay ashore for 2 hours we got out onto the race course in what was developing into a great sailing breeze.  Unfortunately it took the race committee a long time to get the start set due to the depth of water (up to 80 metres) and the strong currents.

Racing finally got away around 2:30 in a 12-16 knot breeze.  We had a good start and were 2nd around the first mark.  We hada bad first run to round 4th which is where we finished.

Race 2 we had another start at the top end of the line and got out to the favoured right side of the course.  We were 3rd around the top mark and worked our way through to 2nd by the finish. 

After 2 solid races to start the event we are in 3rd two points off the lead.  It is going to be a very hard fought event and some tough races to come.

Dean

Back in Spain

A long time since the last entry but really not too much to report.  I was back in NZ for 3 weeks with the family and managed to sneak in 3 days skiing which certainly made a change from the hot weather we were experiencing in Barcelona!

We are currently in Cartagena in Spain which is about 4 hours drive south of Valencia.  This is the 3rd year the the Medcup has raced here and every year the conditions have been quite different.

After 2 fairly light practice days we had the official practice race today.  With up to two knots of current on the left side of the course it made for a very one sided race course.  We had an average start but managed to get going to the favoured side early and got around the top mark in 4th.  We improved to srd by the bottom mark which is where we finished.  This was a good result given we only had 6 - 8 knots of pressure and some massive gains and losses to be had.

Racing proper starts tomorrow and the forecast is for some more light to medium breeze.  It will be great to get back into the racing again in what promises to be a difficult event.

All for now

Dean

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