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2008 World's ChampionshipRace 5 First off I forgot to mention yesterday that I was talked to Tom Lofstedt from Sweden and he mentioned that he broke his tiller during the downwind leg and sailed the rest of the leg and the upwind leg with only a stub of a tiller. It was hard enough to steer in those conditions with a regular tiller let alone a stub. He estimates that he lost about 20 or more boats. He ended up 39th. Today's race was a strange one. We sailed out in good breeze out of the west and after two recalls the breeze died dramatically and shifted about 40 degrees. After another general we got the start off but towards the windward mark the breeze was dying. Downwind was a tedious light air experience a far cry from the day before. As we got close to the leeward mark the wind appeared again and crews were over the side upwind. During the second downwind the breeze started really blowing again and another 2 mast broke. The final upwind and the sail in was probably around 18knots. Getting a 5th race in means a throw out and the stage is set for tomorrow with a showdown between the Italian team of Diego Negri/ Luigi Viale and Mateusz Kusnierewicz and Dominik Zycki of Poland. Diego took a second today and Mateusz battled back from rounding the first mark 46th to finish 4th. Mateusz has a eight point lead over Diego. Brazil's Robert Scheidt is 12 behind Diego and 20 behind Mateusz. Here is the top ten going into tomorrow's final race:
In the country qualifier watch some things have happened since yesterday's report. The Japanese team was DSQ'ed in Race 4 and Austria's Spitzauer received average points in race 4. I believe that these were separate incidents with other boats.
Switzerland's Flavio Marazzi takes over the lead with Japanese in second. A real battle appears to be shaking out for the 4 and final spot between Hans Spitzauer and Marin Lovrovic Jr of Croatia. Tomorrow's forecast is for 10-15 knots.
Race 4 One word can describe today's race: Carnage. You could also use wild, hairy, and at times scary. Forecast was 15-20 knots and if we got down to that I would be surprised. Wind was out of the Northwest and blowing 20-30. I don't have an exact count but I believe there were 12 broken masts and around 27 DNF's many of them being big hitters in the fleet. We sailed and Olympic course and most of the carnage occurred during the downwind portion of the race when it was just nuking. One blast hit us and it was riding a bull trying to keep the boat under us and not wiping out. Before the blast hit us boats were wiping out behind us and when it reached the front of the fleet you watched about 5 to 6 boats snap there masts. One of those that broke there mast were the Irish team of Peter O'Leary and Stephen Milne. They were having a great race at the time the mast broke probably around 5th place. They are putting a new mast in the boat but really have there work cut out for them. They are a great bunch of guys and I hope they can battle back. The parking lots are littered with broken masts and booms. Fiberglass repair in in high gear as many boats had holes in them. The Italian team of Diego Negri and Luigi Viale took the overall lead with the 9th giving them a 9 point lead over Mateusz Kusnierewicz and Dominik Zycki who bounced back with 3rd today after finishing 44th on Sunday. Mateusz was leading the race but missed his hiking strap and fell out of the boat. They are sitting pretty good with a 1,1,3 after you throw out the 44th. Regatta leaders coming into today John Macasuland and Kevin Murphy finished with a 28th dropping them to 7th overall. If you haven't taken a look at the photos of the regatta go to: http://www.friedbits.com/PhotoBits/Sailing/Star/ I can't wait to see the shots from todays race. Here is the top 10:
Here is the top 10 for the countries trying to still qualify for the 2008 games. Only the top 4 get to go.
The Japanese team continues to hold the lead and only three teams beat them today so there lead stays strong.
Race 3 Just got back from a great Mid Week Party at Shake a Leg. Jock Kolhas was putting on a great dancing show while Pepper roamed under the tables looking for any food. Day three is in the books and it was a strange day for wind. Started out the day with nothing and it was probably around 5 knots when we first sailed out. The Irish team of Peter O'Leary and Stephen Milne graciously asked us if we wanted a tow with them. Since we were moving fairly well , we thanked them and told them we were fine. That a big mistake, 10 minutes later the wind was dying and then completely shut off. After what seemed like an eternity flogging the sails and baking in the sun the wind filled in and we got to racing. We had our best start of the series so far and were heading out to the left with series leader Mateusz Kusnierewicz and Dominik Zycki (POL-8170) below us. We were feeling pretty good, this guy hasn't done anything wrong this week. We looked great for awhile but it was apparent that the right was paying off and Mateusz wasn't the only big hitter that got caught on the left. The wind continued to build to about 20 knots. We ended up losing about 15 boats on the last part of the third leg when our sail pulled out of the outhaul. We had some really great planes heading back in and then the wind completely shut off again for about 20 minutes only to start cranking back up as we headed down the channel back to the club. Tommorrow is a lay day and the is a tie for first between Johnny Mac and Iain Murray. Racing is set to resume on Tuesday and the forecast looks great for the rest of the week. Here are the top 10 in the country qualifier watch for the final 4 spots for the 2008 games.
The Japanese team continues to impress putting up a 10th. They have a pretty good gap right now but things will change once the throwout comes into pay. Race 2 Day two is in the books and one thing is apparent, Mateusz Kusnierewicz and Dominik Zycki (POL-8170) are the team to beat. They won today's race by about 20 boatlengths. A coach made the following comment to the effect that Mateusz is fast and has had great course management which is a lethal combination. There was a total of 25 black flag disqualifications which read like a who's who in the star class among them were
The Italian team of Diego Negri and crew Luigi Viale, ranked second in the world, took another third place finish moving them up to 2nd place overall. The Croatia team of Marin Lovrovic Jr. and Sinsa Mkiulici (CRO 8339) finished second in today's race. The wind was around 12 knots at times from the west but was dying late in the final leg. Crews were still over the side at the finish but the sailing was tough at times. The Olympic qualifier watch continues, here is the top ten after two days of racing:
With a 15th place finish today the Japanese team continues to impress. Several teams trying to qualify their countries were blacked flagged so their margin of error is gone. Once the throwouts come into play things will really tighten up. It was a long downwind sail back to the club today so me and my crew Scott were swapping some of our favorite regatta stories and I shared one of my favorites that happened at Gull Lake several years back before we were writing regatta reports so it was never properly documented but it's worth sharing: Sometimes when we sail at Gull Lake's Tulip Time Regatta we moor the boats overnight and one Sunday morning we arrived at the club to find that a boat had drifted away from the mooring and had relocated itself down the lake on a sandy bottom. Everyone that arrived had done the same thing that we had done, quickly locating where you moored you boat so that the relief that it wasn't yours could set in. A rather large crowd had gathered on the docks discussing who's boat it could be. When Stargear's own Tom Londrigan arrived with his crew Pat Brewer, Tom asked the crowd,"Who's the horse's ass that can't tie up a boat." Tom then looked for his boat on the moorings, and continued looking, and continued looking only to discover which boat was missing, his own.
Race 1 It was an absolute beautiful day to start off the racing at the Worlds. Wind was out of the East at 130 degrees blowing about 10-12 knots and sunny skies. We got the race started on the third attempt under black flag and only five oats were OCS. We were near the boat end and noticed the Mateusz Kusnierewicz and Dominik Zycki (POL-8170) were always near the boat and getting off the line very well and the third start was no exception. We went the same way that they did protecting the right but not getting too right so that we could get over to the left near the upper part of the leg. The left came in late and we rounded in the 40's. There was screaming in every imaginable language and a bunch of boats doing 360's when the carnage cleared out. There was some big hitters that had some catching up to do and in this fleet that is no easy task. Mateusz and Dominik grabbed the lead from Kunio Suzuki and Daichi Wada (JPN-8144) and went on to win the race. We finished 41 which for us was pretty good considering who was behind us. We were happy to be able to hold that position for most of the race. Now we just need to get off of the line better. If you are not on the front row in this fleet you will find yourself gasping for air watching the fleet sail away. The interesting thing about these Worlds is that four Olympic spots are up for grabs and every competitor is well aware of it and it is a hot topic of conversation. Here are the top ten finishers of the countries not qualified yet:
Ireland has the numbers (3 boats) to get the country qualified but there will be a battle amongst the three for that spot. Out of the top ten overall finishers today 4 were non qualified countries. Kunio Suzuki and Daichi Wada had people talking after their performance today. Those two have been working hard learning the boat. They are always working on the boat making sure everything is in perfect working order. I noticed at Bacardi that they seemed to be able to get off of the line very well which will be an asset this week. Here are the top ten finishers today:
Percy had forestay problems in the middle of the race but was able to work them out enough to stay in the top 10 and avoid the bad throwout type finish. After the race they were working on the mast getting things straightened out for tommorrow racing. Johnny Mac and Kevin Murphy made the biggest jump up rounding the first mark in 59th and finishing 15th. To put things in perspective on how crowded it was at the first windward mark two or three boatlengths could be the difference in 10-15 places especially in the middle of the fleet. That's all for today.
Pre Race Activities First off Tom's not here so as Dog said to me today, "Are you going to have to write all of the rumors, lies and some facts. The answers is yes but I can promise I won't be as entertaining but I hope to uncover some stories on and off of the course. Measurement was ran pretty well. The had some junior sailors that would climb on the boat just prior to weighing and check the tanks |