Elvstrom Zellerback Regatta 2012
5-6 May
Day 1 - The day started at a mad rush when we found out at 6 in the morning that the first possible start
was at 11am in San Francisco! We live 5 hours away.
After a mad dash Steve Bodner Emailed us that the first possible start was postponed to 2pm.
So the rest of the journey was a lot more peaceful. The weather in San Francisco was gorgeous.
The Golden Gate Bridge was clear on a sunny day. It was a beautiful sight.
I rigged up the 10.0 and 9.0. The wind up to this point had been fairly light.
As I was reading to the start line on the 10.0 it didn't feel too bad. however the wind really picked up soon after the start.
I really struggled around the course. It didn't help that I nearly hit a kite towards the end and fell in twice.
I finished last. Straight after the finish I rushed back to the beach to change back to a 9.0 with the help of my lovely wife.
I made it back just in time for the next race. I got 3 bullets for the next 3 races.
Overall it was not a bad day!


Day 2 - Started with the usual dilemma of going out with the 10.0 or the 9.0. The committee boat was reporting 10 to 12 knots forty minutes before the start.Based on this piece of information I chose the 10.0. However with 3 or 4 knots of ebbing tide the 10 to 12 knots felt more like 14 to 16. I am not sure if it was the practise from yesterday or the slightly lighter wind but the 10.0 felt more manageable today. I could drive the board pretty well of the start line. We took port starts all day. However as we were heading towards the middle of the bay on port the wind was getting stronger and stronger.
I had to focus on trying to keep the nose of the board from flying up!
The down wind legs were pretty full on racing. The fleet was always close so you had to keep your eyes wide open. The chop of the bay is famous for catching the unaware The traffic was not quite as bad as yesterday but you had to be vigilant at all times.
I stayed ahead of the fleet in the first 2 races but it was close. After 2 races the wind was picking up stronger and stronger so we asked the race officer for a break to return. I changed down to 9.0.
 I was expecting to be a lot quicker with the 9.0.
Indeed I got 2 firsts in the last to races but it was always close to the rest of the fleet.
Thanks to the SFYC for hosting the event, It was fantastic!