May 27. 2017
Photos:
There
was a lot of excitement for the first Calcup of the season.
A
lot of people had got a foil. There was a good selection of those on the carpet
(rigging area).
I
had brought the Starboard foil.
There
was a lot of interest in it!
I
had never raced it before so I wasn't quite sure what to expect.
I
went out first to try the course.
I
was reasonably comfortable upwind but not sure about my speed downwind.
As
the gun went for the first race, I noticed I had good angle upwind.
So
much so that I managed to round the upwind mark in first place.
The
downwind leg was a different story.
I
was struggling to deal with the chop.
Lack
of skills I guess as I'm still learning how to foil in those conditions.
I
fell in three times on the first downwind leg!
I
caught up quite a bit during the second upwind.
I
decided to take it easy for the second downwind and it was less disastrous than
the first one!
I
made sure I kept things steady in the second race. I didn't fell in too many
times in this race.
That
was good enough for fourth place.
The
wind really picked up for the third race.
I
had a good start and rounded the weather mark with a good lead.
Mike
Percey passed me towards the end of the downwind.
I
put my foot down for the last upwind leading to the finish line.
That
worked and I regained first place before the finish.
First
time winning a race on the foil!In the fourth race, I tried again to keep everything neat and tidy. That was good enough for second place behind Eric Christianson.
The
fifth and last race was around the top of the pier and back.
I
had a good lead at the top so I worked extra hard to keep it during the
downwind .
In
the end, I could hear Tom Purcell who was right behind me but I managed to keep
the lead to the finish.
What
an event that was!
Three
different winners (Eric, Mike and myself).
It
was always open and competitive.
Many
Thanks to Berkeley Yacht Club, Weyman Lundquist and all the volunteers who made
the event possible.