Results: http://www.calcupevents.com/Results/2017/17%20Nationals%20-%20course%20-%20080317.png
http://www.calcupevents.com/Results/2017/17%20Nationals%20-%20slalom%20-%20080417.png
http://www.calcupevents.com/Results/2017/17%20Nationals%20-%20long%20distance%20-%20%20080717.png
Photos:
I had high expectations for the Nationals after finding good
speed on the foil during the preceding weeks and spending 9 days in Maui for
the Slalom Race Series.
There were a few glitches like getting four stitches in Maui after cutting my finger on my fin during the Hawaii State Championships and hurting my back while loading my kit at the airport.
In the end, cut finger and bad back healed quickly and it was down to the business of competing to the best of my ability.
We started the Nationals with three course races.
I went out early to practice on the foil.
The wind was pretty light and I should have been on a bigger sail but I just focused on making the most of the kit I had.
There were a few glitches like getting four stitches in Maui after cutting my finger on my fin during the Hawaii State Championships and hurting my back while loading my kit at the airport.
In the end, cut finger and bad back healed quickly and it was down to the business of competing to the best of my ability.
We started the Nationals with three course races.
I went out early to practice on the foil.
The wind was pretty light and I should have been on a bigger sail but I just focused on making the most of the kit I had.
I started on starboard and that worked quite well.
I had good angle upwind so I focused on racing steadily from the front without making mistakes.
First race, first bullet so that was a good start!
The wind was still pretty light so I started the second race on port to get more pressure on the right hand side of the course. That didn't work!
The starboard starters got a good lift going to the weather mark in port.
I had good speed so I managed to regain the lead shortly after.
Again, I just kept everything steady till the end and got another bullet!
In the third race, I started on starboard again and everything went smoothly.
The wind had picked up quite a bit but I was still in control of the rig and the foil to get a third bullet.
That was a faultless start but there was no time to celebrate with slalom lined up just after the course racing.
Thanks to my wife Lyrah, everything was rigged up and ready to go so I was back on the water shortly after putting the foil away.
The wind was pretty decent and I was well powered up on the slalom gear.
Unfortunately, I had a bad start, backing off just before the line not to be over early. That didn't work at all!
I was seventh at the first mark and worked my way back to fourth.
I was determined to do better at the next race but the wind didn't cooperate and died soon after.
That was the end of Day 1, three bullets in course racing and a fourth in slalom.
Pretty good but definitely room for improvement in slalom!
Again I must thank Lyrah for helping me to pack all the gear. It makes a huge difference when you are tired at the end of the day!
Day 2 started promising with good breeze as I was heading to the start of the course race on the foil. Unfortunately, I realized I'd left my race watch shortly before the start. I also made the mistake of not coming back after the individual recall went up just after the start. I should have realized that getting it right without a race watch is just too difficult.
Anyway, I was over early so got disqualified from that race after finishing first.
The wind didn't cooperate either by being constantly up and down with big holes. We didn't managed to finish another race that day despite the best efforts of Darren Rogers, the Race Officer who tried very hard by giving us several starts.
At least , we got a discard after four races so I kept the top spot in course racing.
I had good angle upwind so I focused on racing steadily from the front without making mistakes.
First race, first bullet so that was a good start!
The wind was still pretty light so I started the second race on port to get more pressure on the right hand side of the course. That didn't work!
The starboard starters got a good lift going to the weather mark in port.
I had good speed so I managed to regain the lead shortly after.
Again, I just kept everything steady till the end and got another bullet!
In the third race, I started on starboard again and everything went smoothly.
The wind had picked up quite a bit but I was still in control of the rig and the foil to get a third bullet.
That was a faultless start but there was no time to celebrate with slalom lined up just after the course racing.
Thanks to my wife Lyrah, everything was rigged up and ready to go so I was back on the water shortly after putting the foil away.
The wind was pretty decent and I was well powered up on the slalom gear.
Unfortunately, I had a bad start, backing off just before the line not to be over early. That didn't work at all!
I was seventh at the first mark and worked my way back to fourth.
I was determined to do better at the next race but the wind didn't cooperate and died soon after.
That was the end of Day 1, three bullets in course racing and a fourth in slalom.
Pretty good but definitely room for improvement in slalom!
Again I must thank Lyrah for helping me to pack all the gear. It makes a huge difference when you are tired at the end of the day!
Day 2 started promising with good breeze as I was heading to the start of the course race on the foil. Unfortunately, I realized I'd left my race watch shortly before the start. I also made the mistake of not coming back after the individual recall went up just after the start. I should have realized that getting it right without a race watch is just too difficult.
Anyway, I was over early so got disqualified from that race after finishing first.
The wind didn't cooperate either by being constantly up and down with big holes. We didn't managed to finish another race that day despite the best efforts of Darren Rogers, the Race Officer who tried very hard by giving us several starts.
At least , we got a discard after four races so I kept the top spot in course racing.
The
wind stayed iffy on Day 3.
The Race Officer tried pretty hard to get us to race
by doing quite a few slalom starts. In the end one of the slalom races was
windy enough to count and I came third in that one. Good enough to finish in
third place for the slalom discipline at the Nationals.
This race was organized by the St Francis Yacht Club. The start was at the St Francis. First leg was upwind to a buoy close to the presidio and the Golden Gate Bridge. From there, we would go downwind all the way to the western end of the Berkeley Pier and back to the St Francis Yacht Club. The wind was not too strong, about 15 mph when we arrived at the StFYC but it picked up to 20-25 mph 30 minutes before the start. I changed down to the smallest sail I had rigged. I had a reasonable start and good angle upwind so I round the weather mark in first place. Downwind, it got windy and choppy close to Alcatraz. Jesper caught up with me so I went a bit faster. A bit later, Eric and Mike passed me. Eventually, I rounded the downwind mark in second place behind Eric. Upwind I had good speed so I soon passed Eric. Back I first place, I sailed reasonably fast but not too aggressively back to the StFYC and win with a 3 minute lead ahead of Mike and Chris.
The
long distance race was awesome.
It's
very special to race all over SF Bay in 25 mph wind!
The
win in the long distance also secured the overall National title this year with
another first place in course racing and a third in slalom.A big thank you to Weyman Lundquist and the Berkeley Yacht Club for organizing a great National this year!