MAY 26. 2018
Photos: http://www.calcupevents.com/gallery/18%20CalCup%201/index.htm
Results: http://www.calcupevents.com/Results/2018/Results-2018%20Cal%20Cup%20May.htm
I underestimated the time it would take to drive to Berkeley so we were running a bit late.
As it happened the wind was slow to pick up. I voted to race still. The forecast was a bit iffy but a nice breeze picked up around 2:30.
I didn’t know what to expect before the first start. F4 had released their new foil with a longer fuselage.
Right off the start, I could tell that the new F4 foil was competitive.
Chris Radkowski was pointing really high behind me.
Chris rounded the first mark just in front of me. I had reasonable speed downwind and I was able to go a bit deeper so that gave me the advantage.
I thought I was comfortably ahead at the leeward mark but Eric came back strong during the last upwind leg to the finish.
I managed to win that race but it was close.
The second race was 2 laps.
I had another tidy start.
This time, I managed to round the upwind mark in first place where I stayed but Chris, Eric and Mike finished right behind me.
Eric was sailing amazingly well, especially considering he had only been foiling for a few months.
The wind was picking up gradually. It was getting quite sporty with our light wind gear!
I tried to keep sailing well without making mistakes. I’m not sure if it was my kit which was slightly better suited to the increasing wind or stamina but I managed to win races 3 and 4 with a bit more margin.
Race 5 was from Berkeley to the top of the pier and back on the south side.
The wind almost died just before the start. Luckily, a gust came and we all got a decent start.
Some big lulls appeared on the course as we were approaching the North side of the pier on Starboard. I tried to stay with a little gust for the tack about 200 yards north of the pier. Chris had better angle than me and he managed to stay in the pressure close to the pier. He was right behind me when we rounded the top of the pier.
I stayed 100% focused downwind, going as fast and deep as I could.
In the end, I managed to win that last race with a good margin.
I was over the moon to have won the first Calcup of the season after such a long day!
A big thank you to my wife for driving me there and the volunteers at the Berkeley Yacht Club for organizing the event.
See you there!