Over 100 men's 470s are here this year and, as usual at SPA, all the top sailors are here. The weather, luckily, wasn't as cold today as it can be in this area; but, of course, we were still in dry suits. The wind was about 10-15 knots, shifty and puffy all day.
Race 1
We had a great start in the middle of the line. We were lifted, so we
stayed on starboard for awhile. Most of the fleet was working to the
right of us, so when the shift came back left we were looking good.
We got into a puff and tacked onto port in the lefty, and the wind
stayed mostly left for the rest of the beat. At the first mark, we
were third.
The course was an inner trapezoid, so we went onto a run. We got stuck in some traffic on the run and missed a shift, so we fell back a bit.
The next beat wasn't so great either. We wallowed indecisively in the middle, tacking on small shifts; but the wind was on the sides, so we lost a few more boats. The reach was broad, and we got low and gained a bit, but then overstood the leeward mark by a little on the run. We finished 20th. Ouch! That should have been a good race.
Race 2
We started at the pin this race and were looking great off the line.
We tacked soon after the start and crossed almost the whole fleet.
Again we rounded the first mark in third, but we had a better run and
stayed in third.
The wind had shifted right, so we tacked onto starboard soon after the leeward mark. The British and Polish teams were in front of us but further right. On the left, we found a little more wind than either of them had found on the right, and it looked like we may pass them both, but the Polish were just able to lee bow us on the port lay line, and the British got a late puff out of the right to stay in first. However, we had gained a bit.
We stayed even on the reach. On the run, we passed the Polish by catching a few more waves and finished the race in second.
Race 3
The wind had shifted right quite a bit, and it took a little while to
get the course straightened out. When it was all set up, we decided
that there was a little more wind on the right, so we started
towards the boat. Unfortunately, the Finnish pinched us off just
after the start, so we tacked and ducked everyone to the right of us.
The right was paying off, but we overstood the mark and lost a few
boats. We still were in the top ten.
We gained a little on the run, but then lost it again on the second beat. The top reach was good, and on the run we made some big gains to finish fifth.
Paul and Bob
Team 2000
We sailed out to the starting line at 9:45 a.m. today.
Our course is an hour further out than it was here last year when we sailed near the big windmills. We got out there at 10:30--long sail out. Then we waited for five hours for the race committee to start us. The wind was kind of light and shifty from the east.
We finally got our first start off at 3:30 p.m. We are in the yellow fleet today, which means we are in the first start and sailing the outer loop course.
Race 1
The individual recall gun went off just after we started, but we had
a good start at the pin and went left. We were doing well but had to
overstand the weather mark to keep our air clear.
We rounded the top mark in seventh and rolled one boat on the first reach. One boat was over early and had to drop out. (They post over- earlies at the weather mark.)
We were doing well on the run and caught up to the boat in front; we were kind of stuck behind him. We should have jibed out. We eventually lost all that we had gained and rounded the bottom mark in fifth.
We had an okay second beat, but were not going too fast and just rounded the weather mark still in fifth.
We did okay at the start of the run, but then overstood the leeward mark trying to get past the Portuguese and lost an Australian boat to finish sixth.
Race 2
The wind got a little stronger--6-10 knots--so we depowered some.
We had another good start near the pin after a general recall, but just after the start we hit some monstrous waves. One broke on us and sent water over the bow and into the boat. I had to open up the automatic bailer.
We lost quite a lot to the French (Gildas Philippe and crew, '98 World Champs) who were two boat lengths ahead, and he ended up rounding the weather mark in first.
We rounded the weather mark in fourth, just behind a British team, with Portugal in second and France in first. We passed the British team and the Portuguese on the run to move into second.
The Portuguese got a little left of us at the end of the beat and passed us back.
The next run, we just got past the Portuguese at the bottom mark and went down the reach for a second place.
Race 3
Wind got lighter. We had one general recall, and then one general
recall under a black flag. The race committee threw six boats out,
but not us.
The next start, we had a pin end start. We were going okay and went left, tacking close to the lay line. The breeze came in from the right at the end of the beat, but we had pretty good speed and rounded the top mark in third, with the Israeli team winning and the Swedes in second.
A Belarussian boat in fifth had ripped his spinnaker, so he was holding up the fleet behind us.
We gained a little on the run initially, but lost by jibing too early and lost a Russian boat, so we were now in fourth.
Then up the next beat we worked right and were gaining. We got the last righty and rounded the top mark in second. Things got a little weird, but we held on to a solid second.
So a good day.
We are now in first overall, with an Australian team (Nathan Wilmont) 1 point behind in second and a Finnish team (Petri Leskinin) 2 points behind in third.
We get a Gold dot to put on our sail and bow for tomorrow. Second place gets a red dot and third place gets a blue dot. Each day this changes, depending on who the top three leaders are.
Lots of racing left.
Paul and Bob
Team 2000
Today was a very emotional day. Unfortunately, only one up and two downs.
We got down to the boat at 8:15 a.m. for an 11:00 start. Our usual first priority is to get the boat onto the boat ramp before anyone else; otherwise we have to wait for everyone else to launch, and that can take thirty minutes. They put up a Postponement flag on shore because of possible storms, then at 10:00 they sent us out.
We launched and had trouble getting our main halyard to lock. We use a special Star Lock to hold the main halyard up. The lock is located at the very top of the mast. This is good because when the mast bends the main does not slide down like it does when the cleat is at the bottom of the mast.
Well, after about fifteen minutes of trying and dodging all the other boats at the same time in the harbor, we finally tipped the boat over onto Skip's coach boat that was still parked at the dock and manually locked it.
We just got out to the starting line and tuned up before the first start. Some boats did not make it.
Race 1
The wind was at 13 -18 knots, causing large, steep waves. The
water was very shallow, only eight feet deep.
We had a pin end start and were going good. A Swiss boat and an Australian boat were keeping up with us going left. We were getting close to the lay line and got a little header and tacked. We crossed the Swiss boat, and the Australian boat tacked eight lengths behind us.
We got a good puff and a lift, rounded the first mark in the lead by five boat lengths and took off on the first reach. We set our spin-- it was a fast ride.
We rounded the reach mark and went downwind but ran into a big wave and took a wave over the bow. Lots of water in the boat. We opened bailers and opened the transom flap, but it still took a while to get the water out.
In the meantime, the Australian boat was smoking over us in a big puff. We got going again just in time to pull even with him and keep him from jibing. We jibed for the mark, and the Australian jibed with us. We were ahead by a boat length but got a little lazy, and he got a jump on us and rolled over the top of us.
We got to the leeward mark and got on a wave and took the spin down just a little in front of him, but we were ten lengths from the mark (the mark comes up fast when you are planing).
Well, we rolled over the top of him while he was taking his spin down and got the inside overlap. We rounded, and he ended up hitting the mark. We took off upwind while he did his 360 degree penalty.
We covered upwind and rounded the weather mark eight lengths ahead and set the spinnaker.
I looked back and saw that the Australian had flipped, so we played it conservatively and went on to win by 300 yards.
Well that was the "up."
Race 2
It was getting a little windier: 14-20 knots.
First start was a general recall. Second was under black flag, and we were trying for a near boat end start. We got mixed up with a Polish team that reached over the top of us, and we ended up getting sideswiped by them. They were barging down the line. We protested, but they just kept sailing right on our wind, so we looked for a place to tack out. We found one and went right but kept getting lifted, and the guys on the left had gained. We tacked on the lay line and then, finally, got a shift back right. This caused us to overstand, so we were footing hard coming into the mark. We were in about 10th.
I looked up and saw USA 1722 and POL 505 on the chalkboard on a committee boat, which meant we were over early. We dropped out and had to sit out that race.
Bummer.
Race 3
We had a good, clean start at the boat and were rolling a Danish guy
who was going pretty fast.
We were lifted, so we held. The return shift never came. The guys on the right gained big, but they had overstood, so we rounded about 13th.
We got going on the run, passed a few boats and found a little shift up the next beat, to round the weather mark in fifth.
We had an okay run but took a wave over the bow near the bottom mark. This allowed two boats to get past us just at the mark.
We were getting psyched up to get them back on the reach to the finish and rounded right behind them. We tried to get in the passing lane, but the boom hit the water and we flipped over.
Bummer. Bummer.
We got it back up, but that took forever because the spin was still up and full of water.
So we had a 22nd instead of a fifth.
A wasted day.
We are in sixth place now, and all the good boats go into the same fleet for the last four races, so the racing will get twice as hard. Since the points carry forward to the final, it is very important to have good races in the first part of the series. We messed that up and will probably pay the price going into the finals.
Well, we just need to put some polish on the sailing.
We got back in and found that our mast had GOTTEN BENT during the day's sailing, so we had to take it out and put in a replacement. That took a while.
It's now 11:45 p.m., and I'm tired and going to bed.
More racing tomorrow.
Paul and Bob
Team 2000
Hello again.
Day 4. Very light air. All the good guys are in the same fleet now, so today's racing was twice as hard.
Bob and I went sailing at 9:45 a.m. after some new mast tuning. We got 200 yards outside the harbor and saw the boats behind us turn around and head back in. It was very light wind, so we figured they were postponing, so we turned around too. They postponed on shore until noon, and then they sent us out.
Race 1
Wind was 5-10 knots out of the east; pretty flat water. We had a pin
end start and jetted off the line looking good.
It was a pretty short first beat, so we did not have far to go to the lay line. About halfway there, we started getting lifted, and that was the end. We could not get back across. We finally tacked above the lay line and at least had clear air for a while, but the leaders rounded and went on a reach, so we got some bad air from them. We rounded about 35th and went down the reach.
We tried going low and were doing okay, but the fleet decided to come back down, and we lost all our wind and got rolled. We found some clear air again but could not get it going on the run and lost a few more boats.
Well, things did not get any better. We rounded outside a pack at the leeward mark and went right up the next beat; but the wind went left, so we lost again.
We had a better run and caught some boats and passed one on the reach to the finish. I think we beat ten boats. A pretty painful race.
Race 2
Wind was 6-10 knots. We started in the middle and tacked
immediately, due to a left shift. The guys on the left were ahead,
but we at least had clear air. We went all the way to the right lay
line hoping for a header; it never came. We rounded the first mark in
18th and held even on the first reach.
We found a good puff on the right side of the run and were able to pass two boats, then got the inside overlap on another to round about 14th.
We lost one boat up the second beat, but we got him and a few more back downwind and finished a hard-fought 12th.
Race 3
Wind was about the same: 7-10 knots.
The pin was favored and everyone was down there, but we decided to stay away and start in the middle. We tacked to port immediately, but immediately were behind (bad start).
We worked the right hoping for a shift, but instead got a 20-degree lefty. We rounded the first mark ahead of ten boats and then held high on the first reach; it was very tight.
We passed a few boats, then went down the run. It was mostly starboard jibe, and we passed some more boats that went low, then caught a few more at the mark. Unfortunately, a Russian boat came barging in and crashed into both us and a Japanese boat, and we got stopped and pushed left and lost all we had gained. We never got it going the second beat and rounded the top mark ahead of ten boats again.
We went right again on the run and actually lost some, but got it all back at the leeward mark and rolled one boat right at the mark.
Well, we finished ahead of thirteen boats. Tough day. We slipped from sixth overall to 17th.
Last day is Sunday--one race.
Paul and Bob
Team 2000
Today is the last day of racing. Wind is 15-20 knots out of the northeast. A cold front came through last night, and today the waves are steep, like they often are in Corpus Christi.
Only one race is scheduled for today.
We got a start near the pin and were not going too well but had clear air. We went left, but it turned out the right side was favored. We rounded the weather mark ahead of about ten boats.
We set down the reach after rolling a few boats that had set early and after getting rolled ourselves by a boat. But our set was not too stellar. The spin filled while Bob was still busy putting the pole on, and we almost flipped. Instead, we just filled up with water. We got going again and had most of the water out at the reach mark, but by then were ahead of maybe only three boats.
We went down the run trying the new reaching thing but did no good, rounding the leeward mark still way back.
The next beat we tried more vang, and this seemed to help our speed. We actually passed a few boats.
Went down the run and got a few more boats and reached to the finish.
I guess we beat ten boats.
Not much fun.
We need to get back into the groove. Hopefully, this is a temporary disease.
We flew spins in with everyone else, then turned around and went back upwind by ourselves to practice (couldn't get any worse). We tried straightening our mast. It seemed to be over bending (it's a new mast and bends differently from the old one we had).
Then we set the spin and did some jibes around the giant windmills in the Islemeer and headed in. We did some boat work to try to get our mast straighter for heavy air.
That's it from here.
We will do a little sailing tomorrow, then head to Denmark for the next race.
Hopefully, we will find the old karma.
Paul and Bob
Team 2000
Thank you for your support.
Beanard
Team 2000 Correspondent