Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta 2011 days four and five update from Tim Dempsey, Kiwi Skud 18. On day four we had a later start time of 3pm to give the 2.4s time to get three races in.
Race one started on time in 18 – 22knts of wind. We got off the line to a great start and worked our way out to the left along with most of the fleet. We got around the top mark with the leading bunch and managed to stay in contact to finish in a credible fifth place. In race two we got off to a fantastic start and sailed the race really well and finished in fifth place only to find out at the end of the day we were OCS. As they say if you don’t get the occasional OCS you’re not pushing hard enough. We had a more conservative start in Race three but still sailed well in the now bitterly cold English summer. Quite a few boats had retired as the building breeze took its toll. We ended the day with a sixth place and finally got back home at around 8pm.
On day five we were scheduled to sail two final races. After a very short sleep we were back at the dock at 9am to get ready for the start of racing at 11am. We had to sail well to try and get further up the leader board and to keep Italy behind us. In the first race we struggled a little in the lighter winds and with a bit more pressure in the right the fleet had split. A penalty turn on the first beat was costly and it was not a nice feeling to fall behind the leading bunch. We fought hard to try and minimize the loss and crossed the line in ninth which we were not happy about. In the final race we got caught up with about three other boats and were over at the start. We quickly found a gap in the fleet to get back and dip the line. Not a great way to start the final race. We sailed better in this race and finished in seventh place.
We finished the regatta in eighth place (fifth Nation). We now have three weeks before the IFDS Worlds start in Weymouth on July 6. We hope to train with some of the other countries and we also have more work to do on the boat.
Thanks to all our sponsors, friends and families for their support and encouragement. We’re a long way from home and your messages help us keep going. We both could really do with some top-quality, warm sailing gear, hint, hint!
Skandia Sail for Gold website
