The practice day began with a heavy fog on the lake and absolutely no wind. By the time we got out in the afternoon the sun had burned off some of the fog and patches of breeze were scattered around the lake. We managed to get a few hours of practice in very light wind. Everyone settled into their roles pretty quickly and our boat handling was looking pretty good by the end of the session. Roll on day 1 of racing.
Race day 1 started much the same. Foggy and windless. The sun broke thorough the clouds much earlier than the previous day and racing got underway shortly after midday. We won our first two races convincingly. In the third and final race of the day we came from behind to take the lead on the first downwind leg and held on to the finish. We ended the day 3-0.
Day 2 saw slightly more breeze on the Lake and we got off to a great start with 3 more wins in the round robin. We did however loose one race to end the day 3-1. We closed out the round robin in the top spot of our group with 6 wins and 1 loss.The quarter finals were sailed in very light conditions on day 3. We won our quarter final 2-0 against the Hungarian team. The wind was beginning to die but the race committee manage to fit in two semi final flights. We took the win in the first match against the team from France. We lost the second race of the semi final but the French team were penalized for a collision the pre start which saw them debuted 0.75 of a point. The wind shut off for the day shortly after and racing was abandoned for the day. We led our semi final 1-0.25 after the penalty.
The lake was blanketed by a thick layer of fog on the morning of the final day or racing. It was taking a long time for the fog to clear and there was still no sign of any wind by mid day. After a number of hours on the water waiting for the wind. It was decided that racing would proceed straight to the finals if the wind did fill in.
We were to contest the final against the Irish team if the wind would allow. The teams were brought back ashore in the afternoon and prospects of racing looked dismal as the weak thermal breeze continued to fight with the gradient and in turn cancel each other out.
To our surprise we were rushed back to the boats at around 16.30. The Lake still appeared windless but the boats were towed offshore and around a headland where there was 8 knots of steady breeze coming down the lake.Racing got under way quickly for fear that the breeze would die. The Irish team managed to gain control in the pre start in the with a minute to go and they lead off the line. We crossed close behind them on the upwind leg but were unable to catch them as they defended their lead well around the course. We had to win the second match to keep our chances alive. We entered from the pin end and were immediately put under pressure as they approached on starboard. They managed to defend the boat end of the line and got off the line with more pace than us. The race was almost a repeat of race 1. We crossed closely behind on the upwind and began to gain back some distance on the run into the finish but we were unable to catch them before the line.
It was hugely disappointing not to win the final after such a strong performance all week. Although I learned so much during the week and even though we didn't win it was a great experience. I always enjoy racing on new boats and with new teams because you learn so much from others in the way they do things. I also learned a lot about match racing tactics from Mark and the lads.
Photo credit: Jugend Regatta Förderverein
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