News / Results Left is Right 
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Hyeres France The first day of any regatta is always filled with anticipation. The goal is to start the regatta strong and don't make any big mistakes. With the dozens of critical decisions we have to make each day on the racecourse, the odds are always against us. It is with quiet satisfaction when the first day goes according to plan. 
Photo: Gilles Martin-Raget / FFV © 2008 On any day the conditions play a big part in scoring well as do the interaction with other competitors and even the committee work. Yesterday's conditions provided rough and physical sailing in the consistent easterly onshore winds. Today in the Mistral conditions meant we were in for fast and furious wind shifts and lots of fluctuations in strength and smooth water in the offshore wind meant everyone would be fairly even in speed. Race one started at 11am in a quickly building breeze that peaked at 15 knots. The leeward end was favored enough to where we knew there was going to be a lot of boats going for it so we started to weather of the bunch with clear air. The plan was to go left but unfortunately by the time the gun went off the leeward end was so favored there were no lanes and we were force to immediately tack and clear out to the right. That sealed our fate for the rest of the race. No matter how hard we tried we were never able to get back in phase. The left had better pressure and more shifts to play. Race two with the pin favored again we decided that was the only place to start. Even a bad start there was going to be better than the more conservative approach of our first start. We were not alone in this thinking and after a hard fought battle we won the pin, but paid the price by being slow and tight on the mark at the gun. Our theory proved right and we salvaged a tenth place. Even though it was not the performance we wanted we are sitting in 5th place and in good company. With two drop races in the nine race series there is still plenty of racing left before anyone can lay claim the top spots. The weather forecast for tomorrow is for a full blown Mistral 20-35 knots. The full results online. Semaine Olympique Française website - sof.ffvoile.net Please spread the word with your friends and fellow sailors to Join the Team to receive our regular updates and, if they wish, to make a donation. Our Join the Team page uses the secure Kintera support software which allows users to sign up for updates, make donations, and easily invite friends and fellow yacht club members to become involved. There is a live display showing a running total of all donations. You can even start your own fundraising team. The current top team is Bee Anderson's Old Grands. Please check it out.
Carrie Howe |
