Worlds Day 6
Day 6 of the worlds dawned clear and cold. As we drove to the club we could see that the windmills were cranking, and the conclusion was that it was a brisk westerly wind. This wind had been blowing all night, so we also thought there would be some waves.
In yesterday's windy racing, the American teams did very well, taking 1st, 2nd, 3rd in the first race and 3rd in the second race. There were several other American teams in the top 10. The regatta leaders Wolfgang Hunger and Holger Jess had done relatively poorly yesterday and since the American team of Martin/Falsone had claimed first and 3rd in the 2 races yesterday, they were only 11 points out of firstplace in the regatta. All but one American boat is from the West coast, and these guys live to sail in big breeze and huge waves. This is their brier patch, so today the question was: could Martin/Falsone win big enough to take the title away from Hunger/Jess. Everybody was thinking about it.
The sail out to the race course was puffy, and indeed, the breeze was big, even bigger than yesterday. It was cold too....about 55 degrees. With water in the 60 degree range, and wind over 15 knots, this was like sailing in late October or early November in Annapolis after a cold front has come through and a northwesterly is cranking out of the Severn, except the waves were much bigger. OR, it was like sailing pretty much any day in Santa Cruz except the waves were somewhat smaller...
Team Ötzi was feeling good after yesterday's performance in breeze, and we felt like today would be our chance to jump some places in the pecking order. We were sore from yesterday and the conditions were punishing, but we wanted to stay the course, finish the race, and wear down our competition. We were only one half point ahead of the Italian team, and about 10 points behind the Poles, and we wanted to run those guys down. Plus we had a score to settle with the guys who fouled us resulting in the hole in our boat. So we were determined to make a good show of it in the big breeze.
The race was carnage. There were massive capsizes, gear failures, and all kinds of craziness. The waves were punishing. A couple of times we were doubtful about whether to continue competing, but we were steeled and determined to compete and to do as well as possible. Our goal was to break into the top 100. We capsized 3 times, twice dumping gybes, and once when Andreas mistakenly backed the jib in our last tack before the finish (cost us 2 boats!). But we completed the race. Over 50 of our competitors did not complete the race. This was a victory for us in itself. When we crossed the line, I asked Andreas whether he thought we had broken 100, but he said no. There were not more than 20 boats behind us.
After the results were posted, we found that we got a 99. Our best performance of the regatta so far. Let it not be said that Team Ötzi is afraid to get out and rumble in big breeze and waves. We had an absolute blast and hit the dock with nothing left. Fortunately Andreas did a great job of wrapping up our sandwiches, so we collapsed in a heap on the dock and ate a huge lunch. Then we packed the boat up.
In the end, Martin/Falsone didn't quite win big enough to take the regatta away from Hunger/Jess, but they made a truly valiant effort. If it hadn't been for some flukey conditions earlier in the regatta, they might have been world champions. As it is, they will stay hungry.
Team Ötzi is all packed up and ready for the long slog back to wet and sloppy Switzerland. We are hoping that no bridges are out. Remember...No news is good news!
In yesterday's windy racing, the American teams did very well, taking 1st, 2nd, 3rd in the first race and 3rd in the second race. There were several other American teams in the top 10. The regatta leaders Wolfgang Hunger and Holger Jess had done relatively poorly yesterday and since the American team of Martin/Falsone had claimed first and 3rd in the 2 races yesterday, they were only 11 points out of firstplace in the regatta. All but one American boat is from the West coast, and these guys live to sail in big breeze and huge waves. This is their brier patch, so today the question was: could Martin/Falsone win big enough to take the title away from Hunger/Jess. Everybody was thinking about it.
The sail out to the race course was puffy, and indeed, the breeze was big, even bigger than yesterday. It was cold too....about 55 degrees. With water in the 60 degree range, and wind over 15 knots, this was like sailing in late October or early November in Annapolis after a cold front has come through and a northwesterly is cranking out of the Severn, except the waves were much bigger. OR, it was like sailing pretty much any day in Santa Cruz except the waves were somewhat smaller...
Team Ötzi was feeling good after yesterday's performance in breeze, and we felt like today would be our chance to jump some places in the pecking order. We were sore from yesterday and the conditions were punishing, but we wanted to stay the course, finish the race, and wear down our competition. We were only one half point ahead of the Italian team, and about 10 points behind the Poles, and we wanted to run those guys down. Plus we had a score to settle with the guys who fouled us resulting in the hole in our boat. So we were determined to make a good show of it in the big breeze.
The race was carnage. There were massive capsizes, gear failures, and all kinds of craziness. The waves were punishing. A couple of times we were doubtful about whether to continue competing, but we were steeled and determined to compete and to do as well as possible. Our goal was to break into the top 100. We capsized 3 times, twice dumping gybes, and once when Andreas mistakenly backed the jib in our last tack before the finish (cost us 2 boats!). But we completed the race. Over 50 of our competitors did not complete the race. This was a victory for us in itself. When we crossed the line, I asked Andreas whether he thought we had broken 100, but he said no. There were not more than 20 boats behind us.
After the results were posted, we found that we got a 99. Our best performance of the regatta so far. Let it not be said that Team Ötzi is afraid to get out and rumble in big breeze and waves. We had an absolute blast and hit the dock with nothing left. Fortunately Andreas did a great job of wrapping up our sandwiches, so we collapsed in a heap on the dock and ate a huge lunch. Then we packed the boat up.
In the end, Martin/Falsone didn't quite win big enough to take the regatta away from Hunger/Jess, but they made a truly valiant effort. If it hadn't been for some flukey conditions earlier in the regatta, they might have been world champions. As it is, they will stay hungry.
Team Ötzi is all packed up and ready for the long slog back to wet and sloppy Switzerland. We are hoping that no bridges are out. Remember...No news is good news!
posted by J Bergquist at 11:38 AM
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