- 2008 Sydney International Regatta
- December 15th, Day 1
Well for the last 4 days we have been practicing in a southerly
everyday and wouldnt you know it first day of racing it is is a
northerly and blowing around 15-18 knots with the worst random chop I
have ever seen most lickely due to more boats then I have ever seen on
a bay that is almost half the size on san francisco! On our coarse
there was a big keel boat start in the middle of our course another
keel boat leeward mark 20 yards off from our start and the whole thing
was right of the entrance to a big harbor. So all of this made the
racing rather interesting. Our starts were almost perfect 2 out of 3
races with the third being just good we had our fair share of time in
the lead and top 3 but most of the time ended up making some sort huge
mistake and loss a few spots but each time we learned from each
mistake and did not repeat it. Our ending scores are 7,5,8 I do not
yet know what postition that leaves us in but it should be solid and
we have room to gain and improve. So it has been an epic exciting and
just plain fun day of racing and we cannot wait till tomorrows racing.
-Max Fraser
- December 16, Day 2
We go to the club around 10:00 and there was no wind at all with
forecasts of 18 knots from the south later in the Day so we checked
the boat for any wear or tear we may of missed the day before. Then we
started to wait for wind this is a new activity for use as we have had
wind everyday so far then we waited more then we realized that even
when the wind comes up we will have to wait another 2-3 hours because
we are the second start for the day (which means we have to wait for
another fleet to do all there races before we can even go out) it was
around this time someone said "those clouds look like rain" of course
we all said no that is silly it is not going to rain. A half hour
later I am laying under our boat eating in the pouring rain and still
waiting but the nice thing is most sailors don't really look at rain
as a bad thing because it can bring wind and it did so the first
fleets went out out as I had a nap under the boat then got ready for
our day of racing in the rain. The first race was light wind and very
shifty we pushed the RC hard on the start and thought we were clear so
we went on for a fairly solid race of pointing higher then any other
boat on the water with speed and top 3 around the weather mark we blew
one shift later in the race and ended up top 5 or at least we would of
if we were clear on the line but no we were over early and kicked out
of the race which is now our throw out race (every 5 races and you
throw out your worst score). Second race was amazing we blew the start
as the RC was over filled (but we did not get any penalties) and were
about 4th row start then tacked out saw a shift up a bit up the course
went for it on the right side all alone got it perfectly with a puff
and rolled into the windward tied for first but the second weather
mark rounding made a bad call as to when to jib then a couple missed
shifts will get us a 9th. so we continue to make mistakes but so far
we have not repeated one as we learn the area, the people, the boat,
and ourselves. I belief that our current position proves just how
important it is to go early to a big event like the worlds to figure
everything out, sailing in the USA is a totally different game then
over here and simply enough we can trying training for this stuff in
the USA but there is nothing like the real thing. The good news is we
continue to have great boat speed and control on the start line (even
if we make bad decisions) as well as the best sets and dowses in the
fleet as well as awesome boat handling plus bonus we are the 3rd Jr
team not o mention having a blast doing it! I can not say enough as to
how fun and skill building it is to race in a over 30 boat fleet with
such solid sailors all of whom have my full respect.
-Max Fraser
- December 17, Day 3
Wow today was really really windy 25+ knots which is the most we have
had for a while the first two races were really intense and hard each
day as we seem to get the hang of one type of weather it changes and
today was no different which means that we made a few mistakes in the
first two races which in breeze results in a capsize (or two) but our
third race we got our stuff together took a risk free start and got
around the course without a mistake although due to the heavy winds
this did not result in anything better then a 7th but we are very appy
with that as it was so windy that i was unable to ever let go of the
jib sheet due to sudden intense puffs that would easily blow us over
even with the main all the way out. on the last race mid way through
an upwind leg I checked my jib sheet mark in a brake in the wind and
it was further out then we had it in the down winds yesterday. The
days damages include at least a couple broken legs a couple broken
masts and tons of broken lines as well as other small pieces. So we
are very happy with the day it included some of the most intense fun
sailing I have ever done.
-Max Fraser
- December 18, Day 4
Today was another southerly and by far the puffiest and shiftiest so
far with multiple 10-30 degree shifts per leg of the course and wind
ranging from 18 knots to 3 and back all in one race. All of this on
the last day made for some intense racing. The starts were tough and
competitive and the knowledge of the area by ALL of the competitors
was very impressive especially while they all kept there boats going
extremely fast. Our first start was extremely tight but ended well
(other then the whole we were over early thing). We ended up top 3 at
the first mark but missed shifts and ended up back in the fleet by the
finish. The next race was similar as we had a great start and boat
speed with some of the best boat handling but were unable to compete
tactically with the other competitors expertise which resulted in
bottom half finishes. The last start was interesting though, we had
lined up fairly early at about 1.5 min and were holding a nice hole on
the line with only 2 feet till the next weather boat and two boat
lengths to leeward to accelerate into. At around 20 sec a bout who had
not set up in time was blast reaching below the line looking for a
hole to start in they saw the 2 feet above us and shot in at 10-14
knots David and I saw them coming just in time as they were about to
hit us and both stepped to weather just in time to get our rail down
(the strongest part of the boat) just as they slammed in and on top of
our boat. Although our start was completely ruined as we had a boat
and it's crew on top of our boat we did manage to avid any damage to
the boat. The day reminded us that this is a new place were we had
only sailed a few days and these people know inside and out which can
be huge even if we have good speed and that we really need to focus on
what is happening around us rather then just how fast we are going.
Although this was not exactly our best day regarding results we had a
great time and refocused what we need to work on as we head down to
Melbourne for the Australian Nationals and the Worlds.
-Max Fraser
