clay's blog

Today was the fifth day of the Laser Worlds and we were greeted with more of the same:  8-12 knots of breeze from the Northeast, current running upwind, and chop with small waves.  Both races were sailed after a few general recalls and black flags, which eliminated about 10 people per race.

In the first race, I started at the boat and quickly flopped to port, headed for the right.  I was looking ok for most of the beat, but when I came back the left had a bit more pressure, and I rounded in the high twenties.  I went to work on the downwind and caught up to about 15th place by the leeward mark.  I stayed about the same on the next upwind, but had another great downwind to catch up to 9th place.  On the last reach, two guys were fighting for position a bit too hard and BOTH got yellow flagged, allowing me to sail by and into 7th place.  I held onto 7th for the short upwind to the finish.

In the second race, the pin and left were pretty favored.  I had a pretty good start near the pin and played the middle left, but was forced to do too many tacks while trying to cross the fleet.  This time, there was a bit more pressure on the top right, and I came into the first mark in 28th!  Again, I was saved by my downwind, catching 12 boats by the leeward mark.  On the next upwind, I rode a nice lift to the right, and connected it with some pressure at the top right again to gain 10 more boats and round in 6th!  On the downwind though, the pressure died and filled in high, allowing a pack of boats to go right by me.  I rounded the leeward mark in 13th and stayed there until the finish.

It feels like groundhog's day here.  Every day we've had the same 8-12 knots.  I'm finding the upwinds pretty difficult; it's very hard to see the pressure on the water, and it's not very easy to figure out which way to go.  I'm not having much luck picking the correct side, and I've been fortunate to have some good downwind speed to salvage some respectable scores.  I'll try to figure it out a bit more over the last two days.

Today was the fourth day of the Laser Worlds, and it was also the final day of qualifying.  I sailed in yellow today, starting first and sailing the outer loop.

In the first race, I had a great start at the pin and was one of a few to be able to tack immediately and cross most of the fleet.  I sailed on port for a couple of minutes and tacked back left with the lead pack, playing some shifts up the left side of the course.  I thought things were going pretty well and that I was in the top ten, but it got a little patchy and a bunch of guys from the right all crossed the fleet.  The first three were miles ahead of the fleet as they reached into the mark.  I found myself in about 25th at the mark!  On the downwind, the pressure filled from behind and the fleet compressed at the second mark.  On the first downwind I was able to separate and gain a little bit.  I played the second beat well, but was the victim of yet another big righty at the top.  I rounded in about 20th and caught up to 18th by the finish.

Knowing that I would need to score a very good race to qualify for Gold fleet, I decided to get a little risky with my strategy in the last race.  The right had been good so far all day, so I wanted to win the boat end and quickly flop to port and head hard right.  I did just that -- getting a great start at the boat and tacking immediately-- and headed to the right.  Again, I was looking pretty good, but this time the left came in!  I could not pick the side correctly!  I rounded in the mid-twenties and frantically tried to rally.  On the first downwind I separated and was able to get around a pack and into the low teens.  On the second beat I played the middle left really well (for the first time picking a side correctly!) and was able to move up to 11th at the last windward mark.  On the downwind I passed two more boats and hung in 9th until the finish.

So I scored an 18-9 today to round out my qualifying series.  53 boats qualify for Gold fleet, and I ended up missing out by THREE points!  Every boat counts!  So it's slightly disappointing to be racing the rest of the event in Silver fleet.  It's been a tough month with my poor result at Sail For Gold and now here at the Worlds, but I truly think that I've learned a lot and have narrowed down a few areas upon which I need to improve.

Three more days of sailing are left.

Today was the third day of the Worlds.  We had more breeze today, starting at about 12 knots and dying to 7-10, but the sailing was just as difficult. 

I was in Yellow today, which was nice because I got to race first and sail the outer loop.  In the first race, I had a good start in the middle of the line, sailed for a few hundred yards, and tacked to port.  I was lifting off of, and looking pretty good on, the guys to the right of me, but a lot of guys who started at the pin and tacked were doing the same thing to me.  I sailed all the way right, but didn't have much to come back with.  At the first mark I was in 15th place and stayed around there for the rest of the race.

In the second race, I had a great start at the favored pin end of the line.  I lead the charge to the left and was looking pretty good for most of the first beat.  At the top, though, I got a little out of phase coming back across and very quickly fell from about 5th to 15th.  Again I rounded in 15th.  I had a good first downwind to move up to 9th, but lost a handful of boats on the second upwind who went left in a little less current.  I finished the race in about 15th also.

Another very tricky day on the water today.  It's pretty easy to get out of phase with the shifts, and when that happens, people pounce.  The toughest part for me was I was always a little behind the lead group.  In both races it seemed like the top 10-12 could pull away and sail more comfortably ahead of the fleet.  I was in that 15-25 range where people start to get pretty desperate and scrappy.  It's a tough spot to be in. 

Overall it's been a frustrating event.  My speed has been ok and my starts pretty good.  I haven't had much luck with the shifts or picking the correct side.  Two more races are scheduled for tomorrow, the last day of qualifying, and I'm hoping I can rally a bit and sneak into Gold fleet.

We sat on shore for an hour and a half this morning waiting for some breeze to fill in.  At about 11:30, the Race Committee sent us out for two more races sailed in 3-6 knots, lots of chop, and plenty of current.  it was very difficult racing.

In the first race, I had a great start just to leeward of the main pack at the boat.  The guys to weather of me tacked off for the right and I kept going on starboard towards the left up 5-10 degrees from my pre-race starboard angle.  I thought I was doing the right thing, but about half way up the breeze continued to clock right about 25 degrees, and a lot of guys to the right of me were ahead.  I rounded in about 30th place and caught up to the low 20s by the end of the first downwind.  I stayed around there for the rest of the race, finishing in 23rd.

In the second race, I got another good start near the boat, and tacked out to the right.  Unfortunately a few guys near me put some close tacks on me, not leaving me with much breathing room.  I did a few tacks, looking for a clear lane to the right, but at that point I was no longer in the lead group.  Both sides came in during this race, and again, I found myself in about 30th at the top.  I had a great 2nd beat catching up to the high teens, but lost a couple boats on the last downwind and final beat to finish in 21st. 

It was a very tough day of sailing with some painfully light legs.  The chop from 100+ coach boats doesn't help the situation either!  I'm praying we get some more breeze for the rest of the regatta!

I've had some great practice in Hayling Island, England, with tons of breeze and big waves.  So with today being the first day of the regatta, it only makes sense that the condtions would change drastically:   offshore breeze, very shifty, light, tons of current and lumpy.

I was in Red fleet today for qualifying.  I had two bad starts and was pin-balled around the course, struggling to find clear air all day long.  In the first race I went left on the first beat and the breeze went hard right.  On the second beat I went right, and the breeze went even harder right.  It was just one of those days.

Tomorrow we'll have two more qualifying races, and I'm hoping for a fresh start.

The last two days of training have been nothing short of epic here in Hayling Island, England, the site of the 2010 Laser World Championship.  Yesterday we sailed in 25-28 knots with 12 foot waves.  The tide was running out of the inlet with the breeze coming the opposite way.  When you combine those two, you get some monster waves!  The wind by itself would have been manageable.  The waves by themselves would have been manageable.  But when you combine the two, it gets pretty scary!

Today, we had more wind, gusting up to 36 knots according to the anemometer at the yacht club, but the waves were only about 10 feet high and a little skewed today, which made it a little easier.

The training so far has been awesome, and I'm getting some great heavy air practice under my belt.  It's pretty cool to see all of the different techniques.  Vang-sheeting is a must, with some guys sheeting out up to four feet while sailing upwind.  Hiking hard is a given, and working the boat through the waves is important too.  The most imperative thing though is just getting through the chop and waves without slowing down and filling your cockpit up with water. 

Downwind has been nothing but survival mode.  If you round the windward mark in 20th place and don't flip over on the downwind leg, you will often find yourself in the top five or ten at the bottom mark!  One coach commented today that it looked like a graveyard out there!  On one reach, I found myself sitting so far back in the boat that my shoulders were PAST the stern of the boat!  The ability to see where you're going and where the waves are is also something I have to deal with since water is spraying at you from all angles.

Needless to say, the last couple of days have been exhausting but a ton of fun! 

Check out this video of a few clips my coach Kristian Kjaergaard took today:

Training continues this week with the first race scheduled for Monday!

After the Sail For Gold Regatta ended last week, I went into London for two nights with Erik Storck and Trevor Moore (US 49er Team) and Kaity Storck and Lyndsey Gibbons-Neff (US 470 Team).  We hung out in the city, exploring by bicycles all of the tourist spots, and went to some pubs.  It was nice to go into the city and get away from sailing for a few days.

Since then, I've moved to Hayling Island, England, which is the venue for the 2010 Laser World Championships.  Our regatta starts on Monday, August 30th, so at the moment I'm just training and trying to get used to the venue.  After a few days of rest and going to the gym, I got out on the water a couple of days ago.  Hayling Island is an awesome venue!  There are very big waves and nice breeze everyday.  Surfing downwind in the waves is so much fun! 

Each day, more and more competitors show up to start practicing.  Typically, we sail out and do some speed work before joining in with the group for some short races.  It's often said that the training before the worlds is the best training you will ever get, and is, in some ways, better than the regatta itself.  I think this is true since it is so rare that all of the best guys in the world descend upon one venue 10 days early to train.

The plan for the next week is to take today off to rest.  The US coach, Kristian Kjaergaard, is arriving tonight, and then for the next few days we will train hard.  Later in the week will be measurement and registration, with our first race on the 30th.

For this event, I'm staying at the Langstone hotel, which is a short 20 minute drive from the club.  My dad is coming over for the event, and it will be good to have him on the water in addition to Kristian.

Everything is coming together, and I'm looking forward to more training and for the start of the event!

Today was the final day of the Sail For Gold regatta, and frankly, it couldn't come soon enough!  I had a tough event in some very tricky conditions and spent far too many hours on the water, but I learned a lot about the venue and can hopefully adapt for next year.

We sailed the final two races this morning in a shifty, off-shore 3-15 knot breeze.  The wind was so up and down and all over the place, that consistency was almost impossible.  In both races, I looked like I was in the top five for a while on the first beat, only to look like I was in the bottom five a few minutes later.  What I was pleased with is that I rounded the weather mark in the 30s in both races and was able to claw my way back to a 25-20.  While the results weren't great, I sailed better today and had some good comebacks.

Like I said, it was a tough event.  But the plan now is to take what I learned from sailing here, forget all the rough results, and move forward.  I'm moving over to Hayling Island pretty soon and will begin training for the Laser World Championships at the end of the month.

Final Results

The fourth day of the Sail For Gold regatta brought more of the same on the Laser course.  I headed down to the club for a 1 PM race, but the Race Committee kept the Lasers on shore an extra hour to start the Radials.  After the radials got going, we were sent out for two races.  Oddly, the RC decided to sail Bronze fleet first, then Silver, and finally Gold.  And sticking to form, the RC postponed us for well over an hour to set the course and wait for the breeze to stabilize.  It's getting a little frustrating to sit waiting in nice breeze and not be able to sail!

We finally got our start off, and my group raced an inner loop course.  I had a good start below the pack at the boat and sailed off the line on starboard for about a minute.  I got a header and quickly tacked to the right, looking pretty good on the fleet.  I sailed most of the way up the beat on port before trying to consolidate a little at the top.  Unfortunately I got out of phase and rounded in about 15th when I should have been in the top 5.  I lost a few boats on the downwind leg, but headed to the left for a cloud on the second beat.  The left worked well, and I caught up to 11th at the windward mark.  I stayed in 11th for the rest of the race.

In the second race, I got a good start in the middle-boat area again and played the middle right side of the beat.  I was looking like I was in the top 10 when about half way up the breeze went about 20 degrees right and there was about 5 more knots of pressure on the right. There were approximately 17 boats that were further right than I was because I rounded in 18th at the first mark!  The pressure and shift allowed everyone on the right side to just reach over the fleet.  The rest of the race was kind of a parade because the RC didn't move any of the marks.  I picked off a few boats on the second "beat" to catch up to 12th in the race.  We finished our second race at 6:30.  Gold fleet hadn't even started their second race, and they ended up getting back to the dock at 8:15 PM!  Long day!

One more day of racing tomorrow before a few days off.

RESULTS

Today was the third day of the Sail For Gold regatta, and the Lasers completed two more races to finish up the qualifying series.  I was in Blue fleet today, sailing an inner loop course.

We headed out for an 11 AM start and got our first race off at about 11:30.  I had a good start near the committee boat and quickly tacked to the right.  I played the middle right of the course and was looking pretty good early on.  As I came to the top third of the beat, the right began to lift with pressure, and I hedged myself to that side.  I rode a nice lift into the windward mark in 2nd place!  On the downwind, I was able to carry some pressure up to the leader, Tom Burton from Australia.  I rounded the gate right behind him and quickly tacked to the right before him.  About half way up, I consolidated in front of him and led the group to the right.  We both played the top right and extended quite a bit in front of the fleet.  I rounded the last windward mark in first, with Tom right behind me.  We stayed even on the reach, but Tom went very low on the run with pressure to pull ahead of me.  I rounded the last mark in 2nd and reached in comfortably ahead of 3rd place.  It was a great way to start the day and left me with a glimmer of hope that I could still make gold fleet!

We finished the first race at about 12:30 and were heading to the starting line anxious to start race two.  The race committee, though, ended up postponing us for THREE hours while they adjusted the course!  It was a frustratingly long wait as there was plenty of breeze to sail us.  But we finally got our start off at 3:30.  I had a my best start of the regatta at the committee boat again and tacked out right.  The right looked pretty good, but as we came across the top, the left had more consistent pressure and a shift at the end.  I rounded in about 20th.  I stayed about the same on the first downwind, and headed out right towards a big cloud on the second beat.  At that point, it got a little odd; Kyle Rogachenko, my US teammate, tacked just in front of me and headed across the middle in a big righty.  I sailed about 100 yards passed him and tacked on his hip.  At first I looked ok, but I quickly began to fall into him.  So I tacked further right in pressure and did the same thing!  Kyle seemed to get a perfect wind-line which he rode across the fleet into 2nd place; he really played it well.  I, on the other hand, ended up losing 10 boats who went to the left of me.  I rounded in the high twenties and was able to pass a few boats on the final downwind to get 22nd in the race.

So a 2-22 was better, but still not a complete day of good sailing.  Unfortunately, I didn't get it done to get into Gold fleet.  I'll be racing the next two days in Silver fleet, but I will try to use this opportunity to learn as much about the venue and figure out how to sail my laser well again! 

RESULTS