After a cracker fortnight prior to my last post – last week I struggled to get on the water due to a series of rainy days killing the breeze. I don’t mind sailing in rain, but floating in rain is a completely different story! The lack of wind was probably a blessing in disguise. The week just gone served as a bit of catch up, I even had a massage last night! I was able to do a bit of boat work on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday afternoons and Saturday morning, and get some walking time in over the week to stretch out the muscles and work on getting the body ready for the next few weeks. Rest is so important to make sure you don’t go flat (I am listening Mum x).
Wednesday night’s 470 sail was absolutely awesome with Chris up the front. Just under a year since we had last sailed the boat together at Sail Sydney and it felt really good. We won our division and had some great rides. I put some pics up during the week, and the video looks great (stay tuned!)! I hate to say it but I now prefer skippering to crewing… Even though crewing feels so at home to me – skippering is a new challenge, and I am enjoying being in control. I am able to see how just how much I am improving thanks to the GoPro, Dad also reviewed the video, and Chris was impressed and was able to clearly compare the year’s difference. All so far is on track for the five phase program!
Speaking of Chris, he finally named his new NS14 on Saturday morning, California Times: to enjoy the sunshine, the chill factor – the enjoyment of being on the water together (now for two years). When you have big goals, it is so easy to lose sight of the importance of having fun, and how lucky we are to be able to enjoy recreational time. So many on this planet can’t!
We raced California Times on both Saturday and Sunday in breezy and very shifty conditions. The Davidsons took a speed reading of 18.8 knots on Saturday, with max air of 30 knots. The NS14’s really do get up and go in a breeze. We managed to take the race on Saturday (just), and were in the right place at the right time on Sunday to take advantage of a 50 degree right-hand shift and also take the win. Starting to feel comfy in the boat and we are working well with each other, which is great with the Nationals only one month away!
We are heading to Gosford this weekend with the Davidsons for a double-header TT. We are looking forward to some class racing (rather than mixed fleet) and measuring our progress against some of the top boats.
Coollit (Tasar 2848) finally arrived home from the UK last week and was unloaded yesterday. She is now back in Milton to enjoy a summer of rest. Besides some mould in our gear (thanks to an extended delay and the boats hanging around in Singapore for a while), the rest of our gear and the boat is safe and sound. Dad and I will be having an extended break from the Tasar, most likely until February next year, while I sail a few different things and he undergoes a long awaited should reconstruction! Hopefully he will be ready to go for the end of the season, or hopefully by May/June so we can do a bit of training leading up to the Nationals in Darwin, July 2012, in amongst my 470 program.
As for my current training program, HPS will be on tonight (after a cancellation last week), so it is back in the Spiral for me. There is a good Nor’Wester forecast; and it will be good to see how I go in a breeze against the others after more than a week out of the single-hander. I should also get a session in on Wednesday and Thursday before heading north on Friday!
Have a great week everyone, enjoy your own California Times, and I hope to see you on the water somewhere soon!
