The Miami OCR wrapped up yesterday with a great day for Paull Tingley of Halifax. He put on the after burners and moved from third to first in the 2.4 mR class. A great win for a Canadian Sailor.
For us it was a disappointing day. Both Christine and I were black flag OCS in the second last race. In addition I got hit on the start line in the last race as a windward boat just rolled down on me and we rubbed side side by side in the last ten seconds of the starting sequence. four tacks later I finally cleared my air and found a reasonable lane to sail. there was a lot of chop and not much wind so the boat kept getting thrown around. End result was a 20th.
So we packed up the boats after sailing. The cradles were put on the trailer before we raised the boats out of the water so that saved us time. we finished before 5:00pm and then last night went for dinner with a gang of the US paralympic sailors in Coconut Grove. The neighbourhood was hopping. Finally got home at 1:00pm ( I was ready for sleep at 10:30pm ) and then Christine and Johanne left at 5:00am for their flights home.
The boats are going to St Petersburg where they will be in covered storage until we sort out how they are moving north.
Things worked out for us better this year compared to last year. The car definitely made the big difference. If we broke something we could quickly run over to West Marine. Also our accommodation worked out well. The condo wasn’t as well equipped as the house in Fort Myers but it worked. There were other sailors staying here including the Dutch teams and a Womens match racing team from the UK. Also this time we knew what to expect, who could help us etc. It was a lot easier.
On the water I know that my upwind boat speed is equal to the best in the class. My down wind boat speed lags most sailors and I think I am going to have to consider adjustable shrouds so I can pull my mast further forward off the wind. I also need to practice starts and mark roundings so that my boat mechanics improve. Also I will need to work on down wind sail trimming.
Already looking forward to the May – June sailing season.
Peter Wood