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Prior to the World Cup event in North Germany I spent 10 days with the Polish team touching up on a few skills. The training consisted of 3-5 practice races a day, which proved to be extremely productive. I arrived in Kiel, Germany three days before the event and utilized the time to rest, prepare and set up the tent that I would be living in for the next 8 days.
Kiel Week is slightly different from the other World Cup events. The regatta takes place in coordination with the largest festival in Northern Europe. Approximately 40 million people from all over Europe travel to North Germany to enjoy the music, food and the various entertainment events that the Kiel Week festival provides. The tourist attractions coupled with the sailing regatta is a great event every year and the tourists wandering around the boat park looking perplexed by what we do, makes us sailors feel somewhat important.
The sailing in Kiel is driven by inconsistent weather patterns and nasty chop; however, a “typical Kiel day” is 40-50 degrees, rain and 25 knots of breeze. Fortunately, we haven’t had that yet; otherwise, my home ($85 tent) would be seemingly inefficient.
The racecourse is inconveniently situated about 3 miles off shore for the RS:X class. Therefore, sailing out to the racecourse takes 45-90 minutes, which is a long haul for the board sailors. The 90 minute sail out slightly impedes on my recovery process (sleep!).
Day One:
The conditions on the opening day were great, except for the 55-degree air temperature. We had a solid 15-20 knot offshore breeze and some nasty voodoo chop. Needless to say, I performed well. Throughout the three races it was crucial to get out to the right side of the course, because there was a bit more wind and the chop was less vicious. I had the same game plan for all three races: start on port and win the boat. To most sailors this strategy may seem a bit un-orthodox; however, I was able to get to the right side of the course first and get off the line with full speed without having to tack. The first and the third race I had a flawless first beat rounding the windward mark in 4th both times. The second race, however, was not as perfect because I fell while tacking.
The first race, I maintained fourth place throughout the race and showed some exceptional speed. Right after the start, I narrowly missed the bowsprit of a tall ship that was parading through our course, a typical occurrence during kiel week races. I thought I crossed the finish line in 4th that race, but the scores have me down with a 5th. I think they miss scored me and I filed a scoring complaint but they haven’t fixed the score yet.
The second race I had to play catch up due to my poor tack. This didn’t prove to be that difficult as I was significantly faster than the sailors in the middle of the fleet. I battled back throughout the race and scored a 6th, narrowly missing 4th.
The third race was similar to the first. I was the first sailor to the right side of the course, I made the windward mark in one tack and I rounded in 4th. The Korean sailor passed me on the first downwind leg because I over-stood the leeward mark. He was able to gybe inside of me and ride a nice puff down to the mark just squeezing ahead of me before we simultaneously gybed around the leeward mark. I was unable to catch him and finished 5th. After the first day I was tied for 9th.
Day two:
The second day, the conditions were not as promising as the first. However, we still got in two light air races, both of which ran way too long (about 55 minutes).
I had great starts and was able to stay in the breeze, as there were some massive holes throughout the course. The first race, I made one tactical error by biting into a right shift too much and 3 sailors who tacked before me were able to lay the windward mark and I over stood it. After 55 minutes of painfully pumping my way around the course, I finished 14th.
The second race, I was battling for 9th with 6 other sailors. I was holding onto 10th place for a majority of the race. However, the other US sailor, Ben, passed me on the reach leg heading into the finish. I was very pleased with an 11th place finish in those conditions. Most people who follow my progress understand that I struggle in light air, and this particular race was a nice confidence boost.
Day three:
No Wind – No Racing
Stay tuned for more updates - we have two more days of racing left
Bob
