Perhaps it was a sign?

Temperature: an optimistic 1 degree Celsius
Wind speed: 20 kph gusting to 40.

Today is the last weekend day in October and that means the last chance to sail the reservoir until May 1. The morning was written off for lack of wind and sub zero temperatures. I arrived at the res early afternoon after sitting in nasty traffic jams and realizing that I forgot my roof rack to take Fionnlagh home afterwards. Definitely not worth going back for it in that traffic. Assembled the dolly, which I have been taking home to avoid theft or vandalism and unloaded the boat. Rigged part way, got dressed up in slightly damp sailing gear, and then tried to finish rigging. I had everything done except the vang and the mast tie down. Strangely, the mast tie down seemed too short. Or was the mast too tall? Hmmm...maybe something is in the mast step? But what? Did Janet drop something in there yesterday? Weird. Is the mast really not in the step? Wear marks are visible on the mast above the top of the tube. Definitely not in right. Wiggle, wiggle. Nothing. What the? So I leave the boom attached and lift the rig off. Remove sunglasses and peer into the mast step. It occurs to me that I left water in the mast step after yesterday's sail and it has been below zero since then. Yup. Ice. I squeeze my hand in but can't reach it. I look in the car for a long stick and come up with only a wrench. Then I realize there is an easy way to get the ice out. I grabbed a water bottle and poured water into the mast step. Then refilled the bottle in the lake (brrrr!) and poured again. The ice floated to the top and I scooped it out. Then I spent five minutes warming my hand back up. I don't think I've ever had ice in the mast step impede my rigging before! Maybe it is too cold to go sailing? Is there enough wind to make it worthwhile? It was not nearly as wild as yesterday but there were some serious gust patches out there. Speed could be found.

Ready to launch. The boat patrol were taking the arms off of the dock as I launched. Hopefully they wouldn't take the dock out. They usually left this one until last and the other docks were still in.

It was a good sail. Although it was cold, it was still a beautiful, sunny day. The reaches were fast, planing in the gusts. It was gusty and shifty like yesterday, but the wind strength was less. I was cautious as I didn't want to fall out of the boat again and I didn't want to capsize. With the sun in my eyes and glaring off the water on port tack, I couldn't see the gusts coming. Still managed to stay upright today. With the spray from planing, I did get wet. I lost feeling in my fingers and toes after about 45 minutes. The last 15 minutes getting back to the dock, my left hand hurt it was so cold.

I arrived at the dock just as the boat patrol was towing it away. Thanks a lot, Janet. The wooden dock was still there, but closed and the ramp jammed up with the grey dock cubes and heaps of driftwood. Not an appealing option. The Opti dock was still there so I sailed over. I've never used the ramp there. It was clear of driftwood so I docked and hopped out to make sure the ramp could be used. It appeared to be long enough. Next hurdle: could I get the dolly over there and get the boat back to the racks?

The dolly fit between the posts on the bike path, but only just. It was quite a long walk. Longer on the way back with Fionnlagh in tow, up the hill. At least I was getting warmed up. I left Fionnlagh on the grass in front of the club and went in for dry clothes.

I felt that I should have some sort of ritual for putting things away after the last sail. I thought about when I might sail next. If Fionnlagh goes to Victoria again this winter, then I should take all of the lines off in preparation for the trailer ride. If not, then I'm just wasting my time. It felt better to take all of the lines off and quite deliberately make sure I didn't lose any of them. Sort of a way of saying goodbye to the season. Even though I want time for other things now, I will miss sailing around the reservoir.

Red Boats Go Faster

Last night I packed Fionnlagh up on the ASA trailer and sent him off to Kingston (via Halifax). I really felt sad that it would be two weeks before I could sail him again.

Fortunately, Wayne is on call this week and can't sail. He was kind enough to offer me his full-rig. I was pretty excited to see how I would do against the guys in the full rig, but it wasn't to be. Super gusts were rolling through and there were white caps everywhere. Kevin offered me his radial bottom section and I accepted - no sense in sailing horribly overpowered.

Wayne helped me rig and then we went up to make sure race committee had what they needed. By the time I launched, the wind had died down. And it continued to die. Bill sailed by and told me I had the wrong sail! I even thought through how to change it out as quickly as possible - but even that wouldn't be quick. I was stuck with it.

Billowing clouds loomed all around the lake - maybe the wind would be back. And back it was! By the time we started the first race I was glad for the Radial sail again! By the second race I was overpowered with the outhaul, vang, and cunningham cranked. It seemed to me that I wasn't able to get the vang very tight- the lines didn't look as they did on Fionnlagh. Approaching the windward mark, I tacked and my lifejacket was caught on the mainsheet under the boom. I couldn't sheet out fast enough to recover in the heavy wind and over she went. I became convinced that Kevin's bottom section was flawed. He mentioned that he thought the boom was lower on the Radial than on the full-rig. That shouldn't be, but maybe his gooseneck was mounted too low. I righted in a tangle and then flipped right back over. Eventually I got back up - after most people had passed me! I made up ground on the downwind. Lizie's vang was too loose and she was having trouble keeping control. A number of others capsized and I was able to pass them. At the leeward mark I gybed as I rounded. The gybe was late and I was reaching as the sail came across, resulting in another capsize. Lizie yelled encouraging words as she chicken gybed and then roared past. Back up and sheeting in as fast as possible, I knew I had to be good to win this race. I kept the boat flat, sheeting out instead of pinching but being careful not to foot, and tacking on the shifts (and keeping low when doing so!). We still had another lap around 6 and 3. It was close, but I edged her out in the end.

Can we start again, please?

I began the day mildly sore all over from yesterday's water workout. I also had a headache developing. I was hoping it would disappear, but it actually got worse as the day wore on. Today was cloudy with some sunshine. The wind was very light to begin with, with puffs and shifts and built a bit over the day. It was never consistently all out hiking condition.

The first drill was start and stop on the whistle. I think I was doing better at this than I have in the past. The key was Erin's reminder to bear off a bit before sheeting in and then roll, sheet, flatten and steer to close hauled. The timing is really important. If I flatten after fully sheeting in and steering close hauled, I don't feel I get as much power as if I'm off the wind a bit. I need to spend more time playing with this and practicing to get it right. I think it would be best practiced on a day with light, steady wind. On the downwinds back to the start, we did a bit of gybing on the whistle. Once again, my gybes are in rough shape. I'm too chicken to roll properly and I was catching the mainsheet on the transom frequently. Tomorrow I should work on that if there is some time.

The second drill was lining up on other boats for a start. They split us into two groups. It wasn't clear to me why or how, but about half of the radials were with the full rigs and the other half were with the Bytes. I was with the Bytes and it was a nightmare - although good practice because the same situations occur frequently on the start lines in Alberta. We spent a lot of time waiting for people to get on the line. This was complicated by the fact that there was only one end to the line and the wind was shifting. The main frustration was the people constantly trying to squeeze into tiny holes and ending up in collisions. I was having trouble manouevering through all this. I did not defend my position well, I often ended up sailing backwards, or stalled in the wrong place, or drifting down onto boats. I really lacked focus and the enormous time it took to get every one lined up caused my focus to drift further.

After lunch I was one of the first few back on the water. Dave E, Hannah, and I sailed out to the end of the bay. I tried to use this to relax and focus me and get back into the feel of the boat. Then we all gathered for death circles for a while. With a much larger number of boats than yesterday, it was quite crazy. I was cautious at times and aggressive at other times. Notably, I was not stearing with my body enough and not rolling enough. I really need to focus on that againg. It's becoming almost automatic on windward mark roundings but there are so many other times I need to think about it. I had an interesting moment this afternoon at the windward mark. I was a little too close but managed to wiggle round moving the boat with my body. I'm not sure how, but it seemed to some naturally.

In the afternoon, the split was better with Bytes separated from the rest of us. The first drill was a start line with a race to a line a short distance away. The goal was to accelerate off the start a get in front. Anyone not doing this gets buried in bad air. There were variations on this for hours. Sit on the line, 2 minute starts, mystery starts, pin end boats go and try to squeeze in at boat end. At times I was good at finding a position and I was defending that position at times. It really was mixed afternoon. When I had space below me on the line, and no one rolling me from above, I could accelerate well and get a good start. Drills like this with this number of boats are rare and so I'm glad we spent so much time on this one. It's only practice in these situations that teach you to put it all together.

We wound up the day with some practice races. The Gatekeeper drill. Start, through a gate, round windward mark, round gate, windward, through gate, over the finish and round up. Again, I was really inconsistent. I had a few good starts but lost some ground on the upwind. There was one particularly unhappy upwind where I was pushed to the left by three different sailors. Steve R. was the last one and he pushed us way out past the lay line for the mark. By the time he finally tacked, there was a train of boats heading downwind from the windward mark. Steve headed into them, hoping to find a hole to go through. I followed. Big mistake. We were both on port tack and had no rights. As we approached, the boats bunched up and although I found a hole and crossed in between two boats, I then found myself with a hole too small to cross in front of two more boats. The only way to avoid collision was to head downwind and this I did suddenly, but surprisingly well. I really expected to end up in a collision. Glad to avoid a collision, but in a really horrible situation. pinned with one boat upwind and two downwind, going in the wrong direction. Blah. Even slowing down wouldn't help as there was a whole train of boats behind. The hazards of a short race course. It wasn't possible to go back and round the mark, so I just kept going. I think the only time I could have prevented this situation was when I was heading for Steve on port. I should have ducked instead of tacking, but I didn't see him until it was too late. A question I hope I never need to know the answer to: could I have sailed past the mark on the wrong side and somehow gone round? Would I have to dip the layline on the other side?

This generally wasn't one of my better days, although it did have a few good moments. Mentally, I wasn't in the game today and physically I was a little tired and the headache didn't help. How do I maintain the focus I had yesterday?

No sense of place or time

Today was spectacular. After a frustrating week at work, I was ready to strangle someone. Since that's not really acceptable, I was looking forward to being aggressive on the water.

We began with 3,5,7 windward leeward tack and gybe drill. My tacks were going well and I was flattening the boat quickly. The gybes felt rusty and need work. I was also overshooting the windward mark a lot.

Then we did the spin drill with a 360 round the middle mark. This was chaotic, but went reasonably well.

Particularly memorable was when we were doing practice starts and short races. I was finding a good position and accelerating well. The only problem was that I was over early most of the time. We had a lot of general recalls, but there were times when I was over early and we just kept going. I think there were also times I thought I was over early but wasn't. In any case, I was accelerating well and maintaining speed over the course. I beat every one in one race, including about 5 full rigs. I was consistently beating the radials and some of the full rigs. I was a little concerned that being over early was an unfair advantage, but the coaches seemed to think I was sailing well and the advantage couldn't be maintained if I wasn't. They were glad to see me being so aggressive as last year I was consistently getting buried. It's partly a matter of the mood I was in today, but it is also due to increased confidence in boat handling and starting. The over early stuff was simply because 10 seconds is longer than I think, and the boat accelerates quicker than I think. Maybe my sense of place and time was thrown off by the fact that yesterday I was in the office in Calgary and this morning I landed in Victoria and was on the water before 11am. I mean, it's a whole different time zone out here!

We also did an interesting partner drill. At the windward mark, one boat was to sail the layline and the other was to tack in to lee-bow that boat. I was partnered with Max and I'm not sure that we got the positioning right even once, but I get the idea. If you are tacking in and can't get on the lay line, leebowing someone is the way to go. It should push you out in front of them and if done outside of 2 boat length circle, gives you the right to push the windward boat up so that you can shoot the mark and take the inside. The downwind leg was about speed control. Generally I was rounding windward better and was faster downwind than Max. I gave him feedback on vang and mainsheet but I still had to sheet in or over steer to slow down. At the downwind mark we were to approach side by side and the outside boat was to slow down enough to pull in behind the inside boat and then hopefully squeeze up coming out of the rounding to get upwind of the inside boat. Very good practice and a great demonstration of just how much this matters. I need to work on rounding tighter. The problem was mostly gybing too late and not approaching the mark close hauled. I need to think back to Noah's drill from the summer and position myself accordingly. On the upwind leg, we were to cross tacks and port tack boat was to duck starboard. This was frustrating as we often went too long on each tack or had interference from other boats. Max capsized at least 4 times during this drill. Usually I was coming out ahead on the crosses. This lead me to try to slow down which meant sloppy sailing. Let the boat heel, the the sheet out, that's all slow. This is a better drill if you have well matched partners.

When I was good, I was really, really good...

...and when I was bad, I was awful.

Frozen Assets, Day 2
BigWaveDave forecast 15 knots today and I think he was pretty close to the mark. Environment Canada forecast sunshine and 10 degrees and it really felt like they were wrong.

It was a bit windier than I would like on the way out to the start. There actually were waves. Ooops. I should have studied up on wave sailing techniques. I didn't sail very far up the course prior to the start because I felt tired and sleepy and wanted to save energy for the race. These were full hiking, grommet to the boom conditions. I would watch the Laser full rig start to see what the gents thought was the favoured side. Anne said she thought left was favoured. That made sense to me because the wind was coming over land from the NE and the left was not sheltered by the island.

I decided on a midline start because I wanted to go left and avoid crowds or sliding into the pin. This was lining up to be an excellent strategy. Lots of space left, 46 seconds to go. Adjust the controls, 46 seconds to go. Sadly, not lightning fast adjustments but a stopped watch. Argh! No way of knowing when the horn would go as the last signal was at one minute. I reached into position behind the line and watched the other boats. I would trust their timing. Unfortunately, it was already too late. As I checked, the other boats were sheeting in and nearer the line. I sheeted as fast as I could and was clear enough that I didn't get buried in bad air, but I was a boat length or two behind the line at the horn. I was sailing reasonably well mid fleet. I don't recall a lot of the details of the race. I do remember the first downwind leg.

As I approached the gate on Starboard tack, a full rig came in from Starboard on a Port tack heading in front of me. I called starboard. Unbelievably the guy responds by saying that he is trying to get to the other gate. He hits me, not hard, but enough to slow me down slightly. I tell him he still has to obey the rules of the road. He continues interfering and not giving right of way. I steer windward of him and say protest. He says whatever and sails to the other gate. Now a couple of the boats I passed downwind have passed me back. I work it upwind, sheeting to keep the boat flat, hiking hard. On the last downwind I had managed to be neck in neck with 4 other boats. Now a couple of strategic errors. First, I did not check out the position of the gate relative to the finish line in advance. Compounding that, I was outside of two boats for the left gate mark and the finish was a reach left of there. Even worse, there was a boat to windward of me. This is all hunky dory when we are on starboard heading for the gate. As we approach, though, everyone wants to gybe. The trick is that gybing loses you the right of way unless you are inside the two boat length circle. Given the pinwheel, I don't think I was ever within two boat lengths of the mark. I need to study the rules on this situation. the guy inside of me looked as if he was going to gybe. I saw that the angle was just good enough that I could sail by the lee to the finish so I yelled starboard. He didn't gybe. Then we were all round and a gust came through and we are roaring neck in neck to the finish. I'm not sure, because it was impossible to see but I think 2 of the 3 beat me over the line. Why? because the hand the inside which was shorter and when I sailed by the lee, they were in my wind. Blah.

I was determined to make up for that with the second race. I was in serious danger of losing my third place standing from day 1.

more later...
Regatta photos

Frozen Assets Regatta 2008

2nd
4th
2nd
third from last?
5th

I think that is how I placed today. Won't be sure until the results are posted. There were 10 or 11 radials in the fleet.

The day began with light wind from the east. First start was scheduled for noon. As we sailed out of the bay to the race course, the wind died. The first full rig start was abandoned.

I arrived at the course early enough to sail a fair way towards the windward mark. It seemed that starting mid line and staying left until the gate and then heading right was the way to go. Past the gate, there were lifts on port tack and the wind was stronger on the right because it wasn't sheltered from shore. With the wind this light, I was afraid they would start us and we would end up drifting around. Fortunately, there was enough wind to keep moving. My strategy worked out well. I had a decent start in clear air and found myself pulling away from the others on the upwind leg. I didn't manage to pass Aiden on the downwind, but I was happy to finish second until I found out this was Aiden's first race in a Radial!

In the second race, I was doing reasonably well with a similar strategy. This time, the others were closer and that made it more challenging. I pinched the windward mark, and the shift was not in my favour. I hit it. I decided I just had room to round again before the others came in and I did that instead of doing turns. I'm not sure if this was the best call or if it was even a legal way to clear the penalty, but it worked out okay. One or two boats passed me. The downwind was tight, but I couldn't catch up what I had lost at the mark.

The wind picked up and shifted to the NE for the final three races. We waited around for a bit while they moved the marks. My toes were cold but I was otherwise fine. Not true. I was also hungry. I had half a green pepper, a handful of lettuce, chocolate pudding and a granola bar for lunch. Seemingly not enough. I should have taken the time to eat the apple. Or brought some snacks aboard. As I was jumping and dancing around in my boat to try to warm up, I began to think about what I was wearing. Really just a few millimetres of neoprene with a spray top and shorts on top. And two toques. Yeah, it must be the toques that make me think I'll be warm enough. Yikes! I mean, a few millimetres of rubber. That's like going outside naked on a fat day. In February, no less!

My big problem when the wind changes is that I'm lazy. I know that the favoured side has changed. After race 3, I have seen that success is on the left in the full rigs. This doesn't strike me as logical given the geography so I persist with going right in race 4. It works out very badly for me. Race 4 was really about me tacking badly and not flattening the boat quickly. I also got stuck between some CFSA boats at the start and missed a few good shifts as a result. Note to self - when wind changes, note the new favoured side and get on board!

Race 5 was decent, but I was no longer kicking ass on the downwind and that made the difference between 2nd and 5th. I should have gone by the lee and then reached in, but no one else was and I was too lazy to gybe and take the risk that I would screw up and lose ground. The Strategy Paradox. Gotta risk big to win big. Same with roll tacks in the lighter winds today. I was afraid to really throw my shoulders out because I felt like I would get stuck under the boom and tip. The result was medium roll tacks. Not great, not terrible. Just average. I must get used to taking the risks.

By the way, I am now totally exhausted. In the third race, I was hiking a lot and in the fourth and fifth races, I was hiking full out on the upwind, but not quite planing on the downwind. In the fifth race, I was losing strength and having trouble staying out. Argh! More fitness needed. Way better than last year, especially on arm strength but my abs just aren't up for a 2 hour workout! Oh, I forgot to mention that yesterday I was trying to figure out why my hip flexors were so sore on the long tacking day. I played with position and tried to use different muscles. I came to the conclusion that either the hiking strap was too tight or my calf muscles are too big. So I loosened the strap a couple of inches and that straightened out my legs considerably and I think the hip flexors won't hurt so much now. I certainly felt my abs and quads more today.

I can't wait to see where I am in the standings - no one won more than one race so it is anybody's guess who's in the lead. I expect to be in the top five.

Big Wind?

The forecast was for 15-25 knots all day today. Fantastic, but I don't want to wear myself out right before the regatta. I was aiming to get to the club by 11am. I got a little busy in the morning and it became clear that noon was a better goal. On the way to catch the bus I realized that I hadn't been to Munroe's yet and this would be my last chance. So I stopped in for a quick look. I was waylaid by a Japanese guy from the hostel. He was really struggling with English so having a conversation was a time consuming thing. It's too bad really that I didn't have more time. Anyway, I probably talked to him for half an hour. I think I made it to the club just after one with a relaxed, heel dragging sort of attitude. I chatted with a few sailors, then took a while to change. I finally made it on the water after 2. The wind was still decent - full hiking. I'm told I missed white caps this morning. It would have been good to do a few screaming reaches. I wasn't really sure what I wanted to work on in higher wind. Tacking and gybing smoothly and keeping the boat flat.

As it turned out, the wind was steadily dying. I did a few reaches in the best of it and then headed upwind out of the bay. Really just wanting to relax, sail, and see the mountains on the horizon. I played with the controls on the way out to work on boat speed a bit. Hard without another boat as a reference. I was working on being one with the boat. Responding to it more quickly, feeling the speed. Outside the bay, the wind seemed even lighter. I just kept going towards Discovery Islands for a while. I wish I had taken a look at a chart. It might have been nice to land on a beach and explore a bit. I recall from cruising last September that you really do need a chart to land this island without hitting something. I didn't want to take any chances with no coach boat and only one other sailboat out.

As the wind died, I played with boat trim a bit - sitting way back in the cockpit and watching the wake smooth out as I moved forward. I need to remember to sit a bit further forward than I have been in light wind. I worked on gybes a bit as I headed back to the bay hoping for more wind. Then a few more starts - I wish I had some video showing and explaining this. As the wind really dropped off, I headed for the dock. I was still a few hundred meters out when the wind died completely. I drifted on my momentum for a while, then pumped the sail for a while, and finally used the rudder to paddle in past the big rock.

All in all, a great day sailing. I wasted the best wind, but I didn't wear myself out. I really enjoyed relaxing in the sunshine, bonding with my boat.

Perfect Conditions

Last night I watched the Cockerill Upwind DVD and as a result, planned to work on sheeting for mark roundings, roll tacks, and windward heel. I also wanted to work on starting from stopped to get the steps and timing down. I have to say that the wind was absolutely perfect for practicing all of these things. Not too strong, not too light. I started with the roundings and I think I have sped up my sheeting by grabbing the sheet lower down instead of going hand to hand and then pulling right up. I still need to work on timing of the rounding so that I hit the mark tight as I turn upwind. Also need to work on gybing with the rounding a bit more.

Roll tacks are going better. Playing with windward heel, but still don't have a feel for when it helps and when it slows me down. I had a few decent starts. It helps to actually stand up and step above the leeward toe rail to roll the boat. Still, even with a good roll to leeward, I don't always get power coming up. Is that the rate of righting, the angle to the wind, or the sail trim? In just hiking conditions, it took me 5 seconds to go from stop to full speed. In lighter air it took 10. Next time I should remember my wind indicator.

It was a beautiful, sunny day. The Olympic mountains were visible, but not clear and bright. As I came out of the bay, I could see the snow on the mountains to the east. I love sailing in such a beautiful place.

When I was doing the mark roundings, I was actually too hot in full wetsuit and spray top. I wished that I'd skipped the double toque today. Rain and serious wind forecast for tomorrow.

Heel, starts, and skiffs

The idea was to get an early start today because most people were leaving in the afternoon. In the end, we only made it on the water half an hour earlier. The first drill was one I haven't done before - heeling on the whistle. Michael had us heeling to windward and leeward, upwind and downwind. The point is that we are all lazy about keeping the boat flat at times and this drill really demonstrated how slow that is. The heel affected the steering which resulted in more rudder which slowed the boat. On the downwind, I was reminded of how much heel helps with a gybe. Heel to windward going into it turns the boat, then flatten for the pump, then heel to windward again to straighten up.

On the gybes, I was steering too violently today, but slowed it down later on. As with tacks, I am better at gybing onto port than onto starboard. I need to work on being symmetrical.

Michael has been yelling at me to be more energized in the boat, like a coiled spring, like an explosion for two days. Maddy also commented at the end of the day that I'm quite static in the boat, not responding as much as the others. Last summer I had a similar comment from Noah, when he pointed out that I should be more aggresive with the boat like Braden. I have at times been more dynamic. I think this is mostly a mood thing. Being cold and feeling cautious about falling in probably results in slower movement in the boat. Come to think of it, I had advice from Peter last year to move more in the boat - fore and aft as well is in and out.

I'm having trouble with static starts. When we line up in irons on the line, I have trouble getting the boat to roll to leeward. Often when I flatten, I don't get a lot of power - mostly because the boat is pointed too high after spending too long trying to roll. It works better if I stand up, but I need to smooth it out and figure out the timing so that I'm not late or early off the start.

Today I was feeling frustrated with the number of people that screwed up the starts by trying to squeeze in where there was no room, or rolling in front of people on the line. I need to watch out for that more and be aggressive about defending my spot. The trouble with practice is that you don't protest as there are no consequences and the kids seem to push the rules as a result. Even in a race it is difficult to enforce the rules at the start because there is so much going on that it is often difficult to know what actually happened. It is difficult to focus on lining up and defending at the same time. I need to refresh my memory on the details of the rules at the start.

In the afternoon I was the only non-skiff sailor so I went in the coach boat and watched the 49er, I14, and 29ers for a while. Same principles as the Laser, with the added fun of a jib and a spinnaker. At the end of the afternoon, I hopped in the 49er with Liam Law. Liam very calmly and patiently showed me the ropes, both as crew and as skipper. It was a fun ride - I wouldn't mind doing it again sometime. I do realize that it wouldn't be as fun in less than ideal wind conditions as capsizing in the skiffs can be quite an event.

Less wind - is it possible?

This morning the water could be described as polished glass. The good news is that the sun was shining. Still, the decision was to go back to the gym in the morning. Blah. Now all of my muscles are sore. I think I would rather have gone running.

The afternoon was good. Enough wind to hike at times. We started with the sausage drill to improve our mark roundings. I think I got more out of it today. Then tacking and gybing on the whistle. I got stuck in bad air at the beginning and fell behind on the upwind. When we turned downwind, I was sailing well and people didn't catch up so the gap widened. I did a couple of roll tacks with what felt like good timing. I need to work on reproducing that every time. I think it would be easier to learn in warm water! It is amazing how much the fear of falling in screws me up. I managed to keep the boat upright today.

We did a few starts and stops. It is important to heel the boat over while sheeting in and also to head the boat in the right direction while leveling. After that we did a long tack out towards Trial Island. Some interesting currents on the way there. A few sailors actually hit rocks. The only damage was Robin's centreboard. He hit a rock hard and the top of the board split off.

To Sail or Not to Sail

Cadboro Bay was so glassy this morning that the reflections of the houses on the far shore could be seen in the water. And then it started to rain. With no sign of wind coming, the decision was made to send us to the gym.

I'm still not a big fan of gyms. The idea of trudging along on a machine when you could be outside exploring is not at all inspiring. I'm also not a believer that an intense weight workout is a good idea in the midst of an intense camp. I was mildly sore from yesterday and thought a little recovery time would be a good idea. The forecast was for 10 knots in the afternoon, so I wanted to save a bit for that. Maybe that's not intense enough. I'm still chicken about falling in and want all the energy I can get to prevent that. To keep the intensity up without wearing us out, I wish the coaches would do more instruction on race tactics and strategy. I know boat handling is the priority and without that we can't win a race. I think it would be helpful to learn tactics and strategy at the same time, in depth.

I'm also thinking that next winter, if I want to sail, I should go somewhere warmer. Then I won't be afraid of falling in, my toes won't get cold, and I might be able to convince some friends to come along.

In the afternoon the wind picked up and we sailed long enough to complete one drill - sausage drill - before the wind died completely. The drill was about mark rounding, but the course was a reach both ways. I would have preferred to work on a windward/leeward course. I did not do well at rounding close to the mark. I did fairly well at easing the sheet before rounding and keeping speed through the turns.

A New Season Begins - With Light Winds

I'm back in Victoria for another training camp. Winds <15 km/hr, cloudy and 7 degrees. I'm warm enough on the water except for my toes.

I worked on roll tacking a lot today. Michael pointed out that I'm better at tacking onto port tack than onto Starboard. It has to do with how I'm balancing and anchoring my weight in the boat when I roll. Steve recommended tucking my toes under the toe rail and using the hiking strap as I throw my shoulders out. I've been a bit chicken about doing this because I'm afraid I won't get back in and under the boom fast enough. I was the first one to fall in today as a result of trying. It also highlights the need for new booties. I was planning to look for some here anyway. The neoprene socks/ water shoes combination isn't working for warmth or grip under the toe rail. Hopefully I can get to Bosun's before close Friday night or check out the selection at MEC.

We also worked at stopping and starting a lot today. News to me was that you should have the sail set when starting to maximize the power from the roll. With the vang off, some of the power spills off the leach.

We sailed in the bay for a couple hours in the morning. In the afternoon, the coaches towed us out to find wind. Lesson learned - it isn't good to be too close behind the tow boat. Water funnelled up through the centreboard slot and swamped the cockpit faster than the bailer could drain. Not a big problem except for the fact that the water is COLD. That was a big reason for my frozen toes in the afternoon. We sailed almost to Trial Island and then back to somewhere off Willows and were towed back in from there.