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.