Following the America's Regatta - all the classes moved down to Charlotte Harbor to train at the Worlds Venue. 6 Sonars, 12-15 2.4 & 6 Skuds. It was hectic for everyone - first time for many of the competitors at the venue.
The venue & the harbor are GREAT, however, as I have mentioned in previous postings the harbor is shallow & has significant tides (can be up to 2 feet) - well for the SKUDs -that's for sure. The SKUD draws almost 6 feet - some parts of the harbor is not that deep.
We had 9 days on the water & anywhere from 2 to 6 boats. I think most of the practice was getting in & out of the marina with the keel up & various situations with sails set & being towed by coach boats. When we were training - the "stars were aligned" for the perfect difficult tides. Full moon approaching, NE winds & rain inland - all which make for "exceptionally extreme low tides". I think we ran aground a few times. Thank goodness for sandy bottoms. Most of the boats left on Thurs. Dec. 15. Ken & I took a few days off & then finished off with a BEAUTIFUL sail on Sunday - hauled the boat & called it for a well needed holiday.
Saturday 24 December 2011
America's Regatta - St Pete - Dec. 2 - 4
Oops - little late with the update. Where does the time go.
Nov.28 - Dec. 1: Ken & I moved the boat to St Petesburg, Florida in preparation for our first big regatta. Prior to the event, it was a good four days of training with 2 British boats & 1 US boat. We got some great upwind & downwind tuning. We learned alot during our training. Unlike other times I have sailed in St Pete - we had big winds & chop. Really good practice for us - we felt ready for the regatta.
Dec. 2 - 4: America's Regatta. Alex Fox came to St Pete to coach us & he was GREAT. He really helped us out & is always fun to be around. Thanks Alex for all the support.
WOW what a huge learning curve for us during this event. We had hope to have some better results - but what does one expect when sailing with the top boats in the World!!! Most of these teams have been together for 6 years: Ken & I have only really been sailing full-time together since October. We were able to be in the mix a few times, had some good starts & as the regatta continued we really honed in on some key "go fast" techniques. This regatta gave us a good platform on which to keep moving up. It ws nice to get a few good comments from fellow competitors.
Best part of the event - was catching up with a few of my international friends!!
Sorry no pictures - I will try to get some for next time.
Nov.28 - Dec. 1: Ken & I moved the boat to St Petesburg, Florida in preparation for our first big regatta. Prior to the event, it was a good four days of training with 2 British boats & 1 US boat. We got some great upwind & downwind tuning. We learned alot during our training. Unlike other times I have sailed in St Pete - we had big winds & chop. Really good practice for us - we felt ready for the regatta.
Dec. 2 - 4: America's Regatta. Alex Fox came to St Pete to coach us & he was GREAT. He really helped us out & is always fun to be around. Thanks Alex for all the support.
WOW what a huge learning curve for us during this event. We had hope to have some better results - but what does one expect when sailing with the top boats in the World!!! Most of these teams have been together for 6 years: Ken & I have only really been sailing full-time together since October. We were able to be in the mix a few times, had some good starts & as the regatta continued we really honed in on some key "go fast" techniques. This regatta gave us a good platform on which to keep moving up. It ws nice to get a few good comments from fellow competitors.
Best part of the event - was catching up with a few of my international friends!!
Sorry no pictures - I will try to get some for next time.
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