Diary From Qingdao
August 29, 2006
Carol Cronin, Kim Couranz and Margaret Podlich write:
And now for something completely different...
We awoke to a lazy rain this morning, which wouldn't
(in a normal location) bode well for breeze... and
we towed out in 12-15 knots and the usual large
waves. From our previous experience we expected the
breeze to die off by race time, but instead it built
to 18-20. A different world! We used our heavy jib
for the first time, and tried to get our spreaders
forward to help stiffen our mast... but in the big
swell it was impossible to change them very much on
the water. That meant that we would have a bit of
trouble holding a lane upwind, we thought. By the
time we started, however, it was windy enough and
wavy enough that holding lanes was a problem for
everyone. We had a mediocre start toward the pin
(having been a bit too shy of the current running
upwind) and held out to the left, where we found a
nice shift and pressure that got us back even with
the top group. Unfortunately we then overstood the
weather mark (which we weren't able to see until
long after we tacked) and had to duck the whole
group we had struggled to pass as they lined up on
them starboard layline.
The rest of the race was all about staying out of
trouble; we were part of a pack of eight boats that
rounded every mark together. We did enjoy the rides
downwind! As Greg Fisher would say, "Nobody got
hurt," and we finished 12th.
Now for the good news: France's Anne Le Helley was
only two boats in front of us in that race, and she
was the one we had to beat to get into the medal
race. So now we needed five points on her. We rested
a bit and tried to eat, though everything was so wet
and lumpy that simply consuming anything was a
challenge.
The second race we got off the line with a great
start and headed out to our favorite left side
again. This time when we tacked, we had the whole
fleet in our window... which meant we were in the
lead with one or two other boats. We rounded the
first mark in second behind the Chinese, but they
were pulled out of the race for starting early (as
was fellow USA team member Sally Barkow). So off we
went down the first run with a lead on the pack.
Sarah Ayton (Great Britain) got around us by gybing
a bit sooner and being a bit more confident of her
boathandling at the leeward mark, but by the time we
got back upwind again the two of us had a very
healthy lead on the fleet. We enjoyed the AWESOME
surfing conditions downwind and were all set to
round second again... but the leeward mark came up
faster than we expected, and we couldn't get the
spinnaker down quite quickly enough to make a
seamanlike turn. Because the gap was large behind
us, we only lost two boats, and we maintained our
fourth place position back upwind to the top mark.
The current had faded off by the time we headed
downwind to the finish, though the waves didn't seem
to be getting any smaller. We gybed to the inside of
the two boats that had passed us, caught a series of
waves... and suddenly we were back in second again.
After a short battle to the finish, we caught the
wave that counted, maintained our second place by a
nose, and posted our best finish of the
regatta. Best of all, it got us into the medal race
tomorrow which was our goal for the day! So, "we
live to sail another day."
Here's how the medal race works:
1. The top ten boats from each class compete on a
different race course just off the breakwater.
(This maximizes the spectator enjoyment but may
compromise race quality.)
2. Points are doubled (so first is worth two
points, second is worth four points, etc.)
3. The medal race is the tie breaker.
4. The target time for the race is 30 minutes (less
than half of our usual race time), so it will be
somewhat of a sprint.
What this means for us:
We have a shot at finishing seventh overall if we
have a great race tomorrow. And, the other good
news: The worst we can now finish overall is tenth!
We are tired but satisfied with performing well in
conditions we haven't ever sailed in together, and
psyched that we get to finish the regatta on an up
note. Tonight we have a Team USA dinner, and I'm
sure it will be an early night for everyone as we
look forward to tomorrow's competition.
Thanks to everyone for your kind emails and belief
in us!
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