On board with Artemis, Paul Cayard's mount for the Cagliari stop of the Audi MedCup tour 2009. Bigamist is approaching from the right. Image copyright Ian Roman/Audi MedCup.
by Paul Cayard
Today was the official practice race for this series. The Mistral finally died out after three days and a sea breeze filled in around 1200. By 1300 (start time) we had 9 knots from the southeast.
As per usual, we had two practice starts then on the third start, a race. We tried some different approaches in our practice starts and they did not pan out too well for us. For the race start, we used a standard port tack approach and had a great start down near the left end of the line. The left side of the course was good, a bit more pressure than the right and that got us to the first mark first. Down the run we had one little glitch on the first gybe and that set us back a bit. We rounded the gate second and up the second windward leg, I played the middle while Matador and Bigamist were a bit to our left. We rounded the second windward mark third and that is how we finished. Team New Zealand was right behind us.
So we felt pretty good about our performance, we are definitely improving each day. We certainly have a ways to go to reach perfection.
Tomorrow's forecast is for another sea breeze. I am sure the race committee will try to get three races in so it will be a long day. The water is so flat and the breeze is rather steady. Only small gradual shifts, so the fleet stays very close together. It will be a matter of inches and feet on the critical first cross that will make the difference at the first mark and probably for the rest of the race.
I woke up at 0600 today and could not get back to sleep so I went to the gym. Had to wait for it to open at 0730. We are in Italy. Anyway, I love to work out in the mornings. It sets my whole day off to a good start. I will go again tomorrow. I am trying to gain a few pounds for the 505 Worlds.
Off to a performance meeting now, then dinner.
Audi MedCup
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