RC44 match racing in Copenhagen. Image copyright Per Heegaard/RC44 class association.
by Paul Cayard
Well, that makes two of the worst days of sailing in my career. Today, we did not do much better than yesterday, despite fully debriefing yesterday and really focusing on what we were doing.
We did manage to win the friendly rivalry match we have with Cereef today, where the skipper is Rod Davis. Rod is a long time friend of mine and there is always a case of beer on the line. In the others, we seemed to be a bit slow but after winning against Cereef, i think there was a lot more to the difference in pressure out there than what it appeared. Because the conditions were quite light today, the boats split farther apart so the wind speed differentials made the difference. In the Artemis race, we were over the starting line early so we just gave that one away right there. Somehow, we managed to stay out of the cellar thanks to Puerto Calero.
Anyway, I am banking on the thought that this will be water under the bridge shortly. As bad a day possible out here, it is still a great place to be. I know a lot of people would trade places with me in a heartbeat so I am grateful for the job I have even on a very tough day!
Tomorrow is a practice day for the fleet racing and our owner Guennadi is coming into town tomorrow from the South of France. The weather here is not like the South of France so I told him to bring some warm clothes. Forecast for later this week is 20-30 knots of wind. Should be exciting for Guennadi since this will be his second time steering a boat ever.
Paul Cayard
RC44
