Well where do I start, what a day full of all sorts of dramas, so here goes...
By the time 'yo all' (a phrase we are hearing so much) read this it is probably old news, Rob has become a techo and throwing updates on the facebook page from his i-phone as soon as the kids are finishing, pretty hard to compete with that, so make sure you check the facebook page Opti WorldsNZ 2011 nzlteam to get up to the minute reports..
Another fantastic day of sailing, the sailing conditions have been absolutely fantastic infact to quote Chris "This is the best sailing conditions for a Nationals I have ever seen". So a pretty amazing opportunity for our guys. One of the awesome things about the venue is that the bay they are sailing in is all of 11ft deep. This shallowness keeps away all of the pleasure boats so you are not fighting with their chop all day.
Today was the start of what is called the medal round. the first two days are qualifying rounds. All our guys managed to qualify in gold fleet.
The conditions were supreme yet again, Race 1 was sailed in 10-15 knots Race 2 and 3 were 15- 20 knots and Race 4 dropped back to 10-15 knots. The race committee wanted to sail 4 races today. With the first warning signal not being until 1 pm we don't come off the water until about 6.30pm. We have found the Race Committee to be very efficient as soon as a flight finished they are pretty much marshaled straight back to the start line a bit of time to hydrate etc etc and straight into it, makes for great viewing.
Today's Results:
Leonard: 4th, 6th, 1st, 1st
Markus: 5th, 13th, 4th, 6th
Isaac: 1st, 40th, 6th, 3rd
Overall (after 11 races and 1 drop) - Leonard 1st, Markus 3rd, Isaac 18th
Leonard is on fire now out in front with a pretty commanding lead around 20 points from memory, with two drops still in hand.
Markus has had a good solid day and has moved into 3rd and tapping on seconds shoulder.
Isaac is slowly clawing his way back, didn't need the 40th today though.
Some of the Americans that were looking pretty good have had a mixed day so consistency is paying dividends.
You are thinking it all sounds pretty normal where is the drama in all that well this is where the fun begins. Chris and Will (American coach we are sharing a boat with) head back in to the dock after the days racing. The rib is a 5mtr rib powered by a jet rather than an outboard. Anyway coming into the Marina the boys are gunning it doing 35knots passing everyone, they enter the marina area and decide to button off, upon decelerating the boat decides to turn hard right, so Will hits reverse but to late!! they hit the breakwater wall doing about 20knots. Apart from a few scraps and bruises (egos included) the boys were okay, many of the boats going passed them were just shaking their heads. The boat sustained minimal damage and will live to sail another day. But wait there's more.
All the boys get to the shore, boats washed up and packed away. Isaac and Markus decide it would be a good idea to throw Leonard into the water to celebrate his success, a lady passing by said you should throw him into the pool, Robs reply was "nah salt water is good for him go ahead". What the lady should have said was you should throw him in the pool because the water is only 3 ft deep and full of barnacles. A visit to the site doctor for some running repairs and Leonard's feet are all taped up.
All in all a good day with a few laughs, Rob, Kazuyo and myself spent the day on the spectator boat again, even had time to sit on the sun loungers for a while, another tough day at the office...
Race Committee hoping to get three races in tomorrow so go the Kiwis.
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