National Qualifying Regatta

I am in Halifax, Nova Scotia for the National Qualifying Regatta - the qualifier for the Canadian Sailing Team.

Final results here

Click "read more" for daily reports.
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Wednesday, September 28
Today was the first day of racing at the NQRs. In the first race I had a decent start and was at the front of the fleet early. I got stuck a bit in the middle halfway up on the beat and lost out to boats on either side and rounded around 10. I gained a few throughout to finish 6th (became 3rd after 3 boats ahead were OCS). In the second and third races I did not get off the line well and rounded the first weather mark around 14 in both races. I made some gains in each race to finish 9 and 10. After the first day of racing I am in 5th.


Thursday, September 29
Today was the second day of racing. With bad weather forecast for tomorrow, the race committee was keen to get in 4 races. I was a bit timid on the line today, but was able to make good calls and had solid downwind speed. The first three races were quite similar with pressure on the left side of the course. I was able to string together 3 good races scoring a 3,4,6. In the last race of the day I started near the boat and the wind went hard left, leaving me behind the lead group. I rounded the first leeward mark around 10. On the second beat I did a good job of spotting the new pressure and sailed the lifted tack to the right side of the course and came back in good pressure to round the weather mark 4. I passed another boat on the run to finish 3. I dropped one spot to 6th overall today, but was able to open up a nice gap to the boats behind.

Friday, September 30
Today we had a very similar breeze to yesterday with an 8-15 knot southerly. I was able to identify the similarities to yesterday and was able to put together a solid, consistent day, posting a 4,5,5. I had good speed on the downwinds again, but was often near the front at the first mark which made things a little easier for me. After 10 races I am in 6th overall. Only one race is scheduled for tomorrow. I can finish as high as third, but no lower than 6th.

Saturday, October 1
Today was the last day of racing, with only one race left to complete the series. Before the start the wind was quite unstable, ranging from 180 to 230. I decided I wanted to win the pin and hit the left. I had a great start, winning the pin and had a clear lane to left. I tacked back to the right a bit early and lost a few boats who went further left and rounded the first mark 3rd. I had a good run and rounded the bottom 2nd, lost one on the beat and finished 3rd. The boat who won the race was OCS, moving me up to 2nd in the race. I finished 5th overall and was 3rd Canadian.

Fall CORK

Fall CORK was held in Kingston last weekend. The regatta came down to the last race, and I was just able to do enough to win the event. Results at cork.org

I am also currently leading the North American Grand Prix - Standings

CORK OCR

I am sailing in the CORK OCR regatta in Kingston.
Racing runs August 20-24. Follow results at cork.org

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Saturday, August 20
Today was the first day of racing. In the first race I got a bit rafted up at the start, and was late getting off the line. I made a nice move to the left side of the course at the top of the beat and rounded the weather mark around 10. I was quick on the run and passed 5 boats on the run to round 5 at the bottom. I lost one boat on the next beat and finished 6. In the second race I had a good start, but the boat above me had a great start. I rolled the two boats below, but got rolled myself. I was forced to tack out, but I was able to find some space eventually. Again I rounded around 10, but was quick on the run and rounded the bottom 6 and held to the finish. In the last race of the day I won the pin end start and was leading after the gun. I closed out to the left side, but the first 4 boats came from the right. I was 6 at the bottom, passed one on the beat and lost two on the last run to finish 7.

Sunday, August 21
After a delay on shore for wind, we were sent out to the race course, only to sent in again 5 minutes into our first race. With thunderstorms in the area and a big storm approaching, racing was cancelled for the day.

Monday, August 22
Today we sailed in a tricky northwesterly. In the first race I was on the wrong side of the course on the first beat and found myself deep at the first mark. I sailed a quick race throughout and was able to get back to 7. In the second race I made some good moves at the top of the beat to round 5. I was 4 at the bottom, but sailed a terrible second beat and lost 4 boats. I gained distance on the boats ahead on the last run, but was not able to pass anyone and finished 8. In the third race we had a big right shift as a storm cloud went through. I rounded the weather mark 3, but the race was abandoned, and we were sent in for the day.

Tuesday, August 23
In the first race I got stuck at the pin, and was late starting. I went low out to the left, but wind filled from the right and went right on the first beat. I was near the back of the fleet at the first mark. I passed 10 boats on the first run, but got stuck in traffic at the bottom of the second beat. I was not able to make more gains and finished 27. In the second race I got out nicely to the right side of the course and made a good move back across the course to round the top 2nd. I was second at the bottom, passed one boat and lost two on the beat to finish 3. In the third race I didn't have a great start, but was quick enough on the first run to make some gains. I was quick at the bottom of the second beat, and finished 6. In the last race I didn't have a great start but was again able to get clear quickly. I made a mistake near the top of the beat and had to do a couple of crash tacks and rounded the weather mark around 8. I was quick on the run and rounded the bottom 2nd. I was a bit early in coming back across to the right on the second beat and lost a couple of boats to finish 4. I am currently in 6th overall, with 7 points separating 3-6. Tomorrow is the last day of racing.

Wednesday, August 24
This morning we had winds ranging from 16 to 21 knots, and unfortunately the PRO decided it was not safe to send the sailors out. We went out regardless and had a great training session. I finished the regatta 6th overall, tied on points with the sailor in 5th.

Opti Coaching

I coached Opti sailor Campbell Patton from Bermuda at the CORK International regatta. Campbell finished 1st in his age group and 25th overall in the 86 boat fleet. The Kingston Whig has an article on Campbell's sailing: http://www.thewhig.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3264593