Two races on Final Day

The race officer managed to get in two races with the first at 9am.  Tim and James finihsed 5th in the first race with Chris and pete in 8th.  The second race in a dying breeze saw Chris and Pete in 7th place.  The racing was very close each day with plently to gain and lose   The overall results are as follows


Chris and Pete 7th ,(28 points), Tim and James, 14th  (44)James and Robert 15th(54) and Olly and Max 19th (72)

A big thank you to the RYA for the use of the van and the class for use of the trailer.  If you are thinking of coming next year we can recommend it as a great training event with though med conditions and a great race team who want to put on fair racing.

A big thank you to Club Vela Blanes for the use of the rib.

Now to pack up the boats and travel back to the cold, damp UK.

We got in two races



Chris and Pete on the way to a 4th place

 Blanes produced some challanging racing and some wind!  The first race was held in 10 knots from the North west dropping to 8 knots with holes for the second. 

The middle left seemed to pay and those who went up the middle as per the text book got taken by both sides!

The more inexperienced sailiors made good use of the learning opportunities provided and I quote- ' we achieved our goals to today and know what we did wrong, it was a great day on the water because we learned so much'   This is why we came to this event and Tom has provided the sailors with a great pool of knowledge.

Tim and James PM battle with Movistar





The positions are as follows, Chris and Pete, 7th  Tim and James PM 13th, James and Robert 14th, Olly and Max 19th.

Today is a complete new experience for the sailors getting rigged in the dark as the start has been brought forward by 30 mins.  It is still pitch black as I write this blog and the cafe isn't even open!

Two  boats OCS but no Brits!

For those reading in Argentina we hope the last day goes well and that you have a great party.  We are looking forward to welcoming you home with a dose of reality, cold weather, school and exams!

Jan 4th- a new day and still light winds

The Balnes group seem a bit tired today and were only saved from the mini bus going by the driver leaving the keys in the flat!

The wind is from the north  and looks light again.  It is also quite cold in the morning, but the club restuarant is open, warm and welcoming. 

Olly and Max protested a French boat yesterday and the French sailors decided to retire, so another good lesson learned.

The club are expecting to hold one race in the morning then the sailors will probably come in for lunch and go out again as the wind swings around to the south.  The talk last night was about a big southerly wind,- we expect it to arrive on the 6th, the day after the regatta ends!!!!!

More blogging later if we managed to get a wifi connection

WE GOT A RACE IN TODAY (sort of)

WE GOT A RACE IN TODAY (sort of)

In a light north westerly wind and I mean light with big holes in it.  It was also a bit cold and the meant the 70 ft catamaran only had 4 takers.

It was difficult conditions but the sailors worked hard in the 40 minute race and this resulted in mid fleet results with Chris and Pete leading the way with 11^th.

Tom gave a detailed debrief after the sailors had been for a swim in the sea in board shorts!!!!!

Tom isn’t very good at quotes but we managed to get this out of him ‘some good sailing but a tough day on the water’

The muppet award goes to Mike who was not only one of the 4 takers on the (freezing cold) catermaran and took loads of pictures without having the memory stick in - hence the reason for no pictures today.

We continue to cheer on our GBR team in the worlds and only wish we had some of their wind.

First day of racing - so we thought

FIRST DAY OF RACING- So we thought

Te boats in the bay waiting for stable wind



Well the day arrived but unfortunately the wind didn’t!  The sailors were at the boat park for registration and measurement.  The team had no problems with measurement as there wasn’t any!

Great selection of regatta goodies, including 2 hats and hoodie, I suspect that they will be difficult to swap!



Tom with team GBR Blanes



The boat park



However the sun did come out and the supporters were in  T shirts and someone even suggested a swim! 

Tom continued his briefings and even more boat checking revealed cracked trapeze hooks so far we have not had any slot gasket problems due to lack of wind!

A little bit more exploring the marina and we found Richard Stanley’s Birthday present to his wife!



What a nice present

Tonight we are off to for a chinese and it will be early to bed as we need to be in the boat park by 8am ready for a 9.30 start.  We have been promised some wind in the morning!!!!!

Happy New year From Spain

Happy New Year to all of you

It was a bit cold

Tom’s New  Year’s  Eve was a long one.

Some sailors decided to run to the club which meant starting in the dark at 8am!  The other sailors and support crew had a bit more leisurely start at 8.30am - Tom is a tough coach.

The boats were launched by 9.30am and sailed in a light northerly and sloppy sea. They arrived back 3.5 hours later for a quick briefing,  lunch and then back on the water for a further 2 hours in a south east wind of 5 to 10 knots and some nice waves.  Chris has got a new video camera which was fixed to his mast and presented us with a bird eye view of them sailing (a great coaching tool).

Mary's Sketch of team briefing

  

While the sailors were out doing their bit the supporters had a lunch.  Granny Mary is a lady of many talents and did a quick sketch of the briefing (you will see some more of her later.)

The team decided to have a safari supper, rather than going out for an expensive meal.  The great thing about sailing is how all ages just mix together to have a great time.  We have carefully selected the photo’s for your viewing but if any of you would like to see the others ........

The highly competitive games comprised of picking up the cereal packet (which was steadily reduced in size) with your mouth, pennies from heaven and crazy golf.

Spot the chicken!!!!!

Olly is very bendy




  The winners were as follows:-

Cereal Packet – Pete after a tie break with Chris and Tim (decided by height).  Pete won the prize of the rubber chicken now known at Kentucky! But looks remarkably  like Pete!!!!!!

Pennies from Heaven- Jackie with Mary a commendable 3^rd.



A miss spent youth!



Crazy golf- Tim wins but here is an interesting freestyle approach by Liz.

Oh dear!



New Year’s Day started late and comprised of boat work (due to the lack of wind) and ended with ten pin bowling.  It was a Taylor whitewash, with a win on both the adult and sailor’s lane.

Tomorrow is the start of racing so we are all off for an early night!!!!!!!!!





First Day of training

After all the talk about the weather here, we have light rain, no sun and it does feel a bit like Blighty!

The weather here is much calmer than the excitement of Argentina as we have little tide and much less wind!

We are all following what happens in Argentina with much anticipation, all the reports are studied, pictures reviewed and if we are lucky enough a quick chat on skype and facebook- the modern world makes it feel that we are with you.

The Med is currently calmer but it actually looks like sea rather than sailing hot chocolate in BA.

Good.luck to the Worlds team and we hope that you don't have so much damage today or tonight!!!!!!!!!!!!