It’s been a Tricky week. The prevailing north easterly we had during the Pre Worlds in December never materialised and it was a week of fickle southerly winds. I got off to a good start with a 3rd in the first race and was on track for another in the second race until the last beat when I hooked something on my rudder and went painfully slow to be overtaken by 5 boats. I just didn’t seem to be getting the lucky breaks. In race 6 I got caught on the wrong side of a 40 degree shift and despite the race officers team advising him to abandon the race and restart it, he decided to ignore their advice and allow the race to continue.
I did have some good races though and a great day on Friday when I bounced back to have a 2nd and 1st. I finished the regatta with a 2nd which pulled me up to 4th overall.
Although really disappointed not to have medaled, the boat was going well and I showed i’m more than capable of finishing in the top three.

Relaxing and cycling in St Pete at the moment. Just did a 76 mile ride today which got rid of some of the frustration. Looking forward to heading south to Miami on Thursday and the start of Miami OCR next Monday

Charlotte Habor Yacht club, put on some great racing over 3 days. There was a good turn out of around 20 boats, with some good competition.
The Dutch were there on mass and so were the Canadians and obviously the American’s.
I got off to a good start on the first day, and finished the day in 2nd overall. A first and a third in the races the next day, put me in a great position, just one point off Paul Tingley who was leading and 3 points ahead of Bruce Millar in third. There was a considerable points margin of around 30 points to fourth place, so it was going to be a show down between the three of us.
We had some really close racing and battles down wind, with Bruce just getting the better of me in the first race and Paul a few places behind.
The second race I decided to try and sail my own race a bit more and not get so involved. It paid off, I finished 4th with Bruce in 5th and Paul once again a few places behind. I had now moved in to the lead and had 3 points on the other two, who were tied on points.
In the third race, I came off the line in a good position going fast, however a big black cloud and the warning of a thunderstorm, resulted in the race committee abandoning the race and cancelling racing for the rest of the day. I must admit I was not too disappointed!
It’s great to have won the Pre Worlds, and gives me confidence going in to the Worlds in January. Out here for a bit more training before heading home for Christmas. I can’t wait it’s been a long trip but a good one!