This marks the 11
th anniversary since my last visit to the beautiful country of Australia. We went to Melbourne last time around and we never got the opportunity to get to Sydney which has always been on our list of places to go. When we heard the 2010 World Championship was being held in Sydney Harbor, we jumped at the chance.
As advertised, Sydney is spectacular. A sailors paradise with 300 miles of dramatic coastline within the harbor alone. The wind changes direction almost every day and the harbor traffic can test anyone's seamanship skills, specifically the Manly ferry which ran through our race course both directions every half hour. This is the main mode of commuter transport between downtown Sydney and the Northern beaches. We've heard some eye opening stories about this particular ferry including the mowing down of a few skiffs and dinghies in fairly recent times. Keeping clear of commercial traffic is obvious, but when the race course is on the main artery of the ferry line, it makes it interesting.
We were the first US team to arrive and since our boat transport was running late, we took advantage of our downtime to do some serious sight seeing by doing the Sydney Bridge walk, along with visits to the Nautical Museum, the Opera House and various harbor ferry tours. We then had an intense all day hike at the Blue Mountains during
Christmas, and then watched the start of the Sydney Hobart the following day. To cap it all off, we celebrated a wild New Years downtown complete with fireworks.
My regular crew couldn't make this event since he was having his first child so I teamed up with my buddy Simon Marks. We've done a few regattas together including the 2007 POW where we first made our international presence known. I hadn't sailed with him since but I knew we'd gel together pretty quickly. Once he got in and the boat cleared customs, it was all business. We sailed everyday for about a week.
We were fortunate to be able to line up and pace against some of the top teams and we quickly confirmed we had excellent boat-speed and what seemed to be even better pace once we reached the wind velocity in the teens. We took a gamble and selected our older set of slightly flatter sails for this event and it seemed to pay off. When compared to our brand new set, we felt we could reach top gear much more easily and consistently. All combined with better pointing.
During qualifying rounds for the Gold and Silver fleets, we used this opportunity to practice our starting technique. Being front row was crucial and anything else was not an option. Through some trial and error including an OCS, we got comfortable, picking our place on the line and protecting it. With a fleet of 65 boats in Gold fleet, an excellent start was priority. Not getting run down by the Manly ferry was an even bigger priority. The racing strategy could be summed up by nailing a good start at the correct end of the line, don't crash, and don't get run down by the ferry. We found we were underpowered in sub 12 knot breezes, competitive in the teens, and rocket fast in bigger breeze. Our best race was also the windiest. The most challenging aspects of the regatta for us were the wide range of variable conditions relative to shifts, and land contour. The boat itself was great with very few issues besides the normal wear and tear. By the end, we fried a set of spin sheets, mainsheet, spin block, two set of gloves, and a pair of booties. My muscles were also pretty worked. I was happy with our performance (12th overall - 106 boats) considering the caliber of talent at this particular event. I'd say the talent ran deeper here than in Germany or LA and the number of fast Teams/Boats has grown substantially. In regards to development, it seems the trend at the moment is still focused on further refinement of foils and lighter/stiffer High Modulus mast sections. We found our complete kit even though virtually untouched the last few years was just as competitive as the the top boats. I'd also say our boat-handling while excellent, was not up to par as the top teams which tacked and jibed a bit quicker ultimately adding time and distance around the course.
In all, a well run regatta at one of the most beautiful places on earth.
