Gold Fleet Race Day 1

A lesson in expectations and head games… The sailing here in Lago Maggiore is tricky. As one can tell by perusing the scores of virtually everyone on race day one in the Gold fleet, consistency was hard to come by. The door was open for opportunity to move up, however, if your rhythm is not there, then a tricky day can become all the more painful. That was the case today for the boys. Having only a short while to process the fact that they were in 15th place overall after the qualifying rounds, there simply was not a good opportunity to let that settle in and prepare for the next round. No excuses, however, the lesson should not go unchecked. When you set your sites on a lesser goal and attain a higher one, sometimes it takes an adjustment period to re-calibrate. With this being only their 4th actual regatta there was really little gauge of potential, so readying for the Gold flight next time will be a more familiar process. Regardless, congratulations are in order for a very solid regatta thus far, and a little gratefulness for the valuable lesson that I’m sure will pay dividends down the road.

These photos capture the event beautifully

A talented photographer named Roberto Hajduk from Poland has been snapping away during the event. These photos describe the experience better than I ever could. Beautiful!

There's a few photos of Dane and Newt. Look for the kid with white sunglasses and red life jacket, sail number USA 1176 and a very blonde crew.

Here's the link: http://roberthajduk.com/ec29er/29er_europeans_switzerland_2011

The challenge with sailing in the Alps

From the 29er European website: "With the Lake so deep, the "anchors" are degradable concrete blocks with degradable line (hemp?) for the anchor line. The Race Committee has managed to set several of these around the lake and tie plastic jerry cans to them and then it's easier for the race management team to make mark changes faster. It's quite an accomplishment and ingenuity by the race management team. When appropriate, they can cut the line and these will degrade over time in the lake." Note:  my understanding is that it takes 20 minutes for the concrete blocks to sink to the bottom so they set these marks every 10 degrees to allow for wind shifts. Then they simply (or maybe not so simply) move the marks to these "jerry cans" (which I think are just little plastic bottles.)

Gold

Dane and Newt qualified for the gold fleet. The fleets were split into the championship fleets last evening with 25 in the gold, 44 in silver and 43 each in bronze & emerald. They are currently in 15th place. They will carry that score over to the championship series.

There are four US teams in gold:  Zack Downing & Andrew Cates; Tyler Macdonald & Willie McBride; Dane Wilson & Newt Cutcliffe; and Paris Henken and Hans Henken- all from Southern California.

July 19th

My phone service has been a bit sketchy and I didn’t see a text about an early start. I woke up at 7:00 and looked out my balcony window and saw 29ers already out on the water. I quickly woke Dane up and we ran to the club. Luckily Dane and Newt were in the second wave. I came back and had a nice breakfast in my hotel. I asked the chef if I could take a few slices of bread because Dane missed breakfast. He said give me five minutes. He packed up two vegi sandwiches, watermelon and iced tea. I was worried Dane was going to be out on the water all day without breakfast or lunch. He was a lifesaver.


This quaint little local yacht club seems to be overwhelmed with the size of the regatta. They had 25% more sailors than anticipated. The race committee and jury seems to be understaffed. All of the stores and restaurants close in the afternoon for "Italian siesta." What amused me is that the race committee came in for lunch and left the kids floating out on the water. The regatta apparently has a siesta time too. Funny.

Today several members of the US, Great Britain, Norway and Spain have volunteered to help out on the water. Besides the racing conditions they were worried about too few boats on the water to help with safety issues. Some of the moms (including myself) who don't have race committee experience are volunteering with protest administration in the afternoons. Hopefully we won’t see any of our kids in that line.

USA 1176 got two races in today. The conditions were not great but they had two solid finishes. Some groups haven’t gotten in any races yet. Tomorrow is the last day of qualifying before they are divided up into championship fleets of gold, silver and bronze.


Our regular afternoon thunderstorm hit in the afternoon and boats scrambled in. Dane and Newt were not out racing at the time. Everyone made it back safely (well I hope so, no one is marking the kids coming in).

We had the best dinner of our trip so far at our hotel. Arugala salad, grilled salmon with roasted potatoes and vegis and toped it off with vanilla gelato. Then to bed early. 

July 17th

Rain again!  The boys got their boat and sails measured.  Luckily it passed inspection. Several US sailors’ boats did not and they have to add weight or change out fittings on the boats. A few boats headed out sailing but were called back due to the storm. The boys had lunch with US team and are hanging out waiting for Opening Ceremonies.(Note the California flag)

Mary Pat and I headed to Italy to explore but had to turn around because her daughter’s boat didn’t pass inspection. It was for the best because it’s Sunday and the place is packed and we can’t find any parking. We’re going to try again mid-week. While we were looking for parking we got to witness two Italian families fighting over a parking space. Both claimed to have a right to it and the Italian gestures were amusing. One woman just stood behind the car trying to park and wouldn’t budge. A large traffic jam ensued and everyone got out of their cars to have a say. After a while, one side conceded, but I’m guessing their tires will be slit when then return (ha-ha). That was the most entertaining 10 minutes of the day.

The weather is supposed to clear tomorrow. Fingers crossed.