Dan's Diary

 

30 January 2008

Finn Gold Cup 22 - 29 January 2008 FINAL REPORT

A Silver Medal to end a really long week of racing was not quite the colour I would have liked going into yesterdays medal race but still have to be pleased with my performance.

Yesterdays race I started inside what we call the tram lines (the lay lines to both ends of the start line). I Thought Ben may come and try and get a penalty on me before the start so had sat inside the tram lines to keep all my options open from four minutes to go. At two minutes to go Ben came up tight to leeward of me and we sat there for 1 minute as we slowly edged towards the start line at 30 seconds to go we were both head to wind. I was able to back out and try to hook Ben. I looked to windward and 3 lengths up was the Greek. Ben tacked onto port and I had a great chance to do the classic match-racing move to tack as well and try and push him over the line. However the Greek and Ben don't see eye to eye and the potential to screw us both was too high and we also had just 15 seconds to go now. My gap on the start was a little too tight and Ben started with a boat between us and separation to windward. My start wasn't great and at the first cross Ben was 20m ahead of me so my focus then went on protecting a Silver medal. That meant staying close to the Dutch and Danish. On the second beat there was a chance to get some leverage on Ben and stay with the other two to the left side of the course and although I gained a lot and was able to secure the silver medal it wasn't enough to catch Ben.

Although I am disappointed I did achieve all the things that we set out to achieve before coming to Melbourne.
I would like to thank Nenad for his coaching over the past 3 weeks it has been fantastic and to Clouds for his great forecasts each day that are always so good. I would also like to thank John Clinton and Mick Cooksen for all their work on the equipment that has made me so fast.

I will now be back in NZ before going to Europe in April to do 3 regattas.

Thanks for your support.

Dan

 

28 January 2008

Finn Gold Cup 22 - 29 January 2008

Finn Gold Cup Day 1

Today started in a light 7 knots and by the end of the day we saw 15 knots and steep choppy waves.
I couldn't have asked for a better start to the regatta after scoring two wins today.
The first race I didn't have a great start but lucky for me I was able to get in phase with the shifts and after 3 or 4 tacks I had a clear lane to pop out from the fleet and round the top mark I was 3rd. Through out the remainder of the race I was able to gain on both downwinds to cross the finish line with a 50m lead.
Race 2 I liked the right hand side of the course and got a good start at the windward end and as the beat went on the breeze clocked 15 degrees to the right leaving just 2 boats in front of me who and hit the right hand side hard on the first beat. Once again downwind I managed to pass the two boats in front me and win the race by 4-5 boat lengths.

Tomorrow we just have one race with a later start so we may see another day of 15 knots and with some luck the wind gods will be on my side again.

Finn Gold Cup Day 2

Today was really difficult with the breeze dropping from 15 knots to 8 knots just before the start. We had shifts of 15-20 degrees throughout the race and with a huge first beat there were boats that had massive splits between each other.

I had not a good start but was able to clear really early and get my own lane from there I sailed up the middle of the beat. At one stage I couldn't read the sail numbers of the boats on either side of the course and in the end the right hand side was better and the Austrian had a huge lead and the first mark. I rounded in 3rd and at the bottom was 7th in a bit of a pile up but once clear managed to sail back to finish 5th across the line but 4th on the score sheet and the leader was over the start early.

So a 4th in testing conditions was another counter and I enjoyed having the speed and height to sail my own race.

Finn Gold Cup Day 3

Two races were sailed today in what looked to be a fast building sea breeze but it never got above 11 knots.

The first race I had a great start and the pin end and about 10 seconds after the gun I tacked over and crossed the whole fleet.

As the race went on I led round the first mark and down the run until I was yellow flagged for rocking the boat. I had to do a penalty 720 turn and this dropped me back 4th.. Then on the final run to the finish I was able to get back one place to finish 3rd.

Race 2 I had a good start but not a great start but was pinned out towards the left side of the course. This wasn’t really where I wanted to be and rounded the first mark 20th. I had a good first run to round the next mark 14th but again was dictated by other boats towards the left side of the course and finished 16th across the line.

Tomorrow is a rest day and we will resume racing on Sunday. As the results stand right now I have a 10pt lead over Ben Ainslie from the UK and Emilios the Greek.

I am really happy with the way things are going right now but we still have a lot of yachting to go.

Finn Gold Cup Day 4

Another two races today which could have been better for me but I am still leading overall but the gap has closed to being first equal with Ben Ainslie.

Today the first race was 10 knots. I just had a real shocker getting the first shift and although I caught up a 32nd it wasn't really what I was looking for.

The second race started in 16 knots and built to maybe 20 knots in the end. My start and first beat was great and was second after the first lap of the course. Going up the second beat I got out of phase with the shifts in the middle of the beat and lost 3 boats which was really disappointing. On the final beat to the finish I lost one more boat to cross the line 6th.

Tomorrow we will have the final race before the top ten will sail a medal race on Tuesday. I will be giving it my all to see if I can try and be in a great position on points going into the medal race.

Finn Gold Cup Day 5

After two and a half hours waiting for the wind to settle and build above 5 knots we eventually got the last fleet race started. I had a great start and was able to pop out in the leading group. Round the first mark I was 3rd and the same at the bottom mark. I had 2 boats between Ben and I and another 3-4 boats between Ben and the other two who threaten us overall. (The Danish Jonas and Dutch PJ). As the second beat progressed the wind shifted right and I had a loose cover on Ben and the other 2 guys. Round the top mark for the final time I was 4th Ben was 5th and were a metre apart. At the same time the free pumping flag went up for the final downwind to the finish. Both Ben and I rowed our way down the run to finish neck and neck and as it turned out Ben got me by 10-20cm. So Ben was 4th and I was 5th.
Overall Ben now leads by 1point from me then a further 7pts back to the Dutch PJ and Jonas the Danish is 10points back. Tomorrows medal race is double points so for Ben and I it's whoever beats whom in the race. For PJ to win he has to get 4 boats between us while Jonas needs 5 boats between us to win. I will have a good look and the points tomorrow but that's what it looks like. I cant finish worse than fourth now overall and tomorrows race will be a really exciting.

Thanks for your support.

Dan

 

19 January 2008

Sail Melbourne 14 - 19 January 2008

Sail Melbourne Day 1 14 January 2008

Today was the first day of the Sail Melbourne Grade 1 Regatta that also serves as a Pre Worlds for the Finn and 470 classes whose World Championships start next week.
I have been here in Melbourne training for the last 6 days and have had some great sailing with some mixed days in my performance. In the breeze over 15 knots I have struggled for speed with the 100kg plus boys but under 15knots I have been really fast in under 12knots and much the same up to 15knots.
Today in was 16-20 knots in the sea breeze direction and I struggled in both races really due to bad sailing I cant really blame my speed. I finished both races in the mid to late teens. If I had sailed a bit smarter I could have finished with two places around 10th maybe.
Tomorrow I will try a different mast and see if I can be a little quicker in the higher wind range but short of putting on 10kg in the next 24hours im not sure things are going to improve that much. Most important will be to sail a bit smarter and get tuned in to racing again as its been 5 months since I last raced.

Sail Melbourne Day 2 15 January 2008

Today the breeze was very light at start time so I didn't change any gear except for a light polyester sail. We waited for an hour before getting underway in a 7 knot sea breeze. After an average start I shot out on the fleet with really great boat speed towards the right hand side but unfortunately for me the breeze shifted 20 degrees to the left. This made my position on the right looking very sick. The race never really had to many pacing lanes from then as the course wasn't shifted so it became a bit of a progression and I finished 36th.
Race two and the breeze had built to 12 knots so I had changed to a technora sail for the heavier conditions. With a good start I was able to tack and cross most of the fleet and as the beat went on things started to look better and better. Round the first mark I was 3rd and was 2nd at the bottom for the first time. On the final beat the breeze dropped down to 9-10 knots and I found myself with a 4 boat length lead with a final run to the finish. Down the run I was passed by the Zach the US guy as the breeze swung further left turning the run into a reach and he crossed the line half a length ahead of me.

All and all a really positive day in the lighter air with really great speed and height using a new Southern Spar mast, NZ North sails and a Cooksen rudder.

Sail Melbourne Day 3 16 January 2008

Fresh to frightening with big waves today made racing quite tough after waiting for a few to many extra hours while race management sorted themselves out.
Both races today were sailed in 20-22 knots. I had better starts and was able to sail the race from front end of the fleet that made life a bit easier from the last few days.
I finished the day with a 6th and 7th, which was great in those fresh conditions for me, one of the lighter guys in the fleet. Downwind I was making really good time in the big waves and was able to get right into both races at the bottom mark. A few little mistakes lost me a couple of places in the final race but I was really pleased to be able to finish the day with some respectable results.
We have two more days to sail before a medal race and I think the forecast is for more breeze so that will keep my legs hurting for a little longer.

Sail Melbourne Day 4 17 January 2008

Today the breeze was 15- 20 knots in the sea breeze direction with big waves again, it's a bit like ground hog day.
After a few general recalls and postponements the first race got underway I had a great start towards the windward end but didn't tack out to the right when I had the chance in the shifty breeze from there I was sailing in the middle of the course and not really making many inroads in to the leading pack although I made up a big distance on the first downwind I wasn't able to catch the leading pack and crossed the finish 13th. This was really disappointing as I felt I didn't sail the first part of the start well at all.

Race 2 we again had 3 general recalls on Black flag starts which sent a few ashore for an early shower. On the real start I was with 4-5 others in the top ten at the windward end the breeze shifted just a couple of minutes after the start leaving us to play catch up again. I gained all race till the final run when I lost 3 boats by taking the wrong option half way down the run to finish 10th.

It's really difficult to see the wind on the water here as the waves are really big with breaking tops. The water has that light aqua blue colour with no colour definition in the puffs. I have tried a few different Kaenon lenses and its worse without them so I will just have open the eyes a bit more to do a better job of the first shift. The start lines have been really long meaning that one side ends up with plenty of leverage on the first shift.
Overall I'm 7th and we have two races tomorrow before a medal race on Saturday.

Sail Melbourne Day 5 18 January 2008

After sitting round most of the day waiting for the wind then the Tornado fleet we eventually got two races away starting at 430 pm.
The first race was a bad one right from the start when the Croatian sailor tacked on to port at 30 seconds to go and went straight into me and totally wreaked my start. From there I came back in the race but didn't sail well downwind at all and to finish 18th.

Race 2 I started really well down the pin end the wind shifted left I tacked over with 2-3 others and crossed the fleet. At that stage we were only 200m short of a lay line but as the beat progressed the wind shifted another 10 degrees and the fleet behind on our windward hip managed to go over the top of us to the top mark. So after rounding in the mid to late teens I did get back into the race a little to finish 10th.

Not a very good day in 10-14 knots the conditions that I really have no excuse to not do well in. I am now 8th overall and can only get to 7th in tomorrows Medal race.

Sail Melbourne Final Day 19 January 2008

Today was light air with plenty of waiting around but we did get a medal race in late in the day. I didn't have such a great start but after some fantastic light air speed and height I managed to get round the first mark 4th. Down the run I was sailed high down the run by the boats behind and as the breeze built a little so the boats behind were able to sail down the inside before we gybed in towards the mark. I dropped to 6th round the bottom mark and then got back up to 5th at the top mark and although I closed on the leaders the places didn't change.
Overall I finished 8th and although not happy with my sailing I was really stoked with my light air speed and height and all the work that we have done in the last few months is looking good. If I can sort the jockey out and start sailing smart I should be in great shape.

The Finn Worlds start with measuring over the next few days and the first race is on Wednesday. This regatta has been a great build up to try a few things and do some racing again in big fleets.

Thanks for your support.

Dan