2011 European Optimist Championships
Wednesday 6 July – Third Days Racing
Hi everyone – a further update from sunny Tavira.
Yet again the day dawned clear and fine with a very strong offshore breeze having blown throughout the night but typically began dying off by dawn.
The south westerly sea breeze was not predicted to come in with any strength today but it defied predictions and begin to fill quite solidly by late morning.
Launching was today accomplished without any complications or protests and the fleet headed off down the Galio River towards the Atlantic Ocean.
By start time the breeze had filled to a nice 12 – 13 knots with a moderate seaway.
Cole got away to a great start and posted a great first race result of 12th but unfortunately slipped in later races to post a 44th and a 56th to finish the day 70th overall.
Zak nailed the starts today and put in some solid races in to post a 36th and a 15th. He then had a blinder first beat in the 3rd race to arrive at the top mark in 3rd slot but unfortunately didn’t get away with his port layline approach and dropped from 3rd to 54th. This goes to show what the intensity of the racing is like where one setback will drop the sailor down the fleet dramatically. Zak had finished the day in 67th position.
Lola continues her solid form in the girls fleet scoring a 7th, 6th and 4th to finish the day 12th overall. Pretty cool effort to be in the top 10 all day!
Nick has also had a solid day to score a 6th in the first race, a 19th in the second race and a 7th in the third race to leave him 29th overall in the boys fleet. These results are despite still struggling to get off the line in good shape but reasonable pace and some good shifts in his favour dragged him back up the fleet. He was also lucky to see his 8th from the previous day turn into a 6th through disqualification of 2 sailors ahead of him.
Overall the team has had a great day with everyone having a good result at some stage of the day. Everyone is feeling positive and looking forward to the balance of the regatta.
There is no doubt that this regatta probably has a higher standard than previous years with several countries sending their top teams rather than their worlds teams. Numbers are down but the quality is definitely still there if not higher than previous years.
Sorry again no pictures but the internet capability at the hotel is woeful.
Regards
Lola, Zak, Cole and Nick.
