World Day 3, A Whole Lot of Nothing
January 26th, 2008 by Isabelle
Dear Friends,
Happy Australia Day! Today is Australia’s National Holiday, celebrating the day in 1788 when Captain Arthur Phillip, commander of the First Fleet of eleven convict ships from Great Britain, arrived in Sydney Harbor.
The weather forecast today, Saturday, January 26th, was not favorable for racing. It was a bright and sunny day with two winds opposing each other. The strong northerly gradient breeze driven by pressure faced off against the usual sea breeze, producing something of everything. As the US Sailing Team’s weather forecaster said, “Good luck. You are on your own today.”
We launched at 12 noon in a 15 knot northerly. We had two races that were abandoned 1/2 way up the first leg, with the boats on the left working the south-westerly sea breeze and the boats on the right working the north-westerly gradient. We were postponed ashore at 2:30, sent out again at 3:30 right in the path of a big thunderstorm. The fleet boycotted the launch, hoping the race-committee would come to their senses and not send us out in the path of the storm. Thankfully they did, and we were again postponed ashore at 3:50. Racing was FINALLY cancelled for the day at 4:45 as the competitors were enjoying the view of the thunderstorm sweeping past the racecourse.
Qualifying continues for one more day, and we will have one race tomorrow. The men finished their qualifying series, and have been split into Gold and Silver fleet.
Below is a photo of us finishing 2nd in the first race of the regatta:
For other photos from the regatta, you can visit the 470 Class Website, although the one above is the best one of us so far!
http://www.470.org/-Photos
Keep thinking fast (and smart) thoughts for us!
Erin and Isabelle