I can't sleep well after a bad performance
11:59 on a Sunday night and all I can think about was how slow the boat was, how many different people I've had for crew this season, old sails, and how it just wasn't meant to be for me to qualify for the SF Cup this year. Before I explain... my hats off to Team Wilson... they are simply on fire this year... someone said we should test them for steroids, I think it's the new Soren Hansen mast. And Big ups to Mike G. for getting his act together and pulling the deuce and qualifying for the SF Cup at the same time. I was hoping he would repeat and win again this year, oh well. Oh yeah. Peter J. got 3rd... big deal(for him). The Woodies started OK... a 5th in the first race isn't too bad. Everyone, except Team Wilson it seems, was capable of a 5 at some point in a regatta. But, the worst start I've ever had leading to the single handed guy (Bob Grigsby/USA 65) beating me to the windward mark really shattered my confidence. If it wasn't for his difficulties getting his whisker pole up he would have beat me to the leeward mark as well. However, Donald Bratt made a believer out of me last summer in Sweden... never give up, he said, there is always something to learn and gain by competing to the end... Are you shark? or are you bait? That's another story....
The redeeming factor in the 2nd race on Saturday was the flyer we took to the inside where we ended up 2nd to the windward mark, but got passed by Goebel in the mix with a heard of Knarrs. We snuck out a 3rd and it was by the saving grace of a downwind finish or I fear we would have had a 5th. So, to qualify for the Internationals I needed to stay ahead of one boat...Billy D. in USA 112. First race on Sunday started off ok enough, we port tack started the fleet because extra tacks were deadly for us, but it was a short lived victory because our boat speed held us from maintaining our lead on the one boat we had to beat. Bill ended up head of us by the first leeward mark and managed to put a boat between us before it was over. Our only hope now was to beat him and put a boat between us and win the tie breaker since he didn't have a finish higher than a 3rd. A Leeward rounding mistake cost us our lead again and we never got it back, game over. I thought the big tanker ship might force Bill to tack earlier than he did, but we both ignorred the race committee boat asking us to tack... there was no way we were going to hit it or get hit and there never was 5 horn blast.... Those ships are big. Even bigger about 50 yards away. They only scare me when I look up and didn't notice they were there... there are fast too, and they don't have breaks. So, all said and done we ended up in a 3 way tie for 5th with Chris and Tommy jr. But that one 3rd place finish on Saturday saved it for me. Funny part was we passed Brock in the last 100 yards by taking his stern and heading for the boat end of the line just barely inching him out for a 7th place to end the day.
So, I'm not in the SF Cup this year. It's Ok, Cassandra and I are expecting our first baby around that time and I'd much rather be committed and focused on my wife and little girl. It would suck to be in the middle of race 4 and find out Cassandra delivered and I wasn't there. Bummed? Yeah.
Over it? Yeah.
2009? I'll be back with a new(er) boat, practiced crew and full of confidence.
The redeeming factor in the 2nd race on Saturday was the flyer we took to the inside where we ended up 2nd to the windward mark, but got passed by Goebel in the mix with a heard of Knarrs. We snuck out a 3rd and it was by the saving grace of a downwind finish or I fear we would have had a 5th. So, to qualify for the Internationals I needed to stay ahead of one boat...Billy D. in USA 112. First race on Sunday started off ok enough, we port tack started the fleet because extra tacks were deadly for us, but it was a short lived victory because our boat speed held us from maintaining our lead on the one boat we had to beat. Bill ended up head of us by the first leeward mark and managed to put a boat between us before it was over. Our only hope now was to beat him and put a boat between us and win the tie breaker since he didn't have a finish higher than a 3rd. A Leeward rounding mistake cost us our lead again and we never got it back, game over. I thought the big tanker ship might force Bill to tack earlier than he did, but we both ignorred the race committee boat asking us to tack... there was no way we were going to hit it or get hit and there never was 5 horn blast.... Those ships are big. Even bigger about 50 yards away. They only scare me when I look up and didn't notice they were there... there are fast too, and they don't have breaks. So, all said and done we ended up in a 3 way tie for 5th with Chris and Tommy jr. But that one 3rd place finish on Saturday saved it for me. Funny part was we passed Brock in the last 100 yards by taking his stern and heading for the boat end of the line just barely inching him out for a 7th place to end the day.
So, I'm not in the SF Cup this year. It's Ok, Cassandra and I are expecting our first baby around that time and I'd much rather be committed and focused on my wife and little girl. It would suck to be in the middle of race 4 and find out Cassandra delivered and I wasn't there. Bummed? Yeah.
Over it? Yeah.
2009? I'll be back with a new(er) boat, practiced crew and full of confidence.
posted by All Kinds of Junk at 11:31 PM
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