The wind was blowing down the lake which made for perfect racing. Conditions were mid to top A rig and building. By race 2 everyone was on B rig. We had a warm clubhouse to hide in and watch the racing, with only a few steps to the water. The ladies in the canteen offered free tea and coffee, Campers could stay on site and the restaurants and hotels only a short drive away which makes Southport one of the best venues for radio sailing I have come across. The Southport team are to be applauded for offering such a great weekend.
After the dizzy heights of winning the DF65 event with good boat speed I was ready for another good day. My experiences in the DF95 were all positive so my confidence was high. I had read Craig Richards tips again so I knew my setup was good. So running up to the first start I could not imagine what was about to ensue. The starting gun went, I was late on the line and seemed to be struggling for boat speed and unable to hold my lane. That buried me into the pack and the inevitable collisions that would occur. I rounded the first mark well back in the pack and struggled to recover back to 5th by taking a flier. In the second race, I rounded the first mark second but on the second beat sailed back through the fleet to finish 11th. Another 6th and 12th and the morning was done. Quite my worst performance in a long time. Late off the starts and off the pace. Not a great combination. Through all this, one man by the name of Ken Binks was beginning his stream of firsts. After a hiccup in the seeding race where he suffered a collision and finished 7th, he won every race in the morning with outstanding speed and solid tactics.
My trait this year has been to have a steller morning and dodgy afternoon. I was hoping that today would be the reverse. A 2nd, 4th and 2nd were much better results and the other result would have been good but for a port tack boat sticking its bow between the mast and the backstay on the first beat. After we seperated the fleet had gone and I could only recover to 8th.
It was an indifferent day but a good wake up call to being sharper on the start line. Speed wise this was the first time I had used the B rig and it takes some time to get the settings absolutely right although I could never match the imperious speed of Ken Binks boat which you could see was visibly faster than anyone. No wonder he did not touch his settings all day. I am not sure if a performance like this has ever been seen before. Truly outstanding and well done Ken.
What did I learn.
Be sharper on the starts in the morning.
Max out two boat tuning before the first race to get maximum boat speed.
Yorumlar