Cup 4 - Christchurch

Day one of the UKWA cup 4 at Christchurch greeted us with strong winds and surprisingly big swell; unfortunately the call was made that us IQfoils and foilers must remain onshore for the time being. However this did not dampen anyone's spirits as this gave everyone the opportunity to have a day playing in the waves on our short board gear. Overall Saturday was very fun as no racing meant we could focus on the social aspect of the sport and gave a fun change from fighting it out on the racecourse.

On day 2, I think the overall attitude of the sailors was that everyone was extremely eager to race as we were all up early preparing our gear for the day. At around 11:30 our class flag was raised and everyone swiftly helped each other out through the waves and on to water. The first impressions of the conditions were extremely nice, consisting of 12-15 knots breeze and big rolling swell. The other racers and I eagerly set our watches and race 1 way away! We ended up doing 3 races that morning in which I got 1,1,3 in the U17 category which I was pleased with and I also managed to squeeze in a 1stoverall out of the whole foil fleet, beating some more experienced sailors also. The sailing was absolutely perfect as the wind was just enough to glide you upwind perfectly and the swell made it very nice riding downwind.

In the afternoon the wind and swell significantly increased which was a surprise to us as it was difficult to see from the beach over lunch. The first race started off very well as I was leading but then at the bottom mark I had one of the worst catapults I’ve ever had where I was flung and separated from my gear which set me back to 3rd . This result really affected me as after a few more races in which I got decent results I was informed that I was placing second overall with one point between me and first place. This was very disappointing news knowing that if I did not have that crash I could have won but I took it on the chin and congratulated my competitor as it was very difficult conditions for us all. 

 

Overall this event was a great learning curve for me in which I felt my sailing standard improved in the tricky conditions. Of course this would not be possible without the amazing UKWA crew and volunteers as always and I encourage every young sailor to come along a give it a go, as it is great fun! 

See you at the next event! Beau