Streaky and light seabreezes dominated the final day of racing in Hyeres yesterday. Little did we know that the three hours of on-shore postponement would ultimately lead to us getting off the water at just after 830 pm with the sun settling behind the hills of the Riviera. Because we didn’t get off the dock until about 3 o’clock the day felt quite long. The glare worsened through the afternoon making marks and mark changes difficult to interpret. The entire Laser fleet sailed to the wrong windward mark after the committee changed the course and decided to use a power boat with a small M flag to replace the missing mark. Unfortunately that boat was into heavy glare and positioned only a few hundred yards from an ongoing Yngling start on another course. We had sailed four legs of that race by the time the committee was forced to abandon because nobody was capable of picking up the change. I was fifth in the race at the last legitimate mark we rounded.After some postponements and marginally sailable light air we got one race nearly completed and then two trapezoids finishing at about ten after eight o’clock in the evening. Thanks to a tow in most of us were able to get in before the coast guard started to hand out warnings for not having running lights.Essentially I had three great races today. After a tough series, I was able to pull the trigger a little better and get off the line with good speed. Of course that enabled me to have better beats and I rounded all three top marks in the top 10 and was lucky enough to count two top ten finishes. The Gold series at this regatta was a huge success in my mind. Taking three top ten finishes and moving from the thirties to finishing 15th overall in the event is a solid improvement and showcases my capacity to stay strong through the fourth and fifth days of a mentally draining event. I would have much rather made the medal race and could have done so with a better opening series and taking advantage of the diluted fleets. Making improvements in big chop and wavy conditions will be the most necessary improvement I need to make over the next few months leading into the Games.This regatta is concluding a month and a half of training and racing here in Europe and I am glad to be heading home for a few weeks before Holland Regatta in May. My time here in Hyeres has been especially good and rewarding. Living with the US 470 boys: Stu and Graham and their coach Nigel, and then having open doors to all the US team during the last couple of weeks has really strengthened our bonds as a US Team, something usually difficult to do with many sailors and many classes.Final Results: http://sof.ffvoile.net/results/laser.htmPlease stay tuned for Monday Morning Tactician ™ columns and regular updates in the coming days and weeks.
