Race six turned out to be a rough one on a few of the players in top ten. Six of those boats were lined up on the leeward half of the line heading to the left side of the racecourse on the first beat of the day as a 30 degree righty with more breeze turned the race on its ear and gave the advantage to George Szabo and Rick Peters and sealed a third place finish for Lars Grael and Ronald Seifert. Hamish Pepper, Flavio Marazzi, Mateusz Kusznierewicz, Freddie Loof, Mark Mendelblatt, Johannes Polgar and Magnus and I were left to fight for the scraps as we rounded the top mark well into the 50s, 60s, and 70s.
Our fate was sealed as soon as the breeze went right halfway up the first beat. Magnus and I fought hard to pass 25 or 30 boats and finish with our throwout: 37th. What it really shows is how humbling this fleet really can be. The size of the group makes it extremely difficult to be wrong. Most of the sailors won’t give up an inch from top to bottom of the leaderboard. Because we took a throwout in the final race we counted our 14th place finish and were two points away from being third in the event. I think we could probably think of a thousand places where we could have shaved two points off our score, but that kind of thing can drive a sailor insane. All things considered, Magnus and I had only sailed together for two days before the first day of racing because of the crazy wind here in Varberg, and we were getting used to a boat we had never sailed before. So, I’m more than excited about the result.
What a day for San Diego Yacht Club. Somebody asked George whether it would seem reality that he’d won the Star Worlds when the trophy was sitting at his home club. We kind of laughed because it wasn’t long ago that the trophy was in the foyer of SDYC, it seemingly has a regular spot on the mantle waiting for the next sailor to bring it home.
Team USA had a great showing as well putting 4 teams in the top 15 is a serious accomplishment. All week our coach Mark Ivey has been pushing the group to come together for the tow out and the first tuneup, not an easy task for three teams using different sailmakers and different boats. What we all learned was how powerful a position that put us in relative the other teams. No other country or group had as organized a line-up first thing in the morning. We were always in the first 10% of boats on the course. And, by the end of the week, the best sailors in the world were towing out near us so they could get in on the action. The benefits were indisputable after the results came out.
I can’t believe what a season this is turning out to be. I’ve been lucky to have great support from US Sailing Team Alphagraphics, from Sperry Top-Sider, Kaenon Polarized, Team McLube, and the North Sails group. Moreover the only reason that this star thing is happening is at the will of other people. We have been borrowing and chartering boats, I drove Mendelblatt’s Lillia here, packed it in a container last night, and will drive Brian Cramer’s Folli to Amsterdam this morning before using it at Weymouth and shipping it home to North American. Without the generosity of a lot of people, my entry into the Star class would simply not have happened. I’m ready to get involved, and generally that means an investment. It will take some serious fundraising when I get home to ensure that I can have a boat ready to go for the next World Championships in Rio, only 6 months away. And there is still one event left in this World Cup season, which Brad and I will look to try and win in Weymouth next month.
Thanks for following me here this week. It has been a lot of fun racing and a great learning experience for the next time. Next up the agenda is a trip to Amsterdam with a Starboat and heading home to Washington DC to see Jackie who’s been sailing everywhere else in the world and if I still have a job. I’ve got a Log Canoe regatta in a week on the Chesapeake, and the Knickerbocker Cup Match Race on Long Island with Dave Perry in two weeks’ time before coming back to Europe for the Sail for Gold Event in Weymouth.
Thanks again! - Andrew
