Friday, December 31, 2010
Day 3
We are getting ready for another early launch today, breeze is the usual,
showing 8-10 from the north at the venue, but probably less on the water...
Although, having said that, it does look like it is holding down on the
course.
showing 8-10 from the north at the venue, but probably less on the water...
Although, having said that, it does look like it is holding down on the
course.
Happy New Year to all..
If I can get back on the water today ( boat break down yesterday). I will
post updates
Ron
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Scoring Corrections as of Dec 31st through Race 5
46th - Makai - 9, 26, 38, 31, 21 - 125 pts
106th - Sam - 40, OCS, 21, 32, 19 - 191 pts
163rd - Chase - 59, 43, 49, 23, 70 - 244 pts
166th - Antonio - 45, 58, 42, 49, 55 - 249 pts
188th - Ceci - 27, 65, 48, 65, 63 - 268 pts
106th - Sam - 40, OCS, 21, 32, 19 - 191 pts
163rd - Chase - 59, 43, 49, 23, 70 - 244 pts
166th - Antonio - 45, 58, 42, 49, 55 - 249 pts
188th - Ceci - 27, 65, 48, 65, 63 - 268 pts
New Years Eve update
In the first race which featured Ceci, the wind was blowing around 8 knots at the start. Ceci was a bit slow off the line and ended up back of the fleet. In the second race which featured Antonio and Chase, the wind was blowing around 10 knots. Antonio was late off the line whilst Chase had a good start. Chase rounded the top mark in 8th, but then lost a few boats on the last upwind and had to settle for a top thirty finish. The third race featured Sam and Maki, both were late getting off the line and by the time they reached the windward mark, they were both at the lower end of the fleet. However, during the last upwind, they both managed to claw back a few boats and finished in the top thirty.
During the second round of racing, Antonio started first for Bermuda . The wind was blowing around 8 knots with a few gust as high as 12 to 13 knots being felt out on the race course. Antonio was once again late off the line which ultimately set the tone for the rest of his race with him placing near the back of the fleet. In race two, which featured Makai and Ceci, the wind had picked-up albeit the wind was fluctuating between 6 to 12 knots. Ceci had a slow start whilst Makai had a reasonable start. Ceci ended up back of the fleet whilst Makai managed to finish in the mid twenties.
In the third race, the wind had dropped off at the start averaging around 8 knots, albeit inside the course the wind ranged between 10 and 12 knots. Sam rounded top mark in 20th whilst Chase was back of the fleet. On the last upwind Sam managed to pick-off a couple of boats and finished 18, whilst Chase finished back of the fleet.
Coach Zizi felt that our sailors could have done better and needed to maintain their focus from start to finish of the race. Coach Zizi also felt that some of the conditions our sailors are facing are similar to those the team had trained in the days leading up to the racing and that the information he gave them on how to sail in the current, was not being used by all sailors.
Only two races were sailed today as the country wounded down for their religious prayer.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Day 2 Wind Check
8 kts on shore, but unfortunately, it typically is a little less on the
water. Sailors are in good spirits
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New Years Eve 31 December 2010 AM
Well, it’s New Years Eve and Day II of racing. The weather forecast calls for maximum winds of 12 knots in the morning; reducing to 9 knots in the afternoon. As Langkawi is over 95% Muslim, today’s racing will start at 10 AM followed by a break, in order to afford this highly religious country an opportunity give thanks and praise to God.
The team appeared very relaxed and receptive to Zizi’s feedback as, thanks to Ron’s video clip, Zizi was able to show the team via video their opportunities for improvement. That’s it for now, 6:47 AM Langkawi time. I have included a few more pictures for your viewing.
Overview of today's sailing
The day started off with high anticipation of the first warning signal. The wind at the dock was blowing 5 to 7 knots the team appeared ready for the task at hand. Coach Zizi had given the sailors their last prep talk and it was now all up to them to put into action the past four days of training.
Out on the race course the wind was blowing 6 to 8 knots with a slight current of 4 meters per minute flowing in the same direction as the wind, and the wind was very shifty. In the first race we had Makai racing by himself..;he rounded the windward mark in third; was fourth at the gate; finished eighth. In the second race we had Antonio and Sam. Both started close to the pin but nether of them could get clean air and in the end Sam finished mid fleet and Antonio ended a few places back of mid fleet.
In the third race we had Ceci and Chase. Ceci finished in the twenties and Chase finished mid of the fleet. The first series of races appeared to set the tone for the rest of the day with the team having put in a good effort in trying conditions. In the end all the sailors appear to be in good spirits and looking forward to the next day. Coach Zizi summed up the day as not really good Worlds racing conditions as the wind dropped as low as 2 knots in the second and third race however everyone had to race in these conditions. The one area coach Zizi would like to see our sailors improve is on their starts.
However, this is only day one of the regatta and the team must maintain their focus and put in the same effort each day and not give up at any point during the regatta as a regatta can not be won on the first day but it can be lost if the level of focus is not maintained.
It starts for real...
Yesterday, 29 December 2010, we had our practice race but, according to our coach, not all the sailors took the race seriously albeit this was no surprise to Zizi as he too opined on how the practice race is more of a practice race for the Race Committee versus the sailors; as far as the team’s preparation for the start of racing today (30 December 2010) Zizi felt that four early days provided the team with a good opportunity to experience the varied conditions of Langkawi. At the time of writing this note, I had watched two races aboard a spectator boat that only stayed out for three hours so I will fill you in on the details later…but do note that Bermuda got off to a good start with Makai placing in the top 10 during the first race. The sailing condition at the start of racing was 8 to 10 knots of breeze and very shifty. Actually, at times there appears to be more breeze at the Club then on the sea…
The Opening Ceremony was long but very cultural. The sailors were led onto the stage by Ceci, who won the right to carry the Bermuda flag (the sailors drew straws). The night started after 7:00 pm and was still going on when I left10 ish…Zizi left with the sailors shortly the sailors performed the march by…procession of countries. All the sailors seem to be in good spirits and for Chase, who had experienced a bit of an eye infection, his eye is looking close to normal once again…still a little pale pink but truly but definitely improved.
Start of R6. 1029 and 1007
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Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Makai looking good
siders..
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Race Day 1
Overcast conditions at 8 AM with a light breeze showing out on the water.... The Team has completed fitness training for the day...
Fleet assignments as follows...
Blue Antonio
Red Sam
Pink Makai
Green CC
Yellow Chase
Fleet assignments as follows...
Blue Antonio
Red Sam
Pink Makai
Green CC
Yellow Chase
Practice Race and Opening Ceremonies....
Today saw the sailors start to get their "game faces" on as the practice race was held. Weather conditions were about normal to what we have seen since we got here, with the exception that we had some light rain come through at launch time. Winds were 0-10 knots range, with little chop, and the extreme shifts that we have seen already were there again today, add that to the current and the conditions will be very challenging and a big premium will be put on hitting the early shifts and grinding out a lead. The sailors will have to be very switched on and also have some luck going their way. Shooting corners will not be productive at all. No results to speak of from the practice race as, per usual, it was a bit of a shambles by all accounts with the competing sailors using the time to get into racing mode and many not finishing the whole race. They also got the opportunity to see the RC boat - very large! as well as the shape and color of the marks etc - just making things familiar for tomorrow.
All the sailors seem to be in good spirits, and good health and getting into the racing tomorrow should be good for everyone. Any jet lag is behind them now and I sense they, like all the other sailors, just want to get on with the main event.
The venue is working well, the launch ramp is very generous in size and there are helping hands to take the trolleys away for the sailors. Seemed like little congestion on either launch or recovery. The coach boats are all new RIBs and engines, so that seems to be working well also - not quite like the "almost RIBs" we had in Rio last year. The water is warm, but not like the pristine waters of Bermuda, as the racing area is actually a strait with current. The children have been reporting some garbage in the waters, but all in all, it is pretty good race course. I was out in a RIB yesterday and the racing area seemed pretty clear of debris.
Meals continue to be....challenging, but adequate. We are providing our own lunches for the sailors in addition to the venue supplied ones just to ensure the sailors have enough food. There is lots of water provided on site and all the volunteers, in the Malaysian way, are very helpful and friendly.
The opening ceremonies tonight were very elaborate with heavy governmental presence ( speeches ) and support evident - they did a good job of it, and in a rare stroke of logistical brilliance for these types of events, had the sailors eat very early, They were home in good time to get to sleep.
Our schedule has been good so far, Zizi has the sailors up and out for some exercise by about 7:30, they then have breakfast, get to the venue and launch. He has been good at establishing this routine early so that tomorrow, with an 11 am scheduled first race, the 7:30 start will be normal and will carry them nicely to that 9:30-10 launch. The racing area is relatively close to the launch area.
There are a lot of good sailors here and the competition and conditions ( as mentioned ) are going to make it tough event. It can be anybody's championship. The home town Malay team is clearly favored a bit, but I noted that they have some varying sized sailors and are clearly not fielding a light team. They also now are going to be sailing against the worlds best and not just their own team.
Racing starts at 11 tomorrow and they will have the GPS trackers on the boats; but be aware that this system puts a heavy load on the local cell provider and you may experience spotty updates from the units as they get the system working.
Will try to get as many pictures up as possible, added a few from today, but I need to consolidate from various cameras being used, I have taken mostly video myself to now.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Special thanks to our supporters at Aspen, The Kitson Group and Miles/ the Cox family for helping get the team here.
Tomorrow we hit the water !
Ron
All the sailors seem to be in good spirits, and good health and getting into the racing tomorrow should be good for everyone. Any jet lag is behind them now and I sense they, like all the other sailors, just want to get on with the main event.
The venue is working well, the launch ramp is very generous in size and there are helping hands to take the trolleys away for the sailors. Seemed like little congestion on either launch or recovery. The coach boats are all new RIBs and engines, so that seems to be working well also - not quite like the "almost RIBs" we had in Rio last year. The water is warm, but not like the pristine waters of Bermuda, as the racing area is actually a strait with current. The children have been reporting some garbage in the waters, but all in all, it is pretty good race course. I was out in a RIB yesterday and the racing area seemed pretty clear of debris.
Meals continue to be....challenging, but adequate. We are providing our own lunches for the sailors in addition to the venue supplied ones just to ensure the sailors have enough food. There is lots of water provided on site and all the volunteers, in the Malaysian way, are very helpful and friendly.
The opening ceremonies tonight were very elaborate with heavy governmental presence ( speeches ) and support evident - they did a good job of it, and in a rare stroke of logistical brilliance for these types of events, had the sailors eat very early, They were home in good time to get to sleep.
Our schedule has been good so far, Zizi has the sailors up and out for some exercise by about 7:30, they then have breakfast, get to the venue and launch. He has been good at establishing this routine early so that tomorrow, with an 11 am scheduled first race, the 7:30 start will be normal and will carry them nicely to that 9:30-10 launch. The racing area is relatively close to the launch area.
There are a lot of good sailors here and the competition and conditions ( as mentioned ) are going to make it tough event. It can be anybody's championship. The home town Malay team is clearly favored a bit, but I noted that they have some varying sized sailors and are clearly not fielding a light team. They also now are going to be sailing against the worlds best and not just their own team.
Racing starts at 11 tomorrow and they will have the GPS trackers on the boats; but be aware that this system puts a heavy load on the local cell provider and you may experience spotty updates from the units as they get the system working.
Will try to get as many pictures up as possible, added a few from today, but I need to consolidate from various cameras being used, I have taken mostly video myself to now.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Special thanks to our supporters at Aspen, The Kitson Group and Miles/ the Cox family for helping get the team here.
Tomorrow we hit the water !
Ron
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