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