2010 Worlds - Final Day

Today was the last official day of racing and there was only one round of racing and in reality there was only one race, race three, that was of any real significance as it was going a race that was going to determine the champion. Going into today’s final race Thailand was leading Malayshia by a eight points and as it stood, whichever one of them was able to distance themselves from the other was certain to win the championship. As it turned out it was not even close as Thailand won with ease.

For our sailors, the final race was one whereby they could solidify their positions or perhaps improve a few places, albeit any movement was not going to be too significant but in the end there wasn’t any major change in positioning.

The Closing Ceremony was colourful albeit long. The Malaysians were very generous with their prizes and in the spirit of true Opti sportsmanship they tried to assure that everyone was a winner or at least knew they are special. The sailors from all over the world showed their appreciation to the event organizers by accepting an invitation to join Malaysia’s cultural dancers on stage to take part in a traditional Malaysian dance.

In minutes the stage was blanketed in a riot of colours…the sight brought smiles to the faces of the adults and event organizers as we all sat and watched the sailors share a moment of unity amongst nations and for one moment in time it made everything else seem insignificant. Oh, I should mention that leading the Bermuda charge on stage was Ron Stan although he soon gave way to the sailors.

Although this Worlds’ in now history, I believe the team learnt a lot about what it takes to be a world beater but more importantly over the past 16 days they also learnt a little bit about each other and the importance of team.

As for Langkawi, which had earned the pre-regatta reputation as being a light air venue, of the fifteen races contested the majority of them were contested in wind that blew at least 12 knots and as previously reported for a few races the wind was blowing as much as 17 to 18 knots…today, 7 January 2011, was no exception as the wind was a steady 11 to 12 knots with a few gust up to 15 knots.

Now comes the fun part, the trek home. See you soon…one day in time. Zizi will provide a summary on how he flet our sailors did which will be shared with you in due course.

Note: The final Bermuda placings are as follows;

Makai 75

Sam  93

Antonio 169

Ceci 198

Chase 208

Best,

AB

Closing Cermonies

231 Sailors on stage!

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Last Day- Good Luck Omen

Cats are good luck in the Asian culture and one has visited Team Bermuda!
Hopefully a charm for today's last race
Winds are a little light but picking up...

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Day V of Racing 5 January 2011

It was back to Championship racing and what a day it was. The wind was blowing a steady 11 to 14 knots and at times was reaching as much as 17 knots. In the first race of the day it was Sam and Ceci leading the charge for Bermuda. Sam did not get off the line albeit Ceci did  had a good start. Both Sam and Ceci rounded the windward mark in the top thirty; but in the end both had mixed results as Sam ended up in the high teens whilst Ceci ended back of the fleet. In the second race it was Makai and Chase. Makai rounded the windward mark in the top twenty but had been deemed OCS resultinig in a score equal to the fleet. Chase, who got off to a late start, rounded the windward mark in the top forty but finished back of the fleet. In the third race of the day, Antonio was featured by himself. Antonio continued to struggle to find any sort of form and found himself mid fleet at the windward mark and back of the fleet at the end.

In the second round of racing, it was Ceci and Chase leading off for Bermuda. Ceci got off to an excellent start whilst Chase got off to a good start. At the windward mark both sailors were sitting near the back of the fleet and did not make any significant gains throughout the rest of the race. In the second group, it was Sam and Antonio. Nether sailor managed to get off to a good start. Both sailors had a challenging windward leg, rounding the mark near the back of the fleet. Unfortunately not much changed for them as they ended mid to back of the fleet with only a few boats separating them at the finish. In the third race, it was Makai leading the charge. Makai got off to a good start and was well placed at the windward mark where he rounded the mark in the top twenty. This patterned remained the same around the course as he ended up in the top twenty.

During the final round of racing both Sam and Ceci lead the procession off for Bermuda.  Sam got off to a bad start but was able to claw back a bunch of boats and was well placed in the high teens at the windward mark whilst Ceci, who also had a bad start, rounded windward mark back of the fleet. During the last up wind Sam wasn’t able to maintain his placing in the teens and slipped back to place in the early twenties. Ceci wasn’t able to make any inroads and ended up back of the fleet.

In the second race it was Chase and Antonio. Antonio had a reasonable start and rounded the windward mark in the top twenty whilst Chase, who had a late start, rounded the windward mark mid fleet. In the end Antonio lost a few boats on the last up wind and had to settle for a top thirty finish whilst Chase finished in the high thirties.

In the last race of the day it was Makai. Makai got off to a good start and managed to round the windward Mark in the top twenty and on the last upwind Makai managed to pull back a few boats to finish in the mid teens.

Coach Zizi summoned up the day as being a good day for the team as they were more aggressive on the line. The wind was good, albeit still a bit shifty, and compared to other days, the current was stronger.  Despite the mixed results our sailors remain in good spirits.

Post Race....

Team cooling out after racing... Good breeze today with some top 20
results we think.... Team in good spirits!

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Map of Langkawi. Sailing is in Kuah Harbour.

Cooling out, Malaysian style..

On Tour.... Langkawi Skybridge!

The Langkawi sky-bridge in Malaysia is suspended at 700 metres above sea level and spans 125 across the mountains, offering magnificent views of the Andaman Sea and Thailand’s Tarutao Island.

The Andaman Sea and Thailand’s Tarutao Island can be seen in the distance. Platforms at each end allow the visitors to take a breather before venturing across. There are also signs telling visitors to get off the bridge quickly in the event of an electrical storm.

The Fleet Returns Home!

Had a great breeze, so hopefully value-add training!

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Lay Day... Practice session!

Lay day here but as wetoured yesterday we are going out for a short session
today... A few other teams are doing the same. Nice breeze today as
well...

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More Photos from Tour

The Tour in Photos

The following are a few pictures from our tour in Langkawi.

Bernews update of Day 3 & 4. Racing resumes on Wednesday.

http://bernews.com/2011/01/optimist-worlds-sailing-day-3-4/

Day off Monday and Tuesday. More photos from Jan 1st.

Team Racing

The team started off the day paired with Greece. Team Bermuda managed to beat Greece comfortably which set the stage for a match-up against power house Singapore. Bermuda put up an excellent fight against Singapore and to be candid, at one point late in the race it actually looked like Bermuda was going to beat them…it was that close for the entire race but in the end, a few tactical errors proved to be the difference. In the third race Bermuda came up against Hong Kong. Bermuda got off to a good start with boats in first, second, fifth and seventh around the windward mark including a good overlap with the fourth HKG boat. Unfortunately, on the last upwind we lost a tactical advantage which ultimately signaled the end of our campaign. The sailors were a bit upset after reflecting on what could have been and knowing they should have beaten at least one of the two countries they came up against.

Tomorrow we’ll be going on a tour of the island. On Tuesday, which is the official spare day, the team will be training in the morning after which they will receive some downtime in preparation for the final three days of racing.

Day III

Note: We have been having internet issues hence the reason for this late update.

Day three of racing marked the beginning of the New Year and brought with it the hope of a new start to a new year. At race time, 10:00 AM , the wind was blowing flucturating between 6 and 16 knots, yes, it was fluctuating that much. In the first race of the day it was Ceci and Antonio kicking it off for Bermuda. Ceci had a good start to the race and when she reached the windward mark she was in the top thirty of the fleet and in the end clawed back a bunch of boats to finish 18^th. Antonio was once again late of the line which set-up the rest of his race with him ending up back of the fleet.

The second race featured Chase. Chase had a good start and was in the top twenty at the windward mark but unfortunately for him he was deemed OCS. In the third race, it was Sam and Makai. Sam had late start and was in lower half of the fleet at the windward mark but managed to pull back a few boats and finish in the high thirties. Makai got off to a good start and was middle of the fleet at the windward mark and managed to finish in the top twenty.

Coach Zizi summed up the day as follows…some of the sailor’s starts were better then before but the conditions continued to offer a challenge to all sailors. Coach Zizi felt that it was perhaps one of the hardest days of racing thus far owing to the wind, which was fluctuating so much that it would drop almost to zero knots and then come back up from a different direction. Also, there was the challenge of the current which was flowing in one direction causing boats to be pushed over the line then the current would change causing the sailors to have to sail into it (current).

Next up for Team Bermuda is the team racing.

Confirmed.. BER out

Close loss to HKG... Great sailing by the team.. Day off tomorrow !!

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Hmm

If we lost, I would have expected them to sail in... But they are not....
Maybe we won ? Sorry fans. Doing my best to figure it out for you... Stay
tuned

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Very close.. But I think HKG won...

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BER controls off the start..barely

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BER vs HKG getting ready to start...

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BER next match HKG

HKG beat RSA...

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SIN beats BER

Looked like 3,4,5,8 BER. Nice effort against a tough team..

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BER vs SIN on the course

SIN off to early lead it looks..

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View of race area

2 courses...BER on far course...

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Looks like BER over GRE

Hard to get exact pos form my vantage pt but I think we had a 1-2 and they
had 8. I calling BER as winner.... Apologies if wrong...
Ron

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BER sails against GRE first

Boats not launched yet

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Team Racing Today

Bermuda sailors are fired up to do well... And to ensure order is kept on
the course... See picture

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