World's Update

Summary:
Team Bermuda arrived in Napier on the 27 December 2011. Upon arrival in Napier the team was greated with a steady ocean breeze and lots of sunshine. Later that night, things started to chagne. It became cloudy which was a harbinger for the next few days which was rain. It rained for 4 days with little gaps of daylight piercing through the cloud cover which has blanketed Napier. Notwithstanding this anomoly for the normally bright and sunny summer in Napier, the Bermuda team remains unified and ready for the challenge ahead.

Racing
After two days of racing team Bermuda are coming to grips with what would appear to be a World's of shifty wind and unprecedented rain.In the first day of racing the first start was pushed back to 1 pm in order to allow for the New Year's celebrations. But 1 January proved to be yet another soggy day with little wind. The first race of the day started at around 2:30 pm with the wind blowing 5 to 7 knots out of the South East. At the end of the first round of racing the wind had dropped to 4 knots. In the first start was Ceci Wollmann and Rory Caslin. Ceci got off to a slow start and ended up 33. Rory Caslin also got off to a slow start but ended up a creditable 19th. In the second race Antonio Bailey and Michael Barit took to the line. Antonio got of to a slow start whilst Michael had a good start. Antonio ended 49th and Michael ended up just behind Antonio. Makai Joell was in the third race where he got off to a slow start and did not improve much from that point onward.After the start of the second race, the wind dropped to 2 knots and the Race Committee called off the racie and racing for the day. Coach Zizi summed up the first day as one for the sailors to improve upon especially on their starts.

Day two brought about a change in fortune as the rain subsided and the wind picked up. The first race started at 10:25 am with the wind blowing 6 knots. Antonio Bailey and Ceci Wollman were in the first race with both getting off to a good start. Antonio held down third place for the first three legs of the race until the wind shifted to the SE causing the leaders of the race to fall back. Antonio ended up 11th whilst Ceci ended up 27th. From that point onward, team Bermuda experience mixed results. Antonio's day was soft and Ceci did not improve upon her 27th placing.In the second flight was Rory Caslin flying the Bermuda colours. Rory got of to a reasonable start and managed to keep the moment throughout the race. Rory ended up placing 16th. Rory was by far the better sailor on the day as he managed a sixth place finish in the last race of the day which helped erase the lull he experienced in his two other races where he placed middle to back of the fleet.In the third race of the day it was Makai Joell and Michael Bart. Makai and Michael got off to slow starts which was reflective in their mark rounding until they reached the gate. At the gate they took the left side of the course which paid off huge as the wind had shifted close to 90 degrees allowing they to sail right up to the finish line where they placed 18 and 15 respectively. Nonetheless, as with the rest of the Bermuda team, the first race was to be their best race.

Coach Zizi felt that the sailors did not take advantage of the good sailing conditions which had the wind blowing 15 to 16 knots with the occasional puff reaching 20 knots. He felt that the team needed to be more consistent on their starts given that when they start well they finish well. Day three is supposed to be light winds of 5 to 7 knots.