Each sailor that came off the water today had a different word to describe the conditions. Serious, extreme, full-on, crazy, wild. For us it was about survival. When you get a Star boat going down wind in 25-30 knots (some claim 35) it is all you can do to hang on, keep the boat pointed in the right direction, and most importantly, the mast pointed skyward. We did all those things and notched a single digit finish so there is nothing to complain about.At the finish of the first race we got ourselves back under control and made some minor adjustments before looking around at the fleet. It was carnage. Of the 29 competitors, 5 had breakdowns and did not finish the race, and one World Champion broke his mast right after finishing. The wind was gusting over 30 and the waves had stacked up to four feet in the shallow fresh water making them very close together. Full-on.
At that point the race committee decided to end the carnage and send us home. It was a long cold 3-mile slog back to the harbor and a hot shower and big Italian dinner with the US Sailing Team capped off a long day. Racing continues through Sunday. Stay tuned…
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