Bully’s Blog #6

Well it was tough for most of the Aussies on Day 1 as we struggled to come to terms with the local conditions.

Two races were sailed, the first in light 5 to 6-knot winds and the second built to a more consistent 9-11 knots. The river current was a strong factor running up the course and led to a general recall on the first start.

While most of our crews had a hard time with breeze in the first race, the second with a bit more wind raised expectations. But with the increase it became a classic case of wind against water with the current and wind in opposing directions.

This led to a short sharp chop. Some of our lighter crews adapted well and we had some pretty good results with the two Issi’s, Declerck and Wilcox, taking a fourth in the first race and a mid fleet in the second after returning from a premature start. Charlie Goodfellow and Toby Legg scored a nice fifth in the second race and Alyssa and Mitchell Kelsey slipped into the top 10 as well in the first heat.

Racing was tough for the first couple races with difficult local conditions that were hard to get used to.

Racing was tough for the first couple races with difficult local conditions that were hard to get used to.

Our others struggled with two of our boats (the Zeeman boys and Will Cooper and Hugo Allison) getting yellow flags for aggressive helm movements before the start.

The current and light winds led to a huge amount of congestion at the downwind mark roundings and it was not unusual to see 10-12 boats all jammed together on the mark, making it hard to stay in touch with the leaders.

The Argentinian crews dominated the first race but it was Team GBR that ended up owning the day, holding down the top two positions on the scoreboard.

It is early days and not panic stations yet, today is supposed to be a little lighter again and in our meeting we will look at ways we can try and overcome. The kids are still enjoying the experience, I am meeting with a few this morning early to go over a few individual points where we can look at improving.

Looking forward to another day and new challenges.

Bully