DNF, DNF, DNF, DNF, DNF, DNF, DNF

Bombing down wind...

In total the US Airforce Team reported seven DNFs yesterday, which gives you a flavor of how the conditions were. Again it was overcast and not necessarily super windy when we launched, but by the time we started the first race everybody knew they were in for a beating. This was some of the most gusty conditions I've sailed in for a while.
My results: 11th, 25th and a 23rd aren't great and I knew something was wrong by the start of the second race. In race one I flunked the start, found 5th gear and solid boat handling to capitalize on some shifts to eventually pass the line in 11th. Looked like it was going to be a great day!
But as the racing went on I seemed to loose my upwind Mojo more and more and I just couldn't figure out what was wrong. I was hardly capsizing, but the boat was feeling "sluggish". By the time I made it back to shore I barely could get the boat foiling. We needed 4 guys to carry my boat out of the water! Somehow she had taken on a lot of water, the exact quantities are up for speculation, but it seemed to be half of the lake from my perspective. Good to know why I wasn't going fast, but I havent been able to pinpoint where the water entered the hull yet. I didn't exactly do a thorough examination yesterday after draining it for 30 minutes, as the smell of the BBQ and and the taste of beer were far more inviting.
So today we'll bring out the stethoscope and find ourselves the leaks. There haven't been a lot of days that I'm happy not having to go sailing, but my body is really enjoying a day off.
Looking at the score board, Nathan continues to dominate, but got a minuscule chip in his armor yesterday when he eventually showed his second "none-bullet" by finishing 4th in the last race. Out of twelve races he has won 10 so far.... yeah, hmmmmmm
Bora had a very decent day with a 4, 3, 7 and now sits in 5th overall. I'm currently third American sitting in 18th, but that is largely due to the fact that Dalton had to score two DNFs. One because of breaking a mast and a second one after loosing his rudder horizontal. Also Brad Funk had some issues in the first two races and then had to abandon when his rudder gantry ripped apart. George Peet sailed consistently in the teens and now has climbed to 15th, nice effort on his part.
In the wing department we had some disaster hit, Charlie ended up breaking two wings in these crazy conditions. It seemed like both wings should reparable and I'm sure Rob Patterson was working over time last night to get them up and running again. Charlie has shown great promise with the wing, duking it out in the front pack yesterday. It just seems we should have added some more carbon!

The day ended with the Moth AGM which showed a bit of tension as the future of the wings was discussed. There are a couple of sailors (and mast makers) that want to down right ban any development of wings, which I find absolutely absurd in a development class. We haven't even yet really started and they already want to ban it? I can just see the headlines on the sailing websites: Moth Class bans Wings! Right next to the other headline: The next AC to be sailed with wings!

On a positive note: The USA gets to host the 2013 Worlds (we had to beat a bid from Hayling Island in the UK)!

US Airforce Team out

Me telling Nathan that his expiry date is about to kick in...and him thinking: dream on!