Sailing Blog
Soggy Day 2 »
May 14, 2010
After a postponement until 4pm local time due to no wind, we finally got underway with race five with a 15 kt Northwest breeze and plenty of rain making all of us call bs on the wonderful postcards we see around town of beautiful Cagliari and Sardegna. With one general recall, we got underway with a start at the pin end and seemed to be set up reasonably well as we were able to hold our lane off the starting line for a good 5-6 mins. With the top mark set fairly close to land, we played the shifts nicely, rounded in the top 3 and blasted off to the leeward mark.
Our leeward mark rounding allowed us to extend left which seemed to have a bit more breeze as once we tacked over, we were well in front of the leaders. A clean weather mark and spinnaker set allowed us to take the gun in a dying breeze.
Race 2 of the day showed breeze of 8-10 kts with increasing rain and a start time of around 6pm, much too late for our team who is used to having a few cold beers by this stage of the day. After a few Z flag starts, we found ourselves battling for a lane to extend to the left side where there was clearly more pressure. It looked bleak for most of the upwind as we were forced to tack away early, however we found ourselves being able to get left of the fleet at the top of the leg, hook into a huge lefty and round in the top 5. Shortly after our set, the breeze presented another face as it shifted 40 degrees to the right, straight out of the North and allowed 1-2 boats who gybed early to lay the marks. We rounded the bottom in 5th, battled up the last upwind on a shortened course and finished in our last rounding position.
Overall, a good day for the Samba Team. We showed great speed and patience in the breeze, and we did a good job of changing gears and staying on our toes on the lighter conditions. Very unofficial results overall –
Red, Highlife, Fantastica, B-lin, Samba.
There are only a few points separating the top 5, and with the Mistral predicted to set in for Saturday and Sunday, the regatta may very well be finished. Off to dinner…than to bed, hopefully with no more bed bug bites from the cot I am sleeping on. Check out Melges32.com for official results and photos.
Racing Starts Today »
May 12, 2010
After 3 solid, productive days of practice in Cagliari, the Melges 32 Europeans gets underway with a very civilized 12:30 pm start time for the first race. The weather so far has been very unstable with the seabreeze fighting a light gradient breeze, along with passing showers and thunderstorms. We have been able to salvaged enough breeze to look at sails, work on crewwork and line up with a few other boats to make sure we on pace with speed.
17 boats are registered from 9 countries and it is tough to predict a winner at this stage as many of the Italian teams are improving, and other solid teams from the UK, Germany and Denmark are here with talented squads.
More info and photos can be found at the official Melges 32 Europeans Website. Stay tuned to 42Marine.com for the inside scoop.
Update from Cagliari… »
May 10, 2010
After a longer than usual flights to Europe that had to be diverted either North or South of their usual routes due to the ash cloud spreading from Iceland, the team has arrived into Cagliari (pronounced like Calgary without a “g”. I have been corrected on this many times already by a few team members who seem to think they have the Italian language mastered) and we are ready to get sailing. The next objective is to reach our target weight which will be a bit of a challenge with more weight to lose than usual and delicious food surrounding us, but it is clear we have all taken to filling the gaps out our stomachs will espresso, which has all made us a bit wirey and a little cracked out. Tuesday morning is the first opportunity to weigh and without Joy Dunigan to call to sneak in early on the scales, we are going to have to get creative on how to grease the wheels of the regatta organizers.
The sailing team is looking in great shape, but unfortunately our shore team is banged up for this event. Our main boat manger, Eric Arndt remained in the states for a procedure, and our social coordinator/Minister of Splicing, Todd “Hop-a-long” Meyer managed to tear most of the ligaments in his ankle while is a sky-diving tunnel, still managed to make the trip, but needs to be chauffeured any where he goes with a certified handler. He has been likened to Forrest Gump before he was able to shake the leg braces as a youth. I have not had the opportunity to be Todd’s handler yet, but when I do, I will make sure to include lots of stairs and hills. Big Jim Condon (6’4″, 294 lbs) is filling in for Eric to watch over the boat and has taken the responsibility of make sure he puts on whatever weight the sailing team loses. Fuzz Foster has yet to hit the disabled list, but we all are keeping a close eye on him.
We have our first practice scheduled for later today and with plenty of time before racing on Thursday, it will be good to shake off the jet lag and work on some boathandling. Our normal bow guy, Buddha was not able to make the trip for this event, so we have Shana Rosenfeld’s, husband Peter filling in. Peter has taken on the task of dropping over 18 lbs to make up for the difference between him and Buddha, so judging by his commitment to drop weight, he has quickly become popular with the rest of the team.
The fleet is stacking up to be a good one with over 20 boats on the entry list and the top European teams in attendance. B Lin Sailing has been looking tough with Federico Michetti-Melges Europe Pres, and Melges 24 world champ, Lorenzo Bressani teaming up, and it will be interesting to see how the French Teasing Machine does after their winning performance in Miami. Hopefully the Samba team can return to our winning ways that we displayed in Key West and take home the first Melges 32 Europeans title.
Stay tuned for more updates, and check Melges32.com for up-to-date results. Standing by in Cagliari (Calgary without the G)
UP NEXT »
May 3, 2010
With the early ice out on Minnetonka this year, sailors are chomping at the bit to get out on the water and shake the rust off. The coaching calendar is filling up with sessions already taking place with the Power Play Racing MC program, and the Mevin Racing A Scow Program. 2010 is shaping up to be a great summer.
On May 7, preparation for the Melges 32 Worlds in September continues with a trip to Cagliari, Italy for the first ever Melges 32 European Championships. I will be trimming on John Kilroy Jr’s Samba Pa Ti, and will have daily updates. Stay posted and take a look at the updated crew list.