Days 2 and 3: Sail for Gold

Patience is the thing I strive for the most in this sport.  I'm used to being able to do most sports well simply because I'm an athletic person.  However, in sailing, small gains come slowly and can be invisible in the results.  I'm out of my comfort zone in the really big breeze, and it shows.  This is the very reason I went to San Francisco and the Gorge this summer.  I'm pushing my wind range up higher and higher, but it's slow progress so far.  What I am the most happy about from the past two days is that my tacks and jibes are improving, and my upwind technique is getting much better.

We've had two races each day so far, and all races have been on a windward-leeward course due to the constraints of the harbor.  It's actually quite fun going around and around the course like a racecar, as it gives you lots of opportunities to practice maneuvers.  Today we were postponed for a few hours in the morning, as the wind was gusting to 35 knots.  Later, however, conditions calmed down a bit to around 20+ knots (although there were a few lulls and high gusts) and the committee was able to get our races off in the harbor.  The boards and the 49ers were the only fleets to sail today.  Although most fleets sailed yesterday, conditions were actually a bit windier.  I felt racing was called off a bit prematurely for the rest of the boats, but the committee believed that outside the harbor walls conditions were unsafe.  Tomorrow the wind will be lighter, and all fleets should be ready to go.