Today I commented to another sailor, "We have the same conditions every day, just from a different direction." As the wind clocked around, we experienced some marginal breeze from the northeast. Some really big shifts came throughout the afternoon, and it was as gusty as usual.
The committee held two races today, and were thinking about having a third, but the wind didn't pick up enough to have a planing race. I'm working on managing my energy and efficiency in the marginal conditions, and today went really well in that respect. I am getting the hang of working the rig in the harness. Also, we've been working on improving my pumping efficiency (especially downwind) so I don't crunch up my body and use my arms too much. The basic rule is to extend your body so you have more leverage over the rig and use your legs and hips to pump the sail. Extending your body and being light on your feet also helps you get planing faster as it powers up the sail quickly.
We are expecting more marginal conditions tomorrow out of the southeast. Hopefully, there will be some planing races so the committee can get in three, making up for the missed races on Monday. It will be nice and warm and we're looking forward to being out on the water tomorrow and concluding the regatta.
With coach Mike Gebhardt, who has a stash of coconuts in his van (coconut water is great for recovery!)
Don't drink too much of that coconut water in one day.
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