Posted by Mark on 6th December 2006

Post America's Regatta in St. Pete

St. Petersburg welcomed us with warm weather and light winds. The conditions presented a huge change in strategy and sailing techniques. US teams also learned the importance of tilting seats from our neighbors to the north.

Team Eagle finished fifth out of six boats. This was obviously not our strongest regatta, so let me explain.

Friday's forecast was for light winds. Maureen and I comprise the heaviest team in the fleet. In light conditions, weight is bad. To offset the combination, we moved our seats forward. Friday's forecast was wrong.

We found ourselves experiencing moderate winds between 11 and 13 knots on Friday. We looked more like a diving submarine than a high performance SKUD 18.

Additionally, we found ourselves experiencing more spinnaker line issues, similar to those that plagued us at the end of our last regatta.

Saturday, the second day of the regatta, we had a three hour postponement due to no wind. This gave Maureen and I and the time we needed to test changes we made to the spinnaker launch and retrieval system. The time proved invaluable; we feel we have solved our spinnaker line issues.

Unfortunately for us, the race committee called us over early on the first race of the day. We did not feel we were over early and the confusion led to a delayed restart. Although we were a full leg behind after our dip start, our efforts put us with the rest of the fleet near the finish line.

We had a great start for the second race and found ourselves at the head of the fleet when rounding the windward mark. During the last downwind leg we found ourselves in contention for first place. Unfortunately, the Canadians's superior seating systems proved better upwind performance and we finished second.

Sunday's conditions were worse. No wind resulted in a postponement, and soon after, followed by an abandonment of the races for our last day.

We solved many issues that have plagued us in the past. We finished the regatta on a strong note and we are happy with our performance and ability to overcome the difficulties we faced.

What did we learn this week? The Canadians had an obvious advantage. There is no doubt at this point among any US team that we must develop and implement tilting seats as soon as possible.

What else happened this week? Quite a bit. Betsy Alison brought in Christopher Rast, a 49er skipper and crew, who proved to be an invaluable coach this week and into the future. Thank you Chris for all that you have done this past week.

Maureen and I also had the chance to meet with US Sailing's sports psychologist and nutritionist. These resources have and will prove invaluable in dealing with the ups and downs of a campaign.

Like many sports, sailing isn't always about you and everyone else. Maureen and I made some accomplishments we are proud of this week. As a team we have made advancements and become better sailors.