. . .a low flying helicopter! The last race of the JJ was quite eventful and the helicopter who caused a bit of the chaos: caught it all on film . . .a bit bitter sweet to say the least!
Oh, we had a rig break at the base on a mark rounding, broken bow sprits, a center board which lost a battle with a reef (the skiff was at top speed when the grounding occured!). . .hmmm a few other little boggles which lead to a steady stream of boats prematurely returning. Ahh . . and the weather. It was stink! The general feeling was at any moment, the skies would open up or the wind would go dead calm and than . . SLAP . . hard on . . and the damn shifts. It was a most interesting race.
Team GE . . . the photographer captured it best: ear to ear grins around the entire course. They ended on a fantastic note with a solid 15th out of a fleet of 32, did not break anything and no swimming. There is nothing better than ending a regatta with good, solid and clean race. (They are currently enjoying a nice cold beer as I type . . .which is apart of the SailTrim post race recovery plan!)
It's time to clean up and ready ourselves for, what I hear to be one excellent party at the 18footer league club house where I will rightfully hang my "SailTrim Hat" outside the door and enjoy an adult beverage with my team.
This was an amazing event and the folks who run the Double Bay Sailing Club . . .my hat's off! Thank you for the excellent race side accommodations, phenomenal pies and lovely tales of skiff sailing past. If I did not have reason to return to the Northern Hemisphere, I would have loved to stay and play a bit longer.
Fair Winds ~ Jenn
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Summer storms . . .
. . . Double Bay was a glow last evening. Thankfully, mother nature's display did not roll through till after the prize giving. As the daylight bid us farewell, the flashes of purple, red and orange timed with long rumbles of thunder; proved to be the ultimate prize for the day's events.
With regards to sailing, we had normal conditions for a Saturday; with the usual boat traffic (sailboats of every size, ships and tankers) . . .shifty breezes . . .and race course chaos due to an untimely on the water visit by Dick Cheney (if Americans wonder why we are not properly received while visiting other countries, it may be, when our leaders drop in for a visit, they disrupt a countries favorite pass time and life. . . creating traffic delays . . .I think you get the point).
At any rate . . .back to sailing! Our guys were a little worked over yesterday . . .the skiffs can humble the best of character! You have to take the whipe outs, bruises and frustration and use it to motivate self to be better and move forward. The team really loves being here: the high level of play and the opportunity to grow as sailors. So . . I keep the smile on, band-aids in hand and ice in large supply for the "foul weather" days.
Despite the bruises . . . of all the days; yesterday's tales of on the water aerials and acrobatics was the most colorful thus far! There was a bit of swimming and gravity defying acts. . .standing on shoulders . . .flying around forestays . . .how's the mental image coming along? Are you ready to sign on for a ride?
We have one more day of play before we pack up the boat, clean out the flat we've called home and prepare for long flights to the Northern Hemisphere Monday (however, SailTrim heads to Melbourne next). We will do some feel good physio before they head out, they've all been well fed by Jenna our chef and will soon be heading down to tinker one last time on the boat before heading out at 2:30pm our time for one last ride.
For me, the brunt of the work has come and gone. Our final hours together have been and continue to be planning for the next event. SailTrim will be visiting the team in April for a few meetings with hopes to return to the UK for a lengthy stay to train the team and travel through Europe. It's all a rough draft, however; the newsletter can be managed from anywhere in the world and the sailing overseas calls to me strongly.
So now blogging has become more of a "routine" for me, hope you have all enjoyed the "ride" this past week and hope you'll stick around for continued tales from my trip to Melbourne and then onto Miami for Premiere's Acura Miami Race Week. The later should be a hoot, since I will be racing with hometown Mumm folks and tales from the rail are always a treat (at least my father seems to enjoy!).
Fair Winds ~ Jenn
With regards to sailing, we had normal conditions for a Saturday; with the usual boat traffic (sailboats of every size, ships and tankers) . . .shifty breezes . . .and race course chaos due to an untimely on the water visit by Dick Cheney (if Americans wonder why we are not properly received while visiting other countries, it may be, when our leaders drop in for a visit, they disrupt a countries favorite pass time and life. . . creating traffic delays . . .I think you get the point).
At any rate . . .back to sailing! Our guys were a little worked over yesterday . . .the skiffs can humble the best of character! You have to take the whipe outs, bruises and frustration and use it to motivate self to be better and move forward. The team really loves being here: the high level of play and the opportunity to grow as sailors. So . . I keep the smile on, band-aids in hand and ice in large supply for the "foul weather" days.
Despite the bruises . . . of all the days; yesterday's tales of on the water aerials and acrobatics was the most colorful thus far! There was a bit of swimming and gravity defying acts. . .standing on shoulders . . .flying around forestays . . .how's the mental image coming along? Are you ready to sign on for a ride?
We have one more day of play before we pack up the boat, clean out the flat we've called home and prepare for long flights to the Northern Hemisphere Monday (however, SailTrim heads to Melbourne next). We will do some feel good physio before they head out, they've all been well fed by Jenna our chef and will soon be heading down to tinker one last time on the boat before heading out at 2:30pm our time for one last ride.
For me, the brunt of the work has come and gone. Our final hours together have been and continue to be planning for the next event. SailTrim will be visiting the team in April for a few meetings with hopes to return to the UK for a lengthy stay to train the team and travel through Europe. It's all a rough draft, however; the newsletter can be managed from anywhere in the world and the sailing overseas calls to me strongly.
So now blogging has become more of a "routine" for me, hope you have all enjoyed the "ride" this past week and hope you'll stick around for continued tales from my trip to Melbourne and then onto Miami for Premiere's Acura Miami Race Week. The later should be a hoot, since I will be racing with hometown Mumm folks and tales from the rail are always a treat (at least my father seems to enjoy!).
Fair Winds ~ Jenn
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Light breezes, clear skies . . .
. . .a perfect day of rest for the crews. However; myself, team photographer, our web designer and skipper are busy catching up from a busy week of running about. We did have a lovely team breakfast (chef's day off too!) and a nice walk about town in the earlier hours before the southern sun's rays kicked in to high temps! In addition, a little bit of physiotherapy on our main trimmer who's lower back and hips where a bit achy after yesterday's longer session on the water . . .he is properly resting on the beach with girlfriend and our chef!
I have been pulling together excellent editorial for the March newsletter and should be a great read: both informative and entertaining, primarily due to the input our guys would like to add in from their experiences and having a professional photographer as a flat mate! They have great feedback for the community as a whole, from the perspective of a working professional who carries high aspirations in the competitive sailing scene . . . maintaining a few non-sailing life interest (oh family . . . under water basket weaving) and the balances in future preparation for such a top level sporting event. I think the readership will thoroughly enjoy!
For now . . .the team recovers from last night's regatta party at the Rag and Fammish (the oldest hotel in ALL of Australia) and plenty of sailing. Till tomorrow . . . . fair winds!
I have been pulling together excellent editorial for the March newsletter and should be a great read: both informative and entertaining, primarily due to the input our guys would like to add in from their experiences and having a professional photographer as a flat mate! They have great feedback for the community as a whole, from the perspective of a working professional who carries high aspirations in the competitive sailing scene . . . maintaining a few non-sailing life interest (oh family . . . under water basket weaving) and the balances in future preparation for such a top level sporting event. I think the readership will thoroughly enjoy!
For now . . .the team recovers from last night's regatta party at the Rag and Fammish (the oldest hotel in ALL of Australia) and plenty of sailing. Till tomorrow . . . . fair winds!
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Like a fishy . . .
. . .my boys went swimming early on in the race yesterday. It was bit of a somber day. This morning the guys were a bit "stiff" and requiring more physiotherapy (stretching and range of motion) over massage therapy with tight glutes, hamstrings and lower backs. I will do a little bit different program with them after they rig up the boat and head out, a more dynamic stretch/warm up session for about 8-10mins.
Otherwise, we are holding up, going to get them out earlier today for on the water warm up before race sequence . . . more food for the longer session on the water (our chef has been OUT OF THIS WORLD!) and hydration . . hydration . . hydration . . .it's like a game of chess ~ always stay three "sips" ahead.
We are on a lay day tomorrow from racing and will do a more comprehensive review of the week later tomorrow ~ fair winds and stay tunes!
Otherwise, we are holding up, going to get them out earlier today for on the water warm up before race sequence . . . more food for the longer session on the water (our chef has been OUT OF THIS WORLD!) and hydration . . hydration . . hydration . . .it's like a game of chess ~ always stay three "sips" ahead.
We are on a lay day tomorrow from racing and will do a more comprehensive review of the week later tomorrow ~ fair winds and stay tunes!
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
A peanut butter and jelly day . . .
. . . but not quite a snickers. Today's challenges finally did not include big breeze, heavy bay traffic, untimely ferries and tankers . . .instead very heavy outgoing tide! Oh but we did awake to the arrival of the largest cruise ship Queen Mary at 6 am this morning with a full enterage of boats, helis and sware half of Sydney!
At any rate, with the strong tide it was amazing they got up to the line and a few windward beats seemed to never end, however the downwind was hot and heavy! I went out on the spectator boat today and what a lovely race to watch with the most exciting finishes.
The boys benefited well from the lay day, each had full physio in the morning and all have finally picked up the concept: hydration is a cummulative deal . . . it's taken a week of hand delivering glasses and bottles of water to have them asking before they even get thirsty! Yahoo! Oh and they ate their peanut butter and jellies before having to be told . . . very pleased with my team. . .indeed.
The end result was a strong comback after a deeper than preferred start off the line. They ended with a strong 11th, the repaired boom is still holding and they are having a blast! More to come . . .
At any rate, with the strong tide it was amazing they got up to the line and a few windward beats seemed to never end, however the downwind was hot and heavy! I went out on the spectator boat today and what a lovely race to watch with the most exciting finishes.
The boys benefited well from the lay day, each had full physio in the morning and all have finally picked up the concept: hydration is a cummulative deal . . . it's taken a week of hand delivering glasses and bottles of water to have them asking before they even get thirsty! Yahoo! Oh and they ate their peanut butter and jellies before having to be told . . . very pleased with my team. . .indeed.
The end result was a strong comback after a deeper than preferred start off the line. They ended with a strong 11th, the repaired boom is still holding and they are having a blast! More to come . . .
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