Warnemunde-Day 1

First day of racing at Warnemunde has now concluded. I had a great day today scoring two first places. It is quite an interesting change from racing at a Hyeres(SOF), Holland Regatta, or Kiel as there is quite a bit more space on the course. Also, there is only one fleet so the start line is quite big, and makes it imparative to start at the correct end. My starts were what helped me win both races, as each time, I came off close to the favored end, and then was able to extend up the work.

I am really happy to be doing this regatta, as the conditions today reminded me of racing in China-lighter winds with a bit of chop. Hopefully we will get a bit more of that, as there hasnt been to much light wind with chop at the grade ones this year.

For the last bit of my preparation, I am focusing on my adaptibility, and have traded a bit of gear with one of my training partners. In particular, we have found 3 top sections of different weight: one at the maximimum weight, one towards the average, and the lightest one we can find. My normal section is the heavy one, but for this event, I am using the average weight section. It was quite interesting to put it up, as the first thing I noticed was that I based more of my rig setup decisions on feel rather then looks as it setup with slight differences compared to my normal one. I am not trying to say that there are a massive performance difference between spars, but there are subtle differences, and I believe that becoming comfortable with different gear will be very important at the games when there are so many other distractions to deal with. Next week I will train with the light one.