Monday 29 June 2009

Post Euro's comedown

I've just returned to Sunny England (seems summer arrived while I was out) and have had plenty of time sitting in the car to ponder over the Euro's in Denmark.
It's always sad at the end of a great event when what was once home to a fleet of Moths, tents, tools and epoxy becomes an empty field again. Horsens was a great venue - everyone all staying together, rigging together and helping each other launch from the one slipway made us all get involved - from bbq's to Rods Tiller of Doom, along with the occasional shout across the dinghy park of 'epoxy going spare' as we healed our mechanical wounds.

Everyone expected this event to be a light winds affair and I went in secretly hoping for some of the marginal stuff in which the Ninja has proved so potent. What we got instead was 3 races in 20-25, 1 race in 25, and 4 races in 15-20 which proved a good test for boat, body and foil systems! I've put very little time into sailing in waves/chop as I just don't get the opportunity at BCYC. The boat handled it admirably and going into the last day with some practice under my belt I was starting to mix it up with the M2's upwind but still hesitant downwind but gradually improving and making less mistakes resulting in a 4th in the final race.
Rodders and myself had a good ding dong all week long, tied going into the final race as we'd both been consistently thereabouts and having no alphabet to worry about meant a proper showdown which went my way in the end. In hindsight, I'm glad it was as breezey as it was, hopefully showing that I'm/the boat are not a one trick pony!

Everyone had their fair share of breakages, given the wind strength and hazardous launching area with all the brands suffering a bit. You can build strong, or you can build light - its a tricky line to walk...

I've got a few random photos on various cameras and when I have dug them from the van I will get some up.

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