Post match analysis

I had high hopes for blogging/facebooking while out in Italy, but had some connectivity issues at the Univela. Probably a good thing as it probably prevented grumpy old Mike outbursts from reaching the internet!

I had planned on this worlds being a bit of a last swansong for the Ninja. I've got a list of things as long as my arm that basically mean a wholesale re-evalution of the boat, so I really wanted me and Shredder to go out with a bang, rather than a whimper!

I had good pace the whole time, but really struggled to understand the venue, as the tactics really seemed to shift around while the breeze was establishing. My lack of practice really showed on the big Wednesday and when Friday came around with more of the same, I decided to call it a day and let Ole Frey (Shredders' new keeper) take her away without me launching myself into various parts for the morning.

When things went right I could get in the top 10 and stay there (2nd in the practice race and another in the Q series) but I couldn't get myself there often enough. Fitness wasn't an issue for me for the first time in a while, but if I'm to compete at this level I'm going to need to focus my sailing a bit more and find someone to train with. Bit of a problem when your only local competition is contemplating sailing something else (shame on you Offer!) and you can cross your local lake in a couple of minutes at 20 knots!

The rest of team Ninja did me proud though and scored some pretty tidy results in a fleet dominated by full time sailors.

The next month or so is tooling time. I've been taking on feedback from the Ninja Co-Operative and think I can improve most bits on the boat in some way to improve reliability and repeatability of settings. I've also got a couple of very experienced aero/hydro folk looking at foil sections and planforms and will have some prototype foils on the water with my new boat. The plan is for the bells and whistles versions to roll out in the spring.

The 'Rocket' is preparing for launch.