Issue date
Lake Garda… what a cool place to train, race and hang out at for a few weeks.
From the picturesque lake we sail on, the awesome hills to cycle up, to the old towns with narrow alleys running in all directions, Lake Garda is truly up there as one of my favourite places to visit. I also have to mention the tasty local cuisine specialties, which make this place even better; pizza and gelato!
Week one in Garda was spent taking some time off the water and doing a fair bit of fitness work, including gym and cycling. It was nice after coming out of an intense competition in Hyeres to have a week out of the boat, and refresh mentally! The highlight from the week was probably the amazing routes we got to explore while road cycling. The scenery was pretty spectacular.
I got back in the boat the day before Garda Olympic Week began, just to go out for a quick hour sail to make sure everything was in working order for racing to begin. Another new format was being tested for the five days of racing;
- day one and two: three qualifying races each day
- day three and four: gold/silver fleet racing (only 25 boats qualify to gold fleet)
- day 5: one ‘Final’ 20 minute race for the top six boats (you go into this race only carrying your ranking, then add your ‘Final’ race place to that to make up the overall score)
For the six qualifying races over the first couple of days I sailed well enough and qualified 6th for the gold fleet racing. We had tricky ‘Ora’ direction winds for those first two days, but some of the races the ‘Ora’ wasn’t it’s typical self and was often very shifty, gusty and hard to predict. The ‘Ora’ is known to be a fairly solid breeze that has some well studied trends such as hitting the cliffs on the right side of the course going up the first beat.
The first day of gold fleet racing we ended up sitting around waiting for wind all day, but the lack of sun, and a lot of rain made for a glass out of a day with minimal wind. Racing was cancelled at 4pm and the start time for the next day moved forward to an early 9am, with a plan to catch up on some of the races we had missed.
So up bright and early the final morning to race in a gusty as, cold offshore ‘Peler’ morning breeze. I really can’t start to explain how patchy, gusty and shifty this breeze was on our racecourse that was so close to the shore. We got three races completed, and after a shocking start to the day I rallied back to score a 6th and 2nd in the final two races, and qualify 5th for the next day’s ‘Final’ race for the top six boats.
The last day of competition was glamour weather with clear skies all morning, which resulted in the nicest ‘Ora’ breeze that we had all regatta.
So with the new format, I was on five points going into the ‘Final’ race, and the leader on one point. A bit different to what we are used to as it really takes away from the sailors who have been consistent all regatta, by closing the gap to only a few points between first and sixth place overall. So with that in mind I knew that anything could happen, as the top six boats are all very good and an upset is not impossible within such a high calibre small fleet of boats!
I went out there with the plan of sailing my own race and just try my best to win it. It was all really close after the first lap, but on the second upwind myself and the Croatian sailor split right from the other four boats, and made big gains with him rounding the first top mark in the lead and myself chasing hard. The whole final downwind to the finish line one of us would extend and then the other would catch back up and overtake, it was neck and neck. In the final 100 meters to the finish I got a nice gust of wind and linked up a few small waves, and must’ve crossed the line only a centimetre or so in front of him.
It turned out the other four boats behind us finished in such an order that I won the event overall too! I’m always wanting to win so it was a good feeling, but with the sailing formats that we are used to and consistency being such a big deal in our minds it really seemed to me that there were two sailors who out sailed the rest of us over the previous four days of racing and deserved the win more. It is what it is though, and I took my opportunity. I hope our fleet showed ISAF that this is a poor format though and hopefully it is the first and last time we use it. I think one experiment with that format has proved it is a little ridiculous.
I had some good goals that I took from my debrief from the last event in Hyeres which I was working on this event, so it was definitely a well worth while event to do, and more racing under my belt is what I am after at this stage in my four year cycle. Also nice to come away with a good result as always!
Our remaining few days here in Garda will be spent doing some nice cycling and fitness, eating plenty of gelato and a bit of relaxing! Then we are driving to Medemblik for the next regatta, Delta Lloyd which starts on the 21st. I can’t say I am looking forward to leaving this awesome place, but I have never been to Medemblik to sail before so that should be a cool new experience too!
Thanks for all of the continued support!
Cheers,
Andy
