Issue date
David Barnes, Rick Dodson and Andrew May report on the conclusion of their IFDS World Championship together...
The final day of the IFDS World Championships brought with it a welcome 18 knots. We set up for a windier day today; getting some more bend in the mast and adjusting our settings after a learning curve from yesterdays racing in lighter air. In race 1 we had a brilliant start and held our 5th position all the way through to the finish.
The Race Committee were keen on getting Race 2 in asap and we got caught out below the start line in the two minutes between the last race and the next starting gun by transferring food and water to the sailors. We were 8th off the line and the Kiwi Gold Sailing Team made a huge effort in Great Wall Cars, making use of a lucky wind shift and only slipping back one spot, to finish 9th.
The third and final race started with us making an average/OK start. We tacked over to the left hand side of the course, aiming to keep our tacks to a minimum, where we found ourselves 2nd at the top mark. We held our spot right until the run home when the guys from the USA came out from the left hand side and got in front of us. We battled them right to the end with only 10 metres to go, when both teams got an uninvited wind shift, forcing an accidental gybe in both cases. The USA team rolled over us, gave us their dirty air and beat us by a half a second over the finish line.
The Kiwi Gold Team takes away an 8th place in the IFDS Worlds Paralympic qualifier, beating local favourite John Twomey and the Canadian Gold Medal winning team led by Paul Tingley. This was a tough and very experienced fleet of sailors here in Kinsale. A truly fantastic result to our first ever regatta in Great Wall Cars and as the Kiwi Gold Sailing Team.
We had a lovely surprise at the end of the day too. While we were having our usual de-brief in the Vista Cafe, the owners presented us with a black, white and silver wrapped box. Inside was a beautifully framed nautical map of New Zealand of a quality rarely seen. A beautiful and thoughtful gift; it will take pride of place on the walls of our office at North Sails in Auckland.
What an honour to have become friends with the wonderful locals here in Kinsale. Never have we been so welcomed, looked after and truly accepted as a Team and as individuals. Thank you so very much for having us Kinsale.
www.kiwigoldsailing.co.nz
