Issue date
Team Kiwi Gold (David Barnes, Rick Dodson and co) report on their last few days at the Sonar World Championships which came to a close on 22 September...
Lots of rain and no wind stopped the Kiwi Gold Sailing Team getting any racing in on Saturday. Almost in direct reflection of the goings on In San Francisco with the AC34.
The team waited out on the race course in the rain for about an hour and it heaved down with rain the entire time. Eventually the committee postponed the race. We went ashore and had lunch and waited out most of the afternoon until the call came to abandon the day of racing altogether. The boys were excited to be able to go and watch the Race in San Fran, only to find out they were suffering the same fate. A day of hurry up and wait…
Friday however was a different story, thankfully!
We learned a lot from the first day. It was a tough day though, the winds are so shifty on the Lake. We can feel the temperature and wind changing, see little puffs here and there and then they disappear just as quickly. It's maddening; you can go from first to last and last to first. It's crazy, very challenging, but worth every minute. Ultimately a very tiring day, three hard races and the boys are feeling it.
They had a Mount Gay Rum Party at the Yacht Club on friday night. The Club has cut the top off of one of the very old Sonars and bolted it to a trailer, covered it in fairy lights and turned it into a mobile bar. The boys had one and were so very tired we snuck off home to Reens for some well earned dinner and rest.
The Kiwi boys had a much better day on Sunday, the final day of racing in Rochester.
The breeze was co-operating and gave us all a lovely, steady 18 to 25 knots; some sporting wind to get us really moving. Although along with the stiff breeze were some massive waves. Coach Rob labelled the sea state 'rough as'.
Our Team got 3 races in but it was physically brutal, the boys are rather bashed up and there are some sore backs flying back home to NZ today. Everyone was wiping out on the water, blowing out kites, losing them over the side, you name it. Mayhem. At the end of the day, there was only 22 out of the original 30 left racing.
Our end result was 17th place overall. Two spots behind our mate Twomey from Kinsale and again we beat the Canadian Gold Medalist Tingley.
Nice work Kiwi Gold Sailing!
Right now, our boys are on their way back home to New Zealand after a long two months away. They are flying via San Francisco. We so wish there was a party for them to delay their flight home for….
Go Kiwis!
www.kiwigoldsailing.co.nz
