for us . The boats are fixed settings so it lets us transfer on to it pretty quickly .”
Concluding the first day in third tied points with USA , we began our second day of racing in the blue fleet starting in the afternoon . The day held similar conditions to the day before , however , it started to become lighter and shifter in the last two races . With it being a lay day for all other classes all eyes were on the SL16 and we went in aiming for top three result again . The day was filled with tight racing however we managed to begin and end the day with firsts leaving two seconds in between and securing us in second only 3 point behind the French in first . The first two days of racing we had boat number two . We really liked this boat it felt good through the water and was fast .
On day three we were again in blue fleet sailing in a significantly lighter breeze with massive holes and shifts . It was also our first time racing against New Zealand who were sitting in third and also using a different boat . We had boat number six . When we swapped with the South Africans from their morning session we noticed the starboard hull filled with water . After having some good runs , some bad races and some silly mistakes we ended the day with a more mixed scorecard including a three , two , one and a six . However , we were still quite pleased with our day being the first day of constant isolating shifts and big holes in the wind , as well as our boat leaking . We went into the final day sitting in second place in the gold fleet .
The final day was the day we would go up against the French for the first time this regatta . It was the best 6 boats on the start line for the lightest day of the regatta with massive shifts making the racing tight and had a great toll psychologically as you could go from 1st to 6th in half a leg . In the first race we didn ’ t execute the strategy we wanted , making some silly mistakes in the end we rounded the top mark in 6th , however managed to finish second after picking some funky shifts with the breeze . After the first race we knew we really needed to focus on minimising unnecessary risks and focus more on maximising pace in this patchy breeze . We concluded the final day of racing with three seconds managing to stay close to the clear leader and past world youth champs the French . Knowing we had finished the regatta in second we were ecstatic truly absorbed in the amazing atmosphere . It was an experience we will never forget .
SHAUN CONNOR AND SOPHIE RENOUF
Most of the team thought it was going to be light winds for the whole regatta but we were excited and motivated to get out there on the water .
CENTREBOARD
YACHTSMAN 59