Last Day of the Championship..

A very busy morning for our whole group (see previous post).. The racing was now the priority and time to finish this event in style. My goal of top twenty was in serious jeopardy with just a few points separating me from a large chase group in the standings. I needed one good race.. two would be even better. Of course San Francisco Bay wasn't going to give me an easy day to accomplish this goal. The wind was the... Windiest! day so far... Not much sleep.. But I was determined to give it my all. Hold back nothing.. race full out. Get aggressive downwind.. leave it all on the race course. Sounds like a plan huh? Well the first race was following the script perfectly till I experienced "pilot ejection" five hundred yards into the first downwind. Not just a simple capsize.. A swim after your boat ejection deathroll.. the worse kind when your needing to score well in a race. By the time I got the boat back up I had lost most of the fleet. I could ony count a few boat behind me. I sailed another lap in what seemed like 30knots to me (they said it was only high twenties). Caught a few boats but on the next downwind I "augured in" (buried the nose) and went down again. This time I hit my head on the centerboard as I dropped head first towards the water. As I rode the boat and got back in I told myself that I need to have a talk with my boat before I get started again. "Please! do not eject me.. and do not hit me on the head!" Once we got that straight.. I was off again in a blaze of whitewater. One thing about sailing in the back, the passing opportunities are more frequent. I shot by a few crashed boats at the gybe mark and pass another two going for the finish. I ended up 33 in race. That would not cut it for my goal of top twenty and I knew I needed to dig deep to reel off a good last race to make my goal. This was the windiest race!!! No exaggeration.. Started in 25-28 knots with gusts to 30. This is laser sailing with 1-3 feet of mainsheet out all the time and wave breaking over the bow on every wave. Well... I start near Laser class President Tracey Usher (210lbs?) and headed for the left corner. It better be the favored side because.. No way am I tacking! My good friend Vann Wilson is to leeward and sheeted out and on his ear. Vann is an amazing sailor and he looks totally overpowered in these conditions. I limp along with the rest of the fleet dreading the first downwind leg ahead. Staying upright in those conditions is almost like trying to win the state lottery. The chances of flipping are high and my track record from the race before wasn't too good. In the end, I had my "Complete Race" and crossed the line in 14th place. I only lost one place to my good friend Mark Bear right at the finish line. We congratulated each other for sailing a good series and for just being able to finish in those conditions. I ended this Laser Master Worlds in 20th place overall.. this was my goal for the regatta.. equally important I gained a massive amount of heavy air and tide sailing experience in these unique conditions I'd really hadn't sailed in before this championship. Most important to me during the last 10 days was renewing many old friendship and making new ones with sailors from around the world. Coming to the San Francisco Bay and testing my skills in truly this world stage for single handed dinghy sailing. I highly recommend those who can.. go to one of these events in any sport. For me, these are the memories that define who I am. The next Laser Maters Worlds are in Brisbane, Australia in March 2012.. Are you going? Peter