Robert Davis – Miami OCR

January 20, 2007
Today was my first day of training since the training camp at the beginning of January. I joined up with two sailors from Nova Scotia, a US sailor, and a sailor from Quebec. After warming up, we began sailing upwind in line-ups. My boat speed was quite good, and I was able to go just as fast as the other bigger sailors in these conditions. After a long downwind, we began some short course sailing, including starting and some short races. Tomorrow I will do a short session, and make sure my boat is in top condition before racing starts on Monday.

Weather: 28 degrees, 8-14 knots, partly cloudy.
Session time: 4 hours

January 22, 2007
Today I headed out in the afternoon for a quick sail to make sure everything was in order before the event starts tomorrow. I did a long upwind as well as some short-course manoeuvring. I only stayed out for an hour as it was quite windy again and I wanted to make sure my body was well rested for tomorrow.

Weather: 28 degrees, 16-18 knots, sunny.
Session time: 1 hour

January 22, 2007
Today was the first day of racing. We are sailing a 3-day qualifying series, followed by a 2-day final series. Then, the top 10 boats race in the medal race. For the qualifying series, boats are divided into the blue or yellow fleet. Fleet assignments are reallocated after each day based on overall results.

Today we had a strong wind, with big chop. I have a tough time upwind in this wind strength as I am beginning to de-power, while the sailors who are ideal Laser weight are still fully powered up. Despite being slower upwind, I was very quick on the reaches and downwinds, passing several boats in each race on these legs.

Places: 35, 36

Weather: 28 degrees, 12-16 knots, partly cloudy.

January 23, 2007
After being postponed onshore in the morning, the start was rescheduled to 1 p.m. After another delay on water, the racing finally got underway in the light winds. In the first race I had a poor start and had a tough time trying to come back. In the second race I sailed a great race, passing several boats on the second upwind and I finished 20th.

Places: 35, 36, 41, 20

Weather: 30 degrees, 3-5 knots, partly cloudy.

January 24, 2007
Today was the last day of the qualifying series. After a short on-water postponement the racing got underway. In the first race, the line was poorly set, and the entire fleet tacked onto port at go. I sailed two good downwind legs and finished 35th. In the second race I found a clear lane out to the left and was in the top 20 around the first windward mark. To get clear air I decided to gybe to the inside, but a puff rolled down the other side of the course and several boats passed me. I was quick again on the second upwind, and managed to pass those boats again and I finished 23rd. Tomorrow, the final series will begin where the fleet will be split into gold and silver fleet.

Places: 35, 36, 51, 20, 37, 24

Weather: 28 degrees, 4-8 knots, partly cloudy.

January 25, 2007
Today was the first day of the final series of sailing. Unfortunately I was 8 spots out of making gold fleet, but I am not disappointed as there are many other good sailors in the silver fleet. After being delayed for an hour to wait for a front to pass, we were sent out, only to have the front hit us when we were on the water. The new weather system brought wind, rain, and colder temperatures. In the first race I sailed well, but lost a couple of boats when the windward mark began drifting. I had a great second race, passing two boats on every leg to finish 10th, but unfortunately I was OCS. In the last race I had a poor start and was forced to pick away at the boats ahead through the race. At the last leeward mark I passed 4 boats, but it was still not enough to catch up to the boats at the front.

Weather: 20 degrees, 18-20 knots, rain.

Places: 35, 36, 51, 20, 37, 24, 16, OCS(10), 30

January 26, 2007
Today was the last day of racing. There were still remnants from yesterday’s storm, so the wind started out strong out of the north. As the day progressed it got warmer, and the sea breeze began pulling the wind to the east. In the first race I had a good start, and held my lane well. I lost a couple of boats when a big right shift came in on the second upwind but I still finished 18th. In the next race I had another good start. I was sailing the boat very fast and passed several boats on the first beat. On the downwind I passes a few more boats by heading to the correct mark first, and then passed more boats on the second upwind and finished off the regatta with a strong 4th. Overall I finished 72nd.

Weather: 26 degrees, 10-14 knots, partly cloudy.

Places: 35, 36, 51, 20, 37, 24, 16, OCS(10), 30, 18, 4