New Zealand International Optimist Dinghy Association

2011 European Optimist Championships

Wednesday 6 July – Third Days Racing

 Hi everyone – a further update from sunny Tavira.

Yet again the day dawned clear and fine with a very strong offshore breeze having blown throughout the night but typically began dying off by dawn.

The south westerly sea breeze was not predicted to come in with any strength today but it defied predictions and begin to fill quite solidly by late morning.

Launching was today accomplished without any complications or protests and the fleet headed off down the Galio River towards the Atlantic Ocean.

By start time the breeze had filled to a nice 12 – 13 knots with a moderate seaway.

Cole got away to a great start and posted a great first race result of 12^th but unfortunately slipped in later races to post a 44^th and a 56^th to finish the day 70^th overall.

Zak nailed the starts today and put in some solid races in to post a 36^th and a 15^th. He then had a blinder first beat in the 3^rd race to arrive at the top mark in 3^rd slot but unfortunately didn’t get away with his port layline approach and dropped from 3rd to 54^th. This goes to show what the intensity of the racing is like where one setback will drop the sailor down the fleet dramatically. Zak had finished the day in 67^th position.

Lola continues her solid form in the girls fleet scoring a 7^th, 6^th and 4^th to finish the day 12^th overall. Pretty cool effort to be in the top 10 all day!

Nick has also had a solid day to score a 6^th in the first race, a 19^th in the second race and a 7^th in the third race to leave him 29^th overall in the boys fleet. These results are despite still struggling to get off the line in good shape but reasonable pace and some good shifts in his favour dragged him back up the fleet. He was also lucky to see his 8^th from the previous day turn into a 6^th through disqualification of 2 sailors ahead of him.

Overall the team has had a great day with everyone having a good result at some stage of the day. Everyone is feeling positive and looking forward to the balance of the regatta.

There is no doubt that this regatta probably has a higher standard than previous years with several countries sending their top teams rather than their worlds teams. Numbers are down but the quality is definitely still there if not higher than previous years.

Sorry again no pictures but the internet capability at the hotel is woeful.  

Regards

Lola, Zak, Cole and Nick.

2011 European Optimist Championships

Tuesday 5 July – Second Days Racing

Hi everyone – just a quick update on the 2^nd days racing here in Tavira, Portugal.

Another beautiful clear blue sky day with the breeze doing its now familiar switch from an overnight offshore breeze to a building southwesterly on shore breeze by late morning. (it’s quite good that the breeze turns offshore - as the waste water ponds are located close behind the hotel and the somewhat whiffy air starts to dissipate with the onset of the onshore breeze).

The breeze built quietly through the morning to a nice 10 – 12 knot onshore breeze by the classically European start time of 2.00 pm. No early morning kick offs here!

The team launched about 12.30 pm in the separate waves of sailors that we are becoming used to. With something over 225 boats launching through one single ramp the sailors are called forward to launch by their flights and in groups on 10 or so at a time – in the manner of boarding a large aircraft.

Interestingly the sailors are not even allowed to leave their country compounds until their flight has been called. Several premature departures from their country compounds this morning resulted in some full on ‘compound rage’ from a parent of nordic descent and it also attracted several protests from the race committee - still to be heard this evening.

The nordic compound rage was at one stage directed at one of our younger quieter sailors - Nick Egnot Johnson – who refused to yield his ground. Good on ya Nick.

Following the fun on the shore the sailing on the water wasn’t quite as entertaining but Lola continues to have a strong regatta with an 11^th and 22^nd placing to leave her lying 17^th overall in the girls fleet.

She is showing good consistency in her positions which will stand her in good stead towards the end of the regatta.

Cole was consistent in his placings today as well - scoring 2 solid positions in the 20s (26^th and 23^rd) to lie 70^th overall. A big jump up the fleet from his overnight place of 89^th and a great effort considering that he was not feeling at all well when leaving the ramp - but he guts’d it out for his solid placings.

Zak had a tougher day with a 32^nd and 42^nd but came ashore with the great attitude of “I haven’t done so well today but there’s always tomorrow”. Zak is fast becoming personality of the regatta with him forming several friendships amongst other teams. A great ambassador for New Zealand. Zak is lying 66^th at this stage.

Nick EJ had an up and down day with a disappointing 44^th in the first race after being crook and vomiting several times but bounced back in the 2^nd race to score a nice 8^th position (which he reckons tallied nicely with his 8 chunders). Nick is lying 49^th.

We should have some on the water pictures tomorrow as some of the parents hope to hire a spectator boat and get afloat to watch some of the action.

Overall this regatta is proving to be a wonderful experience for the kids. Results are not yet what all the sailors might have hoped for but we’ve got to remember that this event is yet another stepping stone for these guys and girls in their sailing careers – all being relatively young sailors with a long time in the sport yet to come.

More to come tomorrow. Possibly 3 races and hopefully a good breeze again.

Regards

Lola, Zak, Cole and Nick.

2011 European Optimist Championships

Monday 4 July – First Days Racing

The regatta officially got underway last night with the opening ceremony being held in central Tavira. The ceremony started with a parade of all the countries alongside the River Galio and across a 500 year old roman bridge into the central square of Tavira. The New Zealand team distinguished themselves by the boys doing a haka on stage as the team was introduced to the crowd. It went down well with the Portuguese crowds who recognised the haka as soon as they started.

Today was the first days racing and the day dawned cooler and overcast and a light offshore breeze.

As predicted, the breeze swung into the south west and began to pick up and by race start time of 2.00 pm was a consistent 12 - 13 knots gusting to 15. Looking good for the Kiwis!

Lola had a great start to her international sailing career with 2 very solid placings despite less than stellar starts. She worked hard to get a 5^th and 14^th placing to leave her placed 12^th overall in the fleet of 95 girls.

Zak has had a tough day having had a good first race placing of 21^st but lost his mainsheet clip just seconds before the start of the 2^nd race which left him one of the last boats off the line. He worked hard to salvage a 38^th leaving him placed 55^th overall.

Nick struggled to get off the line in good shape in both races and had a couple of tough first beats as a result. He showed good pace on the reach and run to lift himself to 28^th in the first race and 31^st in the second race leaving him 56th overall.

Cole had a good first race with a solid 30^th but had a tough last race to lie 90^th overall out of the total fleet of 130.

Overall the team is in good spirits and enjoying meeting the other sailors. The swapping of shirts/caps and lifejackets has already started with deals being done now - to be transacted at the conclusion of the regatta.

All sailors feel that they can improve significantly on their first days results and are looking forward to the 2^nd days racing.

The european fleet is this year using a GPS tracker system, with a GPS unit mounted on each boat, to provide real time tracking of each fleet and each boat. The race tracker system is available through the IODA website (www.ioda.org) and is a great way to follow the racing. Each race can be viewed live and replayed after the finish time. Disregard todays results on the tracker system though as a large % of the units weren’t turned on and it seems that some may have been mixed up as well so there are some funny results.

We’re sure that the system will be up and running reliably tomorrow so tune in for a look!

Sorry no on the water pictures as parents not yet able to get on the water but will hopefully have some soon.

Regards

Lola, Zak, Cole and Nick.

2011 European Optimist Championships

Thursday 30 June – Second and third days sailing

 It’s now day three in Tavira for the New Zealand team at the 2011 Euorpean Optimist champs and the team has completed a solid build up.

They yesterday enjoyed a good breeze of 8 – 10 knots and were able to train with the Singaporean, USA and Canadian teams. They did several races together and the Kiwi team’s pace improved throughout the day to the point where they scored some solid results against the other teams. They came in tired but pleased with their work.

Today is another stunning blue sky day but little wind – maybe only 2 – 3 knots on the ocean outside. Given there was so little breeze, the team went out in the RiB to investigate the current on the coast. There appears to be a consistent current flowing in a south-easterly direction across the course area towards the Spanish border, regardless of the daily tidal movements and despite being on a river mouth. This has been a big surprise. Completely contrary to what we expected.

The team has worked hard on their boats over the last couple of days pimping them out to match their boats at home and optimising them as much as we can. Everyone has learned heaps about boat set up from coach Susannah Pyatt.

Nick’s sail tube finally arrived after a very roundabout trip on it’s own account from London. It had been unpacked so we suspect it got subjected to a security search hence it missing the plane. He is very relieved to have his own gear back.

The team had planned to have tomorrow off but will now try and sail for 2 – 3 hours tomorrow, then do the invite race on Sunday in final preparation for the first races on Monday.

The team is getting on really well and in between sailing and boat work is giving the hotel swimming pool and ping pong table a thrashing.

Good luck to the New Zealand team in Los Angeles starting the North Americans tonight. Go Kiwis at the NAMs!

A further update tomorrow…

Regards

Lola, Zak, Cole and Nick.

 2011 European Optimist Championships

Wednesday 29 June – First days sailing

Today is the second day for the New Zealand 2011 Euros Team (Lola, Zak, Cole and Nick) in Tavira, Portugal and with the final arrival of the charter boats overnight the team was able to take possession of their new Blue Magic boats and take them through the measuring phase of the regatta.

No problems were experienced by the team in measuring although Nick’s sail tube containing sails and spars has still not arrived, having been misplaced by the airline between London and Lisbon. “Maybe tonight” we are told…

The team was then able to spend some time with coach Susannah Pyatt pimping each of the boats out and getting them into shape for the regatta ahead. The boats are really well presented and everyone seems pretty pleased with them.

It was another clear blue day here in Tavira, with the temperature being up in the mid to late 20s C and the overnight offshore breeze turned into a moderate sea breeze. If the weather and breeze stays like this it should be an awesome sailing venue.

The boatyard is baking hot and dusty so the sailors were keen to get afloat. The yacht club is located on a river about a kilometre from the sea and the sailors launched for the first time about 2.00 pm and headed downriver heading for the sea with Susannah in hot pursuit.

The team was able to get in 3 – 4 hours training on the race course and found that while the breeze appeared moderate at the club (inland remember) the actual breeze on the course was quite light. Also there was unexpectedly a lot of tide running across the course.

The team was able to join in on some impromptu racing against several other teams so have started to get a feel of the likely competition.

The regatta starts on Saturday 2 July being the official arrival day and an invitation race scheduled for the 3^rd. The first official race is 4 July, hopefully leaving adequate time for the team to get themselves familiar with local conditions.

The team is really enjoying the trip so far with the township being very picturesque and locals really friendly and helpful. Fortunately most Portuguese are able to speak good English because our Portuguese and/or Spanish is non existent! Food pricing is good with a pizza costing about €6 – 7.00 although petrol is very expensive.

The hotel ping pong table is getting a real workout with Zak, Cole and Nick taking on some of the other teams and doing OK. They’ve also had an impromptu rugby game against the Israel team. Judging by their form if the ABs come up against the Israelis in the World Cup we should be in good shape!

Another report tomorrow and hopefully Nick’s sails turn up.

Regards

Lola, Zak, Cole and Nick.

For an update on the NZ Optinam team please click on the link here.