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wMonday, May 22, 2006 | |
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World Sailing Games at "Lake Cappuccino" For the past 2 weeks I have been at Lake Neusiedl in Austria for the World Sailing Games. These Games only happen every 4 years and include 10 one design sailing classes. Sponsored by Mercedes-Benz and Austria Wind Power, this event drew over 1000 competitors from over 60 nations. Our equipment was all supplied to us so that everyone would be on an even playing field. There were 4 different venues around Lake Neusiedl, Europes largest "shallow" lake (it was never deeper than shoulder height anywhere and it is 11km wide at it is widest and 32km long, and is partially salted. The colour of the lake was like coffee...we called it "Lake Cappuccino".   photos: worldsailinggames2006.at The World Sailing Games for me was like having two regattas in one. I am trying to get as much racing experience as I can, so this event was perfect. The first week was a qualifying regatta to see which girls would advance to the final "gold" fleet, which was to be sailed in the second week. The gold fleet would include the top 10 of the world ranking list which were invited to the regatta and did not have to qualify. Since there were only 27 girls total, there was enough equipment that we could all sail in one fleet, so after all the qualification series was finished we learned that we would sail as one group anyway, so really it was just good racing practice. The winds that we experienced here on Lake Neusiedl were extreme...either really windy or nothing at all, which meant for some long days waiting on shore for the wind to fill in. One day we waited around from 9:30am, and were finally sent out racing at 5:30pm, only to get back to shore past 8pm. Needless to say, that made for a pretty late night and an early start for the next days' super wind. I finished 17th overall. I was disappointed with some of my race results, but when I put it into perspective of whom I'm racing (the worlds best) and how long I've been on the board, I am proud of my accomplishments so far and believe in myself. I am on a huge learning curve, and have a lot still to learn. But... My highlight of the regatta was on the windy day. It was 22-25 knots possibly gusting to 30, and I had great speed, technique and guts, especially downwind, posting a 5th and a 3rd!!! You will see in the picture that it was pretty full on. All in all, for me the regatta was great. I sailed 16 races, made many mistakes and learned huge lessons. The windsurfing racing is so different from the sailboat racing that I did in the 470s that I am finding that I must relearn and experience many lessons "windsurfer style". My next regatta is the Holland Regatta which starts on the 24th of May in Medemblik, Holland. Cold and possibly windy......brrrrrr. Hope all is well and till soon, Nikola (www.nikolagirke.com) posted by editors at 5/22/2006 08:02:00 PM |
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