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wWednesday, August 22, 2007 | |
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QingDao International Regatta, China
Opening Ceremony, smoggy Quindao, Nikola We spent another day waiting around for wind. Finally, on our last scheduled day of fleet racing we were sent out for our 12:00 start. On the way to the race course there was good wind but as we waited for the race to start, the wind quickly died. It completely disappeared and we were sent back to shore to wait. Luckily after an hour or so we were sent back out to race as the wind came upto 4-6 knots. Not much, but enough to get the necessary races off as we had only 4 races by then and needed 6 to complete the regatta and continue on with the medal race.Although I did not have a good start in the first race, I sailed my best race so far. I finished 10th and was close to the leaders. My second race of the day I finished 16th, once again being in the midst of it all. I worked incredibly hard and was able to pass boards both upwind and downwind so I was happy with my performance. My sailing and confidence got better each race I did and I wished that I had more than 6 chances to race. These light wind conditions are my most challenging because of my height and weight, but I came to this test-event to learn and come to terms with what I need to do to make myself a serious contender for 2008. I welcome the challenge and am excited to continue pushing myself to the limit. I finished 17th overall. Yesterday most of the medal races were sailed... and this time in15-20 knots. It was like a dream come true for Qingdao to have these wonderful conditions. Unfortunately for most of the sailors and the regatta, it was a day late... but at least we now know that it can get windy here. Congratulations to Bryony Shaw (GBR) who won the womens RSX event. Tomorrow I fly to Beijing where I will spend 2 days checking out the sights before I fly back home! Nikola Girke  Jessica Crisp (AUS 15) racing, photo: 2007qdregatta.com We were sailing at the venue for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Quindao is an hour flight from Beijing, a beautiful coastal town... of only 8 million! The Pre-Olympics were a test event for the organizing committee and the race committee for the 2008 Olympic Games. posted by editors at 8/22/2007 05:07:00 PM |
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