A big day planned for me as I embarked on a road trip from Tauranga to Auckland and back for a day of competitive sailing at the Wattle Farm Storm Water Pond.
Last night, I carefully packed the van with my DF65 and sails, ensuring everything was ready for the early start. I woke up to the alarm, showered, shaved, and hit the road just before the first light. The trip along SH29 was scenic, with rainbows and showers accompanying me all the way.
I arrived at the pond at 9:20 am to a solid breeze, which was almost too much for the A+ rig. Nevertheless, we started racing in perfect top-end A+ rig conditions. The competition was fierce, with all 18 boats battling for position. Rubin took on the role of keeper of the yacht results and went into the lunch break with a 9-point lead over me. Nigel and Peter had their ups and downs, with Nigel finding success on the left side of the course.
During the lunch break, I discovered that my vang had a stripped thread. I quickly popped a new boom on the A rig, ensuring I was ready for the afternoon session. The afternoon racing began with a rough start as the A rig was rounding up too much. However, a few tweaks had it dialed into a sweet spot, and I enjoyed very good results. I managed to pull back to within 4 points of Rubin, but with his drops, he maintained too much of a lead.
At 3:30 pm, I hit the road and headed back to Tauranga on SH1. The drive back was beautiful as I chased the sunset up the Kaimai's, picked up some food, and arrived home just after dark. It was a very good day of sailing, and I'm already looking forward to the next one-day regatta.
Cheers to everyone who participated and made the day exciting!
Mega thanks the Wattle Team for putting on another Fantastic Event :)
See you on the water!
Graham
