Saturday 31 December 2011
The Opening Ceremony..."Rain or Shine"
The opening ceremony was held today in downtown Napier under very rainy conditions... Our wonderful kiwi hosts put on a very nice traditional Maori welcome where local dances were performed despite the pouring rain. Speeches by dignitaries followed and the IODA World Opti Championship was officially declared open. Tomorrow the racing starts. Good luck Team Canada...
Friday 30 December 2011
Day 6... No Wind and Very Wet Day
Unfortunately, the weather is not cooperating in Napier... There was very little wind today and it rained hard almost non-stop all day. It was very wet... The team went out to sail but came back in 1.5 hours after only being able to sail a few upwind and downwind legs in 4 knots of breeze that eventually died all together. The practice race was cancelled due to lack of wind...
Day 5... Rest Day
Today, the team decided to take a rest day. There was not much wind and it was very rainy... After registration, the team checked in to the official regatta motel and settled in to their rooms. Andrew, Julien and Derin are sharing one room. Reece and Doug are sharing the other room. Kids are very happy. Tomorrow, the opening ceremony will take place after the practice race. We will post a lot of photos tomorrow...
Thursday 29 December 2011
Day 4...
Today was another training day on the water... The team participated in the start, upwind, reach and downwind legs of the first race of pre-worlds regatta. For the rest of the day, the team trained separately. Osvaldo was very happy with the team's overall performance. Each member of the team is showing some improvements as days go by. We have 2 more days of training before the championship starts. The team played soccer with Team Spain and Team New Zealand after training. Kids are having a lot of fun and making new friends. Tomorrow is the the official arrival day and registration for the World Championship. The team will go out on the water and train after registration...
Wednesday 28 December 2011
Day 3 - Pre-Worlds Regatta
The team raced in the pre-worlds regatta today with mixed results. The conditions were very tough. The usual sea breeze was around 8 to 12 knots and built up to 15-18 knots later in the day. The waves were very large. Light wind, large waves and confusing chop in Hawke's Bay are proving to be challenging for many sailors. Wave size to wind speed ratio is very unusual. The highlight of the day was the 1st place finish by Reece Myerscough in one of the races which turned out to be an OCS. Reece was first to the weather mark and never gave up the lead. Regardless, well done Reece... The rest of the team had encouraging results. The team needs to work on their skills to surf the waves downwind and work the boat better upwind. Osvaldo met with the team later in the day to debrief. They decided not to race in the regatta tomorrow. Instead, they will train to improve their skills.
Tuesday 27 December 2011
Day 2 of Team Canada's Training
This morning, the team got their boats, sails, spars and foils measured by the regatta officials. All went very well and measurement was completed in 45 minutes. Regatta organizers were very efficient while being thorough. The weather was sunny and 20 degrees celcius. The forecast was for 7 to 10 knots of sea breeze. However, the actual conditions proved to be more like 12-15 knots with very large swells and chops. The team went out to sail for about 3 hours. A couple of top local New Zealand Opti sailors joined Team Canada in a few practice races. This was a great experience for everyone. Team Canada sailors were very fast and sailed well upwind. However, the Kiwis were slightly faster downwind. Osvaldo worked on all aspects of sailing with special focus on boat handling and surfing the waves. Final member of the team, Douglas Buttigieg arrived this afternoon and joined the team. The team has decided to participate in the Pre-Worlds Regatta which will start tomorrow. This is an event where top New Zealand Opti sailors will have an opportunity to sail against the nations participating in the World Championship. This will be a great training experience and a chance to learn about other teams.
Monday 26 December 2011
Team Canada Begins Training in Hawke's Bay, Napier, NZ
After rigging their boats and having a meeting with their coach Osvaldo Padron this morning, the team began their training for the 2011 IODA World Optimist Championship. The weather was sunny and warm around 20 degrees celcius. The sea breeze settled in at 8 to 12 knots around noon. The sailing conditions were perfect. Many of the sailors have not been sailing for over a month and a half. This was a great opportunity to get back into the groove... Initially, the team trained upwind with Team Peru for an hour or so to compare their boat speed and boat handling. For the rest of the time, the team joined other nations to practice their starts and practice raced. After 4.5 hours, the team headed back to shore to de-rig and debrief. Tomorrow morning, Team Canada will go through measurements and continue their training on the water.
Sunday 25 December 2011
Team Canada Arrives in Napier, New Zealand
After a seemingly endless 20+ hours, the Team has arrived in Napier, New Zealand. Weather is great. Our Kiwi hosts are fantastic. They organized a Christmas lunch at Eskdale Park with BBQ's, river rafting, games etc. The food was great. Teams had an opportunity to meet each other and socialize...Tomorrow training for Team Canada starts at 9:30 AM at Napier Sailing Club.
Tuesday 20 December 2011
Monday 19 December 2011
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