Closing Ceremony & Awards

After racing, Team Canada sailors started trading their team uniforms, shirts, life jackets with kids around the world.  This is customary at the end of each major Optimist championship. Trading was very active. There was a lot of haggling for much sought after items such as the Chilean and Italian team jackets, Team Sweden and Team Finland life jackets. It was worth seeing... At the end of the day, all the kids were smiling regardless of their finishes. The night continued with a BBQ dinner, awards and a party under the full moon.

There were many lessons learned in this championship. Some of which are well known and documented for years. Our sailors need more training and experience in starts, finishes, large fleet racing, better boat handling in various conditions and more time on the water to be able to complete against some of the best sailors around the world.

This was a tough regatta with very strong sailors. Sailing conditions were light and very fluky most of the time. Many top sailing nations and national champions missed the podium. Our sailors tried their best and this was the best they could do.

We are very proud of all of them regardless of their final standing in this championship. Special thanks go to our coach Osvaldo for coaching our sailors during this championship.

See you all in Canada or around the world.

Fair winds and safe travels to all...

Final Day of Racing...

The sun finally showed itself in Napier but the wind gods are not cooperating. After a short delay, sailors went out on the water. Race # 12 is in progress in very light and fluky conditions. More update to come later today...

The championship is over... Today, no races were sailed after all. The RC abandoned race # 12 two times due to very light wind and strong current.

Final Canadian results are: Reece is 100th, Julien is 161st, Doug is 188th, Andrew is 193rd and Derin is 196th.

Second Last Day... Rain, Rain & More Rain...

It is a cool and wet one... It has been raining non-stop for the last 8 hours and the forecast is for more rain all day long. The wind is around 15-25 knots and 2 to 3 meter waves. Not much fun... Hopefully, racing will be...

After 3.5 hours of waiting ashore due to poor visibility, rain and strong winds (up to 32 knots), conditions improved and RC decided to take the sailors out on the water around 2 PM. There were 3 races sailed today in 8-22 knots of shifty offshore breeze mainly from the S-SW. It was another long day. Sailors came back ashore around 7 PM. Starts and finishes are proving to be a major problem for Team Canada. While starts have improved for most sailors since the championship started, many of our sailors are losing 10-15 places within the last 100-150 meters of the finish line as the fleet bunches up to finish... In a competitive regatta like this, good finishes are just as important as good starts. Our sailors clearly need much more large, competitive fleet racing experience. Physical fitness is also proving to be important in this championship.

Tomorrow is the last day. The awards and closing ceremony will follow racing.

After 11 races, Reece is 102nd, Julien is 161st, Doug is 188th, Andrew is 193rd and Derin is 196th. All in all, not a great day for Team Canada... The highlight of the day was a 13th place finish by Reece in race # 9.

Racing Resumes in Light and Fluky Conditions...

Racing resumed today in very light and fluky conditions. Sailors went out on the water around 10:30 AM and waited for wind until 11:30 AM or so. They all came back on shore and went out again around 1:30 PM without racing. Wind is around 4-5 knots and very shifty. Luck of the draw... As I write this blog at 6:20 PM, the sailors completed race # 7 and they are still out on the water trying to complete the race # 8. Weather in Napier is not cooperating!!! Tomorrow's forecast is for very strong winds and bad weather.

In a very long day (9 hours on the water), the RC only ran 2 races... I have not seen an RC try so hard to run races in very fluky conditions where they should have called the day off. For reasons most people cannot understand, the RC is running very very questionable races in only 4-5 knots of breeze with 30-40 degree shifts. Again most of the good sailors had bad results while tiny kids had good results...

After 8 races (which sadly include only 3 good races in 4 days of racing!!!), Reece is 113th, Julien 157th, Andrew is 190th, Derin is 192nd and Doug is 193rd.

Off Day...

Today, we took a trip to Taupo where the largest lake in New Zealand is located. We went on a jet boat ride. It was a lot of fun. We all got very wet. Afterwards, we went sightseeing in the area. The evening ended with a fantastic dinner party at the Buttigieg's beach house. Pat and Bryan prepared great food for all. After dinner, we made a huge beach fire and roasted marshmallows...Tomorrow is the official lay day. Kids will go to the beach and take surfing lessons.

Fourth Day...Team Racing

Today, the team racing championship started. Sailors and supporters were all encouraged by the sunshine and a little breeze in the morning. All the Canadian supporters were lined up on the beach with their Canadian flags to support the team. Soon the clouds rolled in and killed what the little breeze we had. weather is definitely not cooperating. Canada lost against Belgium in the first round in 3-4 knots of breeze. On the second race, Canada faced a much lighter team from India. The race was held in 2 knots of breeze. We had no chance. Canada lost and was eliminated...The team have 2.5 days to rest and enjoy New Zealand. The individual championship starts on January 7th.

       

Video Reports...

Please check out the video reports link on the right side of the blog... Pretty cool daily clips...

Third Day Results...

Weather is definitely not cooperating in Napier... It was cool and cloudy again with very little breeze. The usual sea breeze is not developing because it is cloudy and cool. Since we arrived in Napier 10 days ago, we had only 2-3 days of sun and mostly rain and clouds. We are seeing very poor conditions for a world championship. The forecast is not promising either.

There was maybe 4 to 6 knots of breeze today. Wind was all over the place. Kids went out on the water at 10:35 AM and came back around 3:30 PM. They were only able to sail 1 race in very light wind and in less than ideal conditions. The sailors waited around for a few hours after the first race. The race committee finally called the day off as sailors cheered. Most of them were ready to go back ashore...

This was another rough day for the Canadian sailors. Derin was having a great race and he was in the top 15 around the first few marks. He dropped a few spots in the final upwind leg but finished well. Unfortunately, he was OCS and he was disqualified. Julien had the best finish of the day at 33rd. Andrew was 50th, Reece was 55th and Doug was 68th.

Overall results after 6 races are: Reece is 90th, Julien is 171st, Doug is 185th, Andrew is 189th and Derin is 198th.

Many of the other top sailors also had bad results today. It seems that the race committee is trying hard to make up lost races in less than ideal conditions. Out of the 6 races sailed so far, only 3 races were in good conditions. The rest were in very light wind with fluky conditions...

Tomorrow, the team racing starts. Canada is racing Belgium in round one. If Canada wins, we will race against the winner of India vs China.

More Photos...

Third Day Photos...

Second Day Photos...

Second Day Results...

There were 4 races sailed today. Most of the team struggled today in tricky conditions. Starts continue to be a problem for the most of the team. First race was sailed in light breeze where a 110 degree shift during the second and third flights turned the races upside down. Surprisingly, the race committee did not abandoned the race. Second race was sailed in 12-15 knots from the new direction. Unfortunately, there was a 30 degree shift during the first upwind which changed the outcome of the race drastically. We were surprised that the race committee did not wait a little longer to ensure that the breeze had settled from this new direction before starting the first flight. The race committee had to reset the start line to adjust to the wind shift before starting second and third fights. Last two races were sailed in perfect and fair conditions where we saw 15-18 knots of sea breeze and relatively large waves. Reece had a great day with 3 top 15 finishes which placed him at 72nd place overall after 5 races. Julien is 171st, Douglas is 174th, Andrew is 190th and Derin is 194th...

First Day Results...

There was only one race sailed today. The wind was light around 7 knots. Later, it went to 1-2 knots... The race committee abandoned the second race for the flight #1 and #2 and called the day off as rain clouds were fast approaching. The team struggled at the start line on the first race. Competition for a spot at the start line is fierce. Team Canada results were as follows (out of 70 boats per flight): Reece 50, Derin 57, Julien 57, Andrew 62 and Douglas 65. The start of the second race was much better for the team. Reece and Derin had great starts and they were in the top 10 in their respective flights when the race was abandoned. Julien was not far behind... Tomorrow, the forecast is for strong southerlies which should allow 3-4 races to be completed. Racing will start early at 11:00 AM. Tonight, there was a fantastic dinner party for the Team Canada sailors, parents and coach in one of our kiwi friends Suzette's house... Our kiwi friends make the Canadians feel at home every opportunity they get. Their hospitality is incredible. Thank you Suzette. And thank you Laurie-Anne for organizing this....

Day 7... First Day of World Championship

After a short postponement due to lack of wind, sailors went out on the water around 1:30 PM. Originally, the first race was scheduled to start at 1:00 PM. It is a cloudy day with light onshore breeze. The sea is relatively flat. The wind is supposed to pick up later in the day... Team Canada colour groups are as follows: Derin CAN 1492 (White), Reece CAN 1470  (Pink), Andrew CAN 1431 (Yellow), Julien CAN 1440 (Red)  and Douglas CAN 1408 (Green). The live tracking should be on now...Good luck to Team Canada...