After a four-day journey we finally arrived late Saturday evening which meant we had a couple of days sailing before the event started.

The event is renowned for being windy and tough the wind we were told had been blowing 20 knots plus for the last month, but the forecast for the event was looking very light indeed.  The entry list consisted of 64 competitors from 17 nations and 3 continents which were split into two fleets. Youth and Women’s fleet and Masters fleet raced on an inner and outercourse. 

Day one and racing got underway with 10 to 16 knots of wind first race for me and was taken out in a pile-up on the start line but recovered to finish 15th and 3rd GM, race two and much the same finished 15th and 3rd GM pretty pleased with that as the standard was very high. 

You only had to look around to see the talent and knew it would be a hard slog to reach the top 20, ended the first day 14th.  Day 2 and the wind was very light 8 to 10 knots feeling even less at times Race 3 and finished 17th but lost 3 places on the last downwind leg after sailing the wrong course to the finish only 21 got inside the time limit in this one.

Race 4 and again the wind was very light finished 15th in this one but only just got inside the time limit no one else got placed, one of them days you needed a 12.5m.

Day 3 and it was a tough one, got called out as soon as the wind started to blow we completed one race but that got cancelled and then the next 3 races everything seemed to go wrong, kept missing the windward mark by less that a couple of meters which was so costly then on the downwind if I gybed too early and the wind died so struggled to get through the bottom gate. 

If I sailed longer before gybing I would park up, and everyone would sail inside me, results were not great 18, 21, 18 but the next two races went a bit better with a 13th and 12th, I may had a mixed day as did everyone else as by the end of the day.  I was still 15th overall and 3rd Grand Master only 6 points ahead of the next guy but 36 points over most of the other guys in the GM fleet. 

Day 4 and the forecast was poor so a most of the day was spent waiting for the wind, finally got called out late in the day but again the wind was light and shifty got a pretty good start but sailed the wrong side up the beat went out to sea looking for wind but inshore was better ended up rounding the windward mark just behind Chris Frey the guy that was only 6 points behind me and with a chance of taking the last podium place from me. 

I managed to get ahead of him downwind so covered him upwind, again we both went out to sea, should have gone inshore but was it more important to cover him than race the fleet, we both sailed into a hole so lost out big time to the fleet got a 17th in this one but safeguarded my slim lead so job done for the day. 

Day 5 and again forecast was very light 6 points is not a big advantage in a big fleet, again called out in very light winds in to count down for the start and Chris breaks his mast not good for him but gives me the advantage then with 15 seconds to go as we run down the line the wind dies and we get sent back to the beach, then it’s a waiting game with no wind all day and with the last possible start at 5pm.  

It looked like there would be no more racing, then at 4.30 we were called out onto the water in hardly any wind, but it was increasing, then with the wind touching 9 knots but shifty, it looked as though we might indeed get a final race in as the race officer kept us on the water right up to the end of the time limit but in the end the wind died as quick as it came. 

So I secured myself third Grand Master out of 18 in class so was well pleased, lost a couple of places to the fleet overall but that was due to safeguarding my place for the podium 16th overall so made it into the top 20.