A practice is to get a feel for the conditions, to see what the start line looks like with all the boats there, to have a look at the marks, and apparently to test out your equipment as well. Practicing for the challenge ahead. Glamour photo of the Oogy’s I took out on the water today, really did capture the spirit of the Gorge.
We did have some breakage today, ripping the jib halyard cleat off the mast… not ideal but better today than tomorrow! I did manage to jury rig as you can see below, but it didn’t quite do the job. We rounded the top mark in about 11th, the bottom in 8th or so before we limped home to rest up, and get the boat sorted for tomorrow.
We had a great welcome night tonight. The Japanese Tasar sailors presented me with a good luck gift, which was just gorgeous 🙂 They said “We thought of you. It is little and cute”. I can’t believe how cute they all are, and I am very thankful for the luck! It will come in handy!
The boat is all polished, and we are looking forward to getting out there for a full race, or even three of them tomorrow. 14 races are scheduled, so with the competition, weather and schedule we are going to be tired little sailors! Let’s hope that the boat holds together now!
The results will be available here for anyone who might be interested. Don’t forget to keep tabs on Facebook, or Twitter for more frequent updates 🙂
Thank you so much to everyone back in Australia, and those in Cascade Locks as well for all the support. It really does mean the world. Can’t wait to get out there and enjoy the sport I love, and what will be an epic challenge!
