Archive for July, 2006

Day one down, four to go…

Monday, July 31st, 2006

                                               

Today was the first day of racing of the 2006 Laser Radial Men’s World Championship.  The race started in 10-12 knots on a smoggy, overcast LA day.  The race committee have decided not to split the fleet which means there is alot of boats on the line, the biggest i have ever started in.  I had a pretty good start and came around the top mark in the top 20.  Unfortunately on the upwind, the cunningham cleet spring broke making it useless for the rest of the race.  The race took just over an hour and i came 9th with the fronrunner only seconds away in an extremely compact fleet.

During the break i attempted to fix the cunnigham cleet with a Make Poverty History bangel.  This worked for the start of the second race, however i could only change it on starboard which was a real bummer.  I started the second race okay slighty struggling upwind as the breeze strengthened with my cunningam giving way soon after the start.  I made ground back up through the rest of the race to finish a respectable 20th.  Currently i am coming 13th overall but it is only first day, still 4 days of racing to go.  Otherwise, everything has been heaps of fun and am looking forward to racing tomorrow!

 

cheers

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The invitation race

Sunday, July 30th, 2006
                                                   IMG_0291.jpg
                                                          Ready to go
Yesterday Kelsey and i went out sailing in Santa Monica Bay.  We trained with the Dutch and French teams until their coaches gave us dirty looks.  We went off with the Brazilians for a while who were a great bunch and did a few runs with them.  Unfortunately, probably due to the weird swell-like chop and jetlag i was feeling quite seasick for most of the day. We finished the day off at an English Pub for dinner and an early night.
Today, the invitation race was held in 10-15knots of breeze.  Kelsey and i went off with Brendan in the coach boat followig us for a while and got back to the start line with 2 minutes to go.  The result was a real bad start, however i climbed back really well and had what seemed like good boatspeed.  Racing starts tomorrow and i am super keen.  Overall so far it has been really fun and in this city you never no what to expect.
Cheers

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First Class Sir?

Friday, July 28th, 2006
                                                  Malibu Beach
                                                              Malibu Beach
Well, we have finally made it to a hot and steamy LA.  The flight trip was extremely long, with all senses of personal space blurring as you jostle with your neighbour for the most comfortable position.  It was also quite tiring, more so than I expected anyway. We had a one second glimmer of delight when the air hostess came up to us and asked us if we would like to follow her to first class, that was shortlived however as we soon realised she was talking to the gentleman next to us, D’oh! We spent the day looking around Malibu , went swimming, and slept a bit. The Open Regatta officially starts on Saturday and I can only pray that the effects of jet lag will be minimal by then.
Cheers
ryan

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Here we go baby!!!

Wednesday, July 26th, 2006

                                            Here we go!

                                                           Here we go!

Well, it is now the night before i leave for LA! Who would’ve thought this day would of ever come, it feels like it has been an eternity!  The bags are packed, the AUS stickers stuck and the adrenaline pumped. It has been a long and illustrious journey thus far that has taken us all over Australia’s East Coast, but that has been half the fun.  I must thank all my family and friends for their overwhelming support, as well as,the Noosa Yacht and Rowing Club, Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron, Suellen and Johnsee from LiveSaildDie.com, Ken Hurling, Al and Marian from Seaway Marine, David & Mindy Newington from LA, Dale from Noosa Boatman, Bec & Teenz from Rising Generations, Jono from Beachhouse Fitness Centres, Ray from Ray Scholes Marine, all supporting businesses of the Sunshine Coast, my training partner Klade and his family also, and of course to my coach Scott “Scotty” Sinclair.  Now I can only hope that I take the decisions and opportunities you have all given to me and turn them into GOLD!!! So Tinseltown…Here we go baby!

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