X-yachts Gold Cup Day 4
Trip Start
May 27, 2008
1
26
31
Trip End
Aug 27, 2008
Copenhagen,
Zealand,
Denmark
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Final day of competition started off quite nice with the sun shining and the sky a clear blue. But after reading the weather report for the day I realized that it was going to change. The report stated that conditions would worsen as the day went on and gusts up to 20knots would be blowing along with scattered showers. So I threw on my Pro Rainer sailing gear and readied myself aboard. Even though I have been going home every night during the competition I still felt tired. I was starting to ache and my bruises were starting to show in deep blue and black hues. For some reason I had the idea before coming to Sweden that sailing was relaxing, but competitive sailing is far from it. Fortunately I heal quickly and it's no pain no gain as far as I am concerned. Plus it is fun to compete and be a part of a team again. So I enjoy it whole heartedly. Even with all the bumps and bruises
US52, Americans!
. We left harbor an hour earlier than the past two days, because they wanted to make sure we had all three races run today. Since yesterday we only got 2 races in and they didn't want any starts after 3pm. So the first start was to be at 10am instead of 11am. That was fine with me the more racing the better. As we headed out we were right in front of the Americans and their slightly larger X41. We kept our sails down and were running on the motor out to the start area so we were going fairly slowly out. So when the American boat hoisted their spinnaker they blew right by. I got some pictures of them as they passed and they waved to me as they went along. The first start went off without a hitch and we were able to start right after the X41s. Because there were almost twice as many X41s as X35s it was more difficult to have a clean start for them. I hated waiting for them to start. My anticipation for the gun to go off made me nervous. I am not sure why, but it always felt better once we got going instead of just circling like sharks around the start line.
As I said before the weather was getting pretty crazy. Or at least the wind was. The first race went all right nothing great, nothing bad. The second race well that was a different story. After the second round of the buoy we had a broach
American Spinnaker
. As in the boat was sideways. Kalle and Gugge were on the wrong side of the boat and were basically in the water just holding on to stay on the boat. Mats, Ina, and Mårten were in the back of the boat trying to right the boat. Staffan and Jesper were in mid deck awkwardly trying not to collapse on each other, while I was on the high side of the boat just holding on. I was very conflicted about trying to help Kalle and Gugge since I was closest to them, but me being half their size saw the folly in that. Much yelling was going on behind me, but I kept to my self and made sure that I was all right and out of the way of whatever they were planning to do to rectify the situation. Maybe after about a minute or two we were back up. Staffan yelled to release the guides and the spinnaker was released and was flying in the air just slapping the air and the ropes were jerking. They fastened the ropes to wench the spinnaker back into the boat. And after all the craziness it was calm again. Because we were already pretty out of the game we took it easy and used the jib as a spinnaker. To do so we needed to have the jib to hang the opposite as it usually does. So Gugge jumped in and basically acted like a human boom. He had to hold onto the metal stays and sit precariously on the railing and hold the rope. It was pretty cool to watch and I don't envy him, but I am glad he did it. Even with the broach we were 13th in that race and glad to finish without losing anyone even though we did lose the red guide for the spinnaker
The Crew
. (FYI This is a broach http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMrpYyZNpWw&feature=related )
The last race went off without any problems. The rain started to come down and the clouds were hovering over head. We finished in the top 10. So that was nice. We packed it up and turned on the motor and turned around to go back to the harbor. The rain started to get heavy and Gugge and Staffan and Jesper headed below decks. I decided to test my Pro Rainer and its ability to shield me from the elements so I stayed above and situated myself on the side with my back to the water. It was nice just laying out there being nice and warm and the rain pelting me from all angles. I was comfortable and content and I almost fell asleep, but the loud rain kept me from doing so.
After shedding all the wet clothes and having a nice shower I was sporting my white YXI polo and my corduroys to look somewhat nicer for the Gala that evening. We sat close to the stage and shared the long table with an x37 crew from Finland. Before the festivities and food got started I headed over to talk with the Americans. They were all really nice and will be keeping the boat down by Shoreline
Staffan & I
. They plan on shipping it back to Long Beach and hope to compete in Transpac (Long Beach to Honolulu) next year. They were really nice and welcomed me to join them sailing when ever I get back to California. We got back to the tables and the MC took the stage. He was pretty funny and part of the Royal Danish Yacht Club. Dinner started our with chilled fish, caviar, and white wine. After that we had some meets, potatoes, and various other Danish dishes. Once we ate and had man drinks the awards started. We were not expecting to receive an award, but we did for the best Spinnaker Broach of the competition. The MC started out saying that he saw from the shore a spinnaker flying like crazy from an x35.And didn't know the boat, but once he said it was blue we knew it was us. We cheered and went up to the stage to get our prize of Volvo fridge bags. Funny stuff. We met a lot of sailors from all over Europe and the world, and had a good time. 
