Read Report by Jake La Dow - Read Report by Will La Dow
Results -
The 2012 Youth Championship was set up to be a regatta to remember. The regatta was held at the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon, which is known to be one of the windiest venues in the country. The forecast was for high temperatures and less than average wind. The practice day was a typical Gorge day with wind 18-20 out of the west. My skipper Korbin Kirk and I had practiced in Long Beach in similar conditions many times, and we felt very confident in the breeze. We were also significantly heavier and stronger teams, so we felt we had a speed advantage on most teams in those conditions.
Day One was not typical Gorge. Wind out of the east blowing 15-18 and slowly tapering off throughout the day, was what we were dealt. We had three races that day and posted two good scores and one digger. The current was strong, so it was advantageous to hedge more towards the right side for current relief. This trend seemed to dictate nearly all of the races in the regatta.
Day Two was also another easterly, which is uncommon for this venue. It was very windy almost all day, and we were pumped to get out there and race. The first race was 20-22, which was the perfect condition for our boat. We had a good start, were able to go right, and continued to extend to win the race by almost a whole leg. Next race we had a horrible start but managed to sail well through the fleet to round the first mark in 6th. Our spinnaker was in a knot on the hoist so it took a while to fix that and we lost 6 boats on the first run. We caught back up to 7th by the windward mark, but we were still greedy to pass more boats. It was puffing up to 24-25 at this point as we decided to keep the spinnaker up on the down wind and then onto the next reach leg. Most boats had not set their kite in fear of a capsize. We jibed for the reach leg and a boat luffed us hard as I was in the boat changing the spinnaker pole and we flipped instantly. We were upset, but after the race we decided that we should have been more conservative in that situation. The next two races we struggled on the starting line but ended second and fifth. With two more days of windy Gorge-like conditions, we were sitting in a great spot to catch the leaders. The next day, there was zero wind and we completed zero races. We were bummed since we knew we need more opportunities to advance on the competition.
The final day was also another horrible day with no wind. The race committee was eager to get races off, but the wind wouldn’t cooperate. We sailed one race that day in 1-6 with very unstable and shifty conditions. We had a little bit of bad luck and poor boat speed being 40 lbs heavier than the average team. It was an unfortunate race because it knocked us off the podium by four points. Thanks to SDYC and the Competition fund for making events like this possible for our yacht club sailors. Oregon was a fun place to see and also sail when the conditions allow us to sail.
Thank you for making it possible for my crew Marley and I to compete in the 2012 Youth Championships regatta. Without your help we would never have been able to make that trip possible. This event was held in Cascade Locks, Oregon and run by Columbia Gorge Racing Association.
The first day of the event had reasonable breeze, but very choppy. The racing was very tricky, and because of that proved a rough day. Our first day ended with us beating four boats! We were very upset, but had to stay positive and keep fighting.
The next day was perfect! The winds were a steady 20-22 knots and sunny skies. We were so excited because these were the conditions we were looking for! We started the first race in 5th place, and caught up to third place towards the end. Sadly, we flipped this race and ended up 10th. The next race was the same, except we were winning the race for a while, then flipped again! We were very upset but happy because we knew we could perform well at this event. The next two races lightened up but we still managed decent scores. We finished the day in 21st place, passing 8 boats.
The third day of the event was tough. We had no wind and were unable to race. We had no choice but to keep ashore and hope for wind.
The last day was another light day, with us only able to get one race off. We had a tough start and fought back the whole race but could not quite get back to where we wanted to be. We ended the regatta in 21st place. We were not thrilled about where we finished, but we definitely had a very fun regatta.
This regatta was a great learning experience and i enjoyed every minute of it. Although we did not have the outcome we were looking for, we still learned so much and had a great experience. I look forward to representing our great club elsewhere in the future. Thank you again for all of your support.