Pornichet, 29 April 2010
Rain, sun, clouds, no wind, 16 knots of wind and three races against 18 other Farr 30's. That's what life in Pornichet looks like. The day started, after a well deserved night, with a nice breakfast with coffee and French cheese. We were at the harbor just before 9 o'clock and within half an hour and a safety check the boat was ready to sail. We went out on the water for a training session of about two hours. Despite the light wind the training session was very fruitful and the navigation equipment was tested.
After a quick lunch we were ready for the first race; at least we thought. The start was good but we lacked some upwind speed due to a too light mast setting. The boat handling was quite good and the teamwork too, but our presence on the wrong side of the course ensured a bad finish position: a 17th place.
The second race started again with a good start; again the wind was good in force and the sun was shining! This positive stimulus caused a nice finishing place at a 13th position.
The third and last race of the day had again plenty of puff with it. The start was good but during the downwind leg we had some problems with another boat and we were forced the take a penalty. This always results in a last place in a Farr30 field and thus we finished last because we weren't able to catch other boats.
Luckily the French organized a splendid social event with wine and good food which upgraded our thoughts from grumpy to happy! Now we are doing some small jobs before going to bed, tomorrow we will sail some inshores before starting the 80-mile offshore. So wish us good luck; the next report will be filed on Saturday!
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