Grilled!

It was overcast when we left the harbour but 6 hours is a long time on the water without a hat or sunblock.

My first Finn regatta was as good as I could have hoped, we started an hour late because there was no wind early in the morning and then we waiting an hour on the water before there was enough constant wind for a race. I remember sailing with no wind at all in some lakes but that was a long time ago.

We race short 4 leg races, twice up wind and twice downwind and must have fit 6 or 8 races in the day. It took me a while to figure out that starting g procedure and get enough nerve to participate in the start line hustle and bustle but my starts got better as the day went on. Having said that, I was firmly at the back of the fleet. I achieved my goal of not being DFL (Dead Flat Last) in all of the races, I was even 3rd from last once! Which was a success in my books and I didn't end up swimming or make a total prat of myself.

Apparently the sail I am using is blown out and the fact the my mast is held together with gaffer tape hasn't gone unnoticed, but the main handicap must me the helmsman.

Lessons learned:
Wear sunscreen, a hat and sunglasses (or at least take them)
Take some food - I was pretty hungry by the time we got home at 18:00
I need to work on my nature break technique to avoid filling the bait with pee ( it looks like kneeling on the side is the accepted practice)
I need some sort of dry back to carry stuff out on the water

Now I'm looking forward to the next regatta and my fellow Finn sailors have started a campaign on my behalf with MK to get me a newer mast and sail.