Formulaic

The
Portuguese coast delivered for day 2 of the Formula Windsurfing World
Championship in Portimao with a late afternoon thermal breeze kicking
in for 4 races in the 85 board men’s fleet. The side shore breeze made
perfect viewing from the beach where the RC set a windward leeward course.
With the breeze building all afternoon, most sailors chose their 11.0
rigs with some flying on the 10.0 rigs

I had some trouble dialing in my 11.0 and was either slow upwind or flying
downwind, constantly trying to find the right setting. The ‘big Z’ was
a bit much to handle but saved me a few times in tight mark roundings
where I was able to keep my angle well. Some good moments of racing for
me today but some of my gambles didn’t pay off as well as I’d hoped- leaving
me stranded near the shore waiting for the next puff to come down the
course. Other times, I was completely wound downwind, exploding on race
3- taking my first discard. So far after 5 races, I’m sitting in 34th
with room to get back into the top 30 to meet my goal for the regatta..

Some noticeable trends so far in the regatta:

• Mid line sag- with a 85 board fleet, the line is huge but the black flag
  has been keeping people back. I started 2 races today a full board length
  in front of the boards around me.
• Puffs near the shore- you can get really lucky gybing around the windward
  mark set close to shore and carrying the breeze down the shoreline.

Thursdays forecast looks equally as good with the breeze expected to build
but so far at 1:30 nothing has even filled in. Both fleets are anxiously
waiting to get a few more races in before the fleets are split into gold
and silver. Last nights AGM kept us on site till 11pm and back to the
beach for a 10 am skippers meeting. Check out the class website for results
and photos, www.formulawindsurfing.org.
– Steve Bodner.