Dispatch from Hyeres, end of day 4

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Dispatch from Hyeres end of day 4

Last night, we had dinner with Lisa’s French friend, Isabelle, from her childhood student-exchange program. We ate salad and pasta aboard her cruising boat under a full moon. I struggled to stay awake having sailed two races, but the company was good and the food was fresh.

Today we had two races in big breeze and it was a battle of the titans in the Masters division. I saw Shope and Brett Beyer of Australia battling downwind. Shope was winning and Beyer was in second at the time. Shope appeared to be enjoying the world-class competition, which comes from all directions.

One of the beautiful things about sailing is a regular person can sign up for an event and compete with the very best. Imagine if you could pay an entry fee and suit up with the Celtics or the Pats for a Sunday afternoon. Former world champion Arnoud Hummel is happy to chat between races. He enjoys sailing against Ferguson and Shope and their friendly rivalry crosses time zones and boundaries.

You can kind of fake knowing how to sail a Laser in light to medium air and flat water but when the breeze and the waves are up, the big dogs start barking. I had an unfortunate capsize in the first race and lost my tiller extension in the process. I finished the race by looping the end of the mainsheet around the tiller. I finished the race but it was not pretty. I reported the incident to the race committee and explained in my ragged French that I would like them to radio a coach boat to see if a tiller extension was on the water.

A coach boat lent me a tiller extension for the second race, but I was pretty far dowinwind, so by the time I got to the starting line, I was about one minute behind the fleet. The adrenaline was flowing and I was pretty gunned up so I hiked as hard as I could and reeled in 13 boats. The waves were steep, the puffs were big, and the downwind exercise was spirited.

I saw Brett Beyer of Australia going downwind in the red fleet. He had the loosest vang on the course. The leech of his sailing was flicking, and somehow he maintained control of the boat without crashing. The Laser appears to be going its fastest when you put it on the edge.

With a good breeze, we finished early and headed back to the boat parking lot where the dollypalooza dance goes on. I found my dolly and got my boat on it, which is not easy considering there are 500 of them.

Then it was time to go tiller extension shopping. I acquired a sweetheart of a tiller for 99 Euros.  Then I had to do the paperwork informing the regatta that I had changed something on my boat. Doug Elder of New Zealand is a Laser class measurer and a great, standup guy. He’s one of those officials who is clearly for the sailors and you can see in his eyes that he’s all about racing, and racing hard. He made quick work of my tiller situation and I am legal for tomorrow.

If you are a member of Fleet 413, you really are in some good company. There are half a dozen members of our fleet who could contend for the podium at the Laser Master Worlds, and it’s pretty cool to be able to hop in your car, drive five minutes, and be able to sail against them. Many competitors from other parts of the world have told me that they view the Newport Laser fleet as the best in the world. Various people here are asking about other Fleet 413 members, such as Scott Pakenham, my life coach, and Dan Neri, fleet 413 stalwart.

The only dissenters are the members of the Royal Canoe Club in Sweden who get 50 boats on the line every week. Tom Whitmore is there right now, so maybe he can weigh in with a point of view.

Tomorrow marks the day where gold and silver get separated. I was a contender for the gold fleet when the breeze was light on the first day.  The more it blows, the more I become a solid silver fleet member.

And now for the Master Worlds Peter Hopple award. As you are well aware, Peter Hopple is a minimalist when it comes to gear. He is happy to wear pretty much anything he can get his hands on. There is a competitor from Portugal who looks out at this fleet of Zhiked out sailors with hiking pants and gloves and rash guards and spray tops and just laughs. The man is wearing a bathing suit and a shirt and a life jacket like he just grabbed a Laser at Club Med. He also weighs about 250 so he is fast as can be upwind in breeze.

When you attend a regatta you fill out a disclaimer that says bad things can happen if you get hurt or die it’s not the regatta’s fault. I’m sad to report that a radial sailor lost a finger yesterday. The competitor was gripping the rail of the boat and was struck by another boat.

Best from Hyeres,

Joe