FINAL PUSH
Unbelievably the race crew decide to push for one final race in order to get a discard. It’s 17:00 on the final day and it seems crazy to me, but suddenly the countdown is on and everyone hits the water. The wind is dropping quickly and it’s clear that getting free of the pack is the priority. My start is fairly average and without the power I decide to bear off downwind and get some speed and hopefully find stronger wind out to sea. It seems to pay off and I quickly get clear of the pack and seem to have good power. I start to head back upwind a bit, but the harder I push, the more the wind turns and the more the wind drops. Suddenly it’s a 10km upwind struggle, which is absolute torture for my already destroyed body. I’m dying, but as soon as I ease off, the board points downwind and I know I will miss the mark. About 1km from the buoy I realize I am not going to make it, so tack and head back the other way into the stream of 1000 sailors charging towards me. At this point it becomes total carnage. The wind is now 15 knots, half the fleet are stationary and nobody can make the mark. I honestly thought I would never get home and have to walk, and was cursing the race crew. Eventually after 15 minutes more or less stationary I get a gust and pump 500 metres to get clear and find some clean air. As we get near the second gybe I am very relieved to see nobody coming back towards us, which means they either shortened the course or cancelled, which either way is a relief. It turns out to be the cancelled option, which I think favours me massively in the overall and sure enough I end up a very happy 13th.