RACE DAY 2
After a rest day due to light winds, we were off to the Zilwa resort at the north of the island, where there was another huge lagoon surrounded by a reef, with a small island a few miles offshore. You know, the stuff dreams are made of; it’s a tough life but someone has to do it!
There was just one thing worrying me and Kev, there really wasn’t that much wind and seeing as we’d both selected 8.4 as our biggest sail this was going to be tricky! We had the briefing, giant slalom with a rabbit start, cool, just regular slalom with longer reaches, great!
We floated out towards the race course, apparently if the clouds cleared then the wind would definitely kick in! So as if the rabbit start wasn’t hard enough when we were powered up, it was even tougher when we were struggling to get planning and if you didn’t nail the start then it was a game of catch up and that sucked in these light winds. Danny from the Seychelles was pushing harder than most, as in one of the races he sailed full tilt into the side of the start boat, which was doing about 20 knots at the time! Luckily Danny was fine, although his board was a little fudged up! The start boat lived on, although the guys on the boat were looking nervous as Fabrice also had a near miss. In the third race he was just in front of me as we approached the line, the boat was coming……just not quick enough and Fabrice and the start boat had to peel off in different directions so as not to collide, it would have been a corker for me, but the race was binned and rerun.
The wind did pick up for the 4th race and the racing was great, but with the tide dropping and the coral looking even closer than normal to our beloved F-Hot fins, that was it for the day. Back to the beach for some late lunch and some ice tea from the sponsors, pack the kit up onto the trailer and off to the hotel for a slap up barbeque and some rum punch, on a private island no less!! Someone pinch me, I must be dreaming!
Team results at the end of day 2 saw team Brexit (GB) drop down to 3rd place. Oops!
RACE DAY 3
The third day of racing saw a return to normality, 18-25 knots and blue skies, with racing to be held right outside our beach house; you couldn’t make this up, ha ha! Time for super slalom – off the start line on port tack the course took us alongside the outer reef and being high tide meant we could sail over some pretty shallow, but unbelievably flat water right up tight to the reef. It’s just amazing, like speed sailing, but there’s 50 of you!
Kevin had a really good day, loving some more full power 7.9 racing down the speed strip where he got to unleash the beast so to speak, finishing the day after 4 races with a brilliant 2nd place.
Personally, I didn’t have the greatest day, I kept messing up the old rabbit starts, but I did also absolutely love the massive reaches on the glassy flat water, then cranking fast turns round the buoys, it was mind blowing and I finished up with a 10th place.
Jersey Chris had a storming day with another 15th place, we now understood why he keeps coming back to Mauritius! Simon C. also had a joyous day, racing right in front of the hotel that he and Gina, (Mrs Chips) were staying at, finishing 30th. Danny, was loving racing with his buddies from Blighty and chased Simon C. round the course for a 32nd.
The results for the day saw team GB sneaking into 2nd with it all to play for on the final day!