Auckland, NZ
February 25, 2008

We enjoyed our share of the view from the front of the fleet today at the 2008 International Tornado World Championship on the Hauraki Gulf off Takapuna Beach, posting second and fifth place finishes to end the day second overall and just one point out of first place. 

Johnny Lovell

This was the beginning of the five-day, ten race World Championship and our performance was a great way to ramp up our campaign as we look towards the Olympics in Qingdao, China six months from now.

Conditions were incredibly difficult with bright sunshine and a fresh southwesterly breeze gusting off the beach in big puffs and eddies that made you a champion one minute and left you gasping for air the next. Apart from one or two holes, the breeze was never light, ranging from 12 up to 18 knots and with 30 degree shifts.

We staged an awesome mid-line start in the first race of the day and were amongst the top 15 boats half way up the weather leg of the three-lap race. A big header slammed in and we were the first to tack into it and crossed the entire fleet on port. We connected the dots on the next two shifts and at the weather mark we had a 150-yard lead on the second boat – but not for long!

As we bore off around the mark the biggest puff of the day hit and we accelerated in a shower of spray before we stuffed both bows and came to an abrupt halt. By the time we’d recovered, our lead had evaporated, but we came back and trailed the Spanish boat round the leeward mark. The battle was close at times and we got within five seconds of the Spaniards at the last weather mark before we sailed a conservative last run to protect our second place.

Race two featured an aborted start, called off as a big left shift forced a general recall. Then we made another awesome start, hitting the middle of the line at speed. We had a nice first beat and were third or fourth at the top mark before making up ground and rounding the weather mark for the second time in second place behind the Canadians. Our choice of the wrong gate at the leeward mark proved fatal and we were all the way back to seventh before clawing back to fifth at the finish.

Charlie Ogletree