Here we are back on the campaign trail to the Olympics, this time we are on the other side of the world after a nice two-month break after finishing the Tornado World Championship in New Zealand. After the Worlds, Johnny was home preparing taxes for his clients and I spent time in Valencia coaching Russell Coutts and the BMW/Oracle in the finer points of racing catamarans for the upcoming America's Cup.

We are competing in the 40th addition of the Semaine Olypique Française (SOF) held on the waters outside the scenic French port town of Hyeres. Hyeres is located on the Mediterranean between Toulon and Nice and is inundated with the one-thousand sailors and coaches attending this regatta.

The harbor is fronted with dozens and dozens of cafes, restaurants, shops and ice cream stores with a promenade that runs between the store fronts and the outdoor seating and serving areas which also happens to be how most of the sailors transit to and from the launch area and their accommodations, or to stop by for a coffee and some free Internet service. It is striking to see the hoards of sailors in wet suits, sailing boots, team gear fill what is normally reserved for the locals and tourists.

We arrived last week to prepare. We have our new boat here, but unfortunately our Worlds mast and sails did not arrive in time from NZL so we are using a borrowed mast from the Greek team. Not perfect, but it will work. Our first two days were Mistral conditions of 25-35 knots, raining and 50 degrees, not at all the conditions we expect to have in Qingdao at the Olympics, so we decided to spend our time preparing the new boat. Most of the week remained windy, cold and rough and we're able to test the gear and boat in the extreme conditions. Yesterday was finally light wind so instead of taking the traditional day of before the first race day we decided to take advantage of the "Qingdao conditions" and towed out of the harbor early in the morning and spent four hours testing.

Today was the first day of the six-day regatta. The twenty-three teams competing account for everyone who we will race at the Olympics except for the Chinese and the Ukrainians. Since only one team per country is allowed at the Olympics, this will be a good test for small fleet racing which is totally different from the other major Tornado regattas.

Race one was sailed in 18-22 knots, rain and big waves. It was rough going and a tough and close battle for position in the tightly pack fleet. Even with a short layoff, we were not on top of our game and quickly got out of phase with the wind shifts and could only managed to finish close to the group and out of the money in 17th place.

Race two we executed a good start and sailed a smart first beat rounding in 7th spot. We continued with good pace over the next two legs finding our rhythm, hitting the shifts, going fast, and keeping it all together in the extreme conditions. That is until the second windward mark where a boat capsized just in front of us with the crew being flung fifteen feet into the air. Avoiding the capsized boat and wayward crewmember lead us into a radical pitch-pole (end for end capsize) that put us upside down and unable to finish the race.

Worse yet, I am forced to type this report one handed after a visit to the doctor to repair my right hand and forearm that was damaged in the capsize. It is bruised and I seem to have some nerve damage. A day off would be nice but I will see in the morning how the arm is functioning. The French team wins the capsizing title of the day with a three-peat.

You can download full results online. Semaine Olympique Française website - sof.ffvoile.net. We want to acknowledge all the support from our sponsor, Advanced Equities, and from our individual supporters.

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Regards,
Charlie