Egyptian Cup 2021 Racing Recap (Wildcard)

Crew: Richard Alonso.

Finishing Place: 9th out of 24 boats with a DNF.  (Results here)






This is only second time racing with new crew member Richard Alonso from CLSA.  He did an amazing job at the Radioactive Race #1 and we were going to see how we fared against the competition at Carlyle at the Egyptian Cup.   

We experienced a regatta killer tragedy on the first race while competing for the lead with Lynn and Bill Bruss and this disaster would carry into race 2 and 3.  We rounded the first upwind mark in first place (I love it when that happens) and rounding the first downwind mark with Lynn and Bill Bruss, Richard pulled the main sheet from inside the block and tangled it up in a way that cannot be explained by the laws of physics.  It would result in a DNF in the first race and screw up our 2nd and 3rd races because we were limping around the course with a dysfunctional mainsheet.   On the second day we would be back to form.  We rounded the windward mark in first place on the first race on Sunday again, but we had nothing for Bill and Lynn Bruss downwind and they were clearly the fastest boat there.  I feel we were the second or third best boat out there but an uncharacteristic rookie mistake on my boat took us out of contention for a trophy.  I don't regret pushing Richard and sailing for the win because I'm confident in Richard and know we'll redeem ourselves soon enough.  We had practiced our downwind mark rounding plenty and I feel that the mainsheet debacle was a fluke.   Oh well, shit happens sometimes.   

Where we could have improved

Spinnaker hoists.  Richard is having trouble getting the pole connected to the sheet and that's an easy fix that we'll work before the next regatta.   Richard isn't ready to fly and trim the chute and I wasn't nearly as fast as Lynn and Bill Bruss when I was driving and flying the chute at the same time.   We'll work on getting him able to fly the chute well so I can focus on driving and boat speed before the next regatta.   

Where we did very well

Great starts and great upwind boat speed.   Richard is a great crew and is doing all the right things at the start and during the upwind legs. 

Boat Notes 

Sailing with a borrowed mainsheet made me appreciate my 1/4 inch tapered mainsheet from Shapes of Speed so much more.  Check out my Must Haves page and buy one of these for yourself.  I'm never going back to a conventional mainsheet.  I recommend the blue 1/4 inch vs the slightly larger red line option from Steve Shaw.   I'm also going to look for a solution to prevent what happened to us with the main block.  

Eric Bussell
FS#6135 Wildcard

Location: 20960 Hazlet Park Road, Carlyle, IL 62231, USA

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