Monday Events and the Tuesday/Wednesday Race!

We just came back from our Port Escale to Douarnenez, just south of Brest.  First off, sorry for not updating the blog! Our schedule is totally packed, and we spend any free time interacting with other international crews like University of Warwick & Cambridge from the UK, HEC Montreal from Canada, and HEC Lausanne from Switzerland!


Unfortunately our last two crew members, Eric Richard, have been unsuccessful in securing a flight to Paris in time to compete in the regatta. This is really hurting our performance, as positions in the boat have changed due to lack of their presence. We have a friend from Leovoile now as a member, but its really not the same. The volcano also ruined OCU flight plans and aren't able to compete with us... All of us in France are really sad of this about once in million situtation and are now hoping airspace clears up for us to return safely.


Monday - The first day of official racing started off with a sick Billy!  Our main trimmer, Billy woke up in the morning feeling quite ill.  The medical official at Edhec became concerned as food and water didn't sit well or long in Billy stomach, and recommended that he go to the Brest Hospital for a more detailed analysis.  Fortunately, Billy was only dehydrated and after a couple of IV bags and a full days rest, he was back in action Tuesday. The first days races got postponed until the afternoon. With only 6 on the boat (as Billy was in bed) and without our last two members, we placed mid-fleet on the first and second race.


Tuesday/Wednesday - We had a slight altercation with another international boat at the first mark, which caused us to fall back in the first race. But we sailed really well and caught up mid-fleet for the finish. Today we had a medicore start, and made big gains by the windward mark. Unfortunately, some poor tactical decisions coupled with a problem with our spinnaker, caused us to lose a lot of ground.  Near the end of the race, the wind increased greatly and we were able to catch a couple of boats by the finish of the race.  At one point we reached 7.76 knots on a beat with a fully reefed mainsail!

Also of note, we were interviewed by a French journalist (Ouest France) in Dourarnenez and there was a very nice write-up with a picture in this mornings paper.  Once they post the story online, we will post it.


Here is a link with some epic pics from the CCE organization:
http://www.ccedhec.com/achat/photos.aspx

- Victor and Jake

WE PROMISE PICTURES VERY SOON!