Today was our second day on the water with our new coach Bunny, and it was great! We did a couple hours of boat-work in the morning (why not, eh?) and then finally hit the water at 1 pm. It was an intense and focused training session and it was awesome! It was so great to have our very own coach watching our every move and giving us constant feedback. With the control systems in the boat working much better we were not fighting the boat and were able to focus on sailing. We basically spent the day sailing in a huge square inside the Portland Harbor We went upwind focusing on sailing fast at all times and making our tacks more smooth and coordinated. Once around the top mark we sailed a tight reach - our weakest point of sail and where we usually get passed by many boats when racing. Bunny was great at working us through how the maneuver is supposed to proceed and we started to get a feel for when it feels "right", something we have been struggling with for the past year. Then onto the downwind where we worked to simplify and speed up our gybes and also our strategy for approaching the bottom mark. Then another tight reach towards the break-wall and a stop for a break.
It was really helpful to work on each part of a race in order so we could think about our strategy, but because it wasn't a real race we didn't have to worry about other boats and could focus on the boat handling. I think we made some major improvements in our understanding of certain skills and techniques. We had one spectacular wipe-out where we capsized to windward turning from a reach to a run which was quite amusing; sadly we did not catch it on video! We were only on the water for three hours but we were working from start to finish and were completely exhausted at the end. It was honestly a struggle to finish my dinner I am so tired. It is 8.30 pm and I am off to bed! We should have some pictures up tomorrow.
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