As I predicted in yesterday's blog, today was a blow out with racing canceled. Gale force winds and big waves made conditions dangerous (especially for a bunch of old guys in little boats) and the race committee has been very cautious about safety. The waves were an impressive sight even in the early morning, breaking across the channel over the bar. As we arrived at the sailing club the Ap over A was already flying. It was not a hard decision to cancel because the winds were expected to increase throughout the day. Wednesday looks like there will be less wind but conditions may potentially be too strong and rough to sail.
I spent the day at the Southampton Boat Show and ran into many of the Masters competitors at the Rooster Sailing booth stocking up on some warm gear. Rooster Sailing was started and owned by Steve Cockerill, who won both Radial races yesterday, and is widely known as "the boat whisperer" the name of his world famous (in Laser circles) DVD. Although Rooster Sailing is not well known in the USA, the UK based clothing and equipment company caters primary to dinghy sailors and reflects Steve's British sailing roots in a creative way. This is especially seen in the innovation and quality of their cold-weather gear!
A Sail-World.com article on Steve described his business style perfectly: "Steve projects an individual style and has worked to develop and market fittings and clothing that improve on or fill a gap in the existing ranges available." What's even more impressive is that at this regatta, Steve is absolutely everywhere talking to people, making the rounds, is inundated with attention, and is still so focused that he is winning the Radial Masters Class.
Apart from hanging out at Rooster's boat show tent (where all the coolest old guys hang out), today was a much-needed day for recovery. I (and I think most of the fleet too) took a beating in the high wind and waves of yesterday's competition. I woke up in the middle of the night with the muscles of my left arm frozen. Although I did a serious cool down at the gym and stretched, it wasn't enough and I spent a chunk of the night icing it down. To top it off I got a cold too. Although I'm injured and sick, I'm definitely going to keep racing, because I am the toughest guy in the fleet. My best friend now is the "other blue pill," sales of which went up all over the island last night.
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