VG Spring Tour - You go or you stay behind

Have you ever sailed in the downwind slalom competition where you had to make a double tack to take the first mark? Well, I did.
Have you ever sailed in the downwind slalom competition where your gear and your ability to get plaining means everything? Well, I did.
As a matter of fact it was just last weekend at VG Spring Tour, Stage 1. It was fantastic, hard, tricky and at the same time first slalom competition this year.

FINALLY!

So, last weekend we had a nice slalom competition held in Elektrėnai. We waited until the afternoon for the wind to kick in and finally, around 3 o'clock it came as the wind shifted to the west and the clouds cleared up.

I must not tell lies - the start and the first downwind leg was crucial if you wanted to get in TOP 3. Not because others can't make a proper jybe or don't have a speed to catch you. No... It is because in such light and shifty winds - a clean, upper-wind start was something of a huge importance. There was a lot of sailors at the top of the starting line and you had to fight for the position right there.

Then, you simply HAD to get going no matter what. There were wind holes around the marks and that was the place where you could easily retrieve or loose your positions. Still, the judges did a really well job sending us to the water and giving some heats.

Starting from the beginning, the first two starts as far as I can remember were cancelled due to massive false start and lack of wind signaling that the conditions were tricky and intense. Too bad for me as the second heat that was cancelled due to massive false- start was quite good for me:

Finally, 3rd attempt was successful! This heat was by far the best heat of the day as the wind did not shift so much and there were no wind holes. 

Eventually, I finished 5th, somehow happy with the result but clearly wanted to improve it.

The second heat was the one I was talking about at the beginning. Wind holes and shifty as well as inconsistent wind.

Had to make perfect start!

And so, the start signal took off and we crossed the line heading as fast as possible to the first mark. This time, though, the downwind leg became the upwind leg and we had to push our fins to take the mark. I must say it was still fun, because, literally, of the winds instability and shiftiness there was no time and point of changing the marks!

And so we sailed, and so we stopped, and so we sailed again and finished! Boom, 6th place was in my pocket. Wasn't very excited, but the lesson I learned was obvious:

If you want to win a light wind slalom heats, you must have a gear suitable for that conditions. So, which means - guys with 80-85cm width boards, big fat fins and 8.6 m2 sails were the ones hard to catch!

The third and the final heat - I must confess - until the first mark that was a formula race rather than a slalom one! But as the day went by and it was not sure of how many races we can manage more, I completely understand why judges did not cancelled this race.

So, I reached  the first mark by making 2 tacks. 2 tacks in the first downwind leg of slalom competition - If you know what I mean :)
That, for big slalom gear users, on the other hand, was a complete window of opportunity because if you manage to hit the first mark without tacks - you already win that race! Audrius Menkevičius was the only guy to do so and he took the bullet.

And that was me trying to tell the judges that the race course was completely wrong and it must have been changed! :)

I finished 6th again.
At the end of the day all sailors were happy to be able to completely 3 full races even though the wind was making fun of all of us. :)

The results are below and thanks for reading! See you soon after the next slalom competition!