A few days ago we had a powerful slalom/FW competition held in Kintai - one of the best spots for slalom competition in Lithuania. I must say - it was intense. Not only we had strong winds, but we also had a fierce fight with TOP 5 sailors. You can find all about by reading further, so good luck and have fun reading! :)
So, lets take it easy at first and start from the TRAINING DAY, Friday.
When I first came to Kintai at Friday - the conditions were more or less of a medium strenght, wind blowing of around 8-9 m/s and some sailors already blasting in the arena. I was one of the first one to arrive though. Still, rigged my gear up and went out.
It was a very good decision to sail before the competition because I tuned my gear a little to match the different chop conditions that I was used to. So, played a little with mastfoot track, boom heigh, outhaul settings, harness lenght and I was ready. When the other TOP Lithuania's slalom guys came, we had a few runs together and I was happy of my speed and stability. I knew I am ready for the competition.
Unfortunately, no photos were taken at this day, so pardon guys, I will put more of them for you from the competition ;)
FIRST DAY OF COMPETITION, SATURDAY
The forecast was not promising slalom, but the FW discipline had a chance. The forecast showed 4-6 m/s during the day time, but as we later found out, the wind was getting ready for Sunday and did not reached the stable 4m/s boundary. So, no FW races were made. The forecast showed a stable 25-27 knots wind with gusts up to 35 knots for the Sunday which left us with no worries of whether Slalom will be held or not :)
But please, don't get me wrong, competition was still made on saturday! SUPP races were then released! :))
It was great to watch how judges were using all type of conditions to take care of the sailors and their friends so they will not be bored of waiting for the wind to come. Good job!
LAST DAY OF THE COMPETITION, SUNDAY
The first thing I heard when I woke up in the morning was wind howling and tree leaves rustling. I though - great, we will have a damn good competition!
FW RACES
First thing in the morning, the judges decided to make at least a couple of FW races to make this discipline happen in Lithuanian Cup 2015 so they made it with the wind already being 10-11 m/s stable and gusts up to 13-14m/s.
A quick snapshot how they looked from the shore. I was happy I don't have FW at this point... :)
8 sailors I guess went out to try get some heats done, 5 of them reached the starting line and 3 of them completed the race. It was clear - slalom heats need to step in the game!
So, as far as FW is concerned the results are:
1. Juozas Bernotas LTU - 1
2. Gediminas Gresevičius LTU - 76
3. Paulius Voverys LTU - 718
SLALOM RACES:
From the early morning sailors were on the water, testing which gear to take as the wind increased gradually. At first, they took around 7,0 m2 and then changing to smaller ones (6,2 - 5,6 m2) as the time went by before slalom heats were announced to be started soon.
I was calmly sitting in the camper, not getting cold from the wind and just watching them - I knew my gear was set up and I did not have anything to change. I had only Patrik Diethelm 115L board and 7,7 Avanti Machine M-1 in my cavalry, so not much of choices was left for me. :) I was still confident though, I love sailing with Avanti in strong winds when everyone is taking 6,0 - 7,0 m2 sails. At this point I felt I can still be competitive with the gear and setup I had.
After FW came back the Slalom discipline was announced. So, I dressed up, went to try my gear, came back instantly, moved my optimistic mastfoot track from middle to upfront by 2 cm. Went out on the water again. Came back again, moved my still optimistic mastfoot track position a litthe further by again 2 cm and hit the end... :) Which means, no more mastfoot adjustability... Ok, went out again - seemed quite fine but I was still feeling my sail had to much of unneeded power. So, then, for the last time, I came back, pulled additional 0,5 - 1 cm of outhall and lenghten my harness lines a little bit more. Left my beast gear on the shore waiting for the starts to be announced.
After 30 minutes the judges decided to make an elimination procedure being 12 sailors on each fleet and 24 sailors in total. I was put in the second fleet.
So, after a while I was sailing towards the start line, doing exactly what me and Rytis wrote in the Slalom Start sessions and boom, hit the starting line with precision and in timely manner. The wind was around 12 m/s and I was feeling confident and full of energy. Took the bullet and advanced to the golden fleet.
After a while - PYP! The starting signal went off as we crossed the starting line in the first race! Made a good start and went all the way down until I reached the last mark being 3rd. In the last downwind leg I turned on my board as the racing car engine and not only I caught Arūnas LTU - 109, but also bypassed him and finished in the second place.
After the first race judges decided to make 3 back to back races, then a break and again 3 back to back races putting all of us in one fleet because not all sailors participated nor started in their own fleets.
Still, after nice 4 races my stamina already started knocking on the door saying there is a limit to what I can handle! :P Of course, I still did not make much mistakes but my forearms where started feeling grumpy. I was excited! The competition and conditions seemed to be getting even more intense! Gusts were somehow happening mainly on marks and on the most downwind leg from second to third mark making it extremely fun to fly in 15 m/s gusts. Not sailing, but flying...
Control? No.
Comfort - nope.
Scary speed - Hell yea!
Super long harness lines were too short - definitely yes.
Oh, I wish my weight would have been + 20kg!
Okay, so then we had a break and after that - 3 more races. The wind seemed to have reached its peak. It was hard to be standing on the board without plaining and waiting, so you can imagine that wind and chop combination we had...
Still, in the 5th race I made a superb start (just everyone was late of around 15 seconds due to misunderstand of starting procedure flags) (photo below, me on Avanti) and reached the first mark first. Unfortunately, made a very VERY wide jybe (simply could not sheet in during the turn due to strong wind.. :) ) and even fell down and the end of the jybe... Yuck! When I came back on board I was already 3rd, but fell down again on the last mark and finished 6th...
6th race. Hmmm, let's call it "The race of king catapult!" Just before the round of the first mark I went a little downwind to get ready of the jybe when I somehow saw Robertas LTU 127 miraculously appearing in front of me and BAM! We have been wasted... If I had a red cloak on my back and "S" on my chest I would have been a Superman. I must say, I flew through the front of my board like unhuman, with arms wide open and face filled with surpise... My gear was fine, but as we all know, catapults do not win races - finished 5th.
And so, the last race! Drainned up, wet, a little cold and tired, but! But still so damn happy! It was so much fun sailing with all of the guys! So, hit the starting line I would say so, so reached the mark in top 5, made my infamous wide jybe trying not to fall down on 15 m/s wind and my 7.7 Avanti Machine M-1. Success! Until the last mark I was 3rd but on the last jybe Audrius Menkevičius fell down and I stepped up in the second place and crossed the line in the same position.
The races were over...
Tired, super happy, with skin still vibrating from flying through the choppy water. Exhausted but extremely satisfied. For such a long time being around 10th place in Lithuanian Cup I just hit the podium. BAM! BEAST MODE GUYS!
But I do earned it and it was no accident.
Determination, ability to concentrate and proper belief pays off. ;)
Uuuuh, so stoked and excited for the next competition!!!
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Also! I must say an immense thanks for Elena Jasiūnienė and Eduardas Bareika who made a lot of great photos and that's why you can see them here :)
Visit Eduardas page for more!
www.emotions.lt
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