The wind built to between 14 and 18 knots for the second day of racing.  With two races scheduled it was going to be a physically tough day and our team aboard Hydrocarbon was going to be pushed hard!

The going was tough and the competition of a very high standard!  After a great start in the first race of the Hydrocarbon struggled for boat speed a bit up wind and made a small tactical blunder which resulted in a late call for the bow team to swing the gear.  We never really recovered from that and despite a sterling effort we were disappointed to only score a 7th place.

The 2nd race saw us slightly too eager for the start and Hydrocarbon was called back to start again after being OCS!  Working really hard we were back into the race by the 1st windward mark but never really made a sufficient impression on the rest of the fleet to gain the vital places we were striving for.  The good news was our down wind performance was blistering quick and the teamwork improved greatly throughout the day.

Scoring an 8th in race 3 was admittedly disappointing but the good news is that we were only five minutes behind the leader today (yesterday we were 12 minutes behind), we improved our upwind performance significantly on the final beat, the downwind performance was superb and most importantly the team have learnt a huge amount and are really up for a great day of racing in the glorious sunshine today.  The sailing conditions really do not get much better and there is no shortage of smiles in Antigua!

Race one at Antigua week provided our team aboard Hydrocarbon with 12 knots of wind and intense heat.  Dehydration was the hardest battle today and I actually drank nearly five litres of water!  The team worked incredibly hard and really pushed hard.  After a few issues on the first beat and a tactical bluder Hydrocarbon was waloowing at the back of the fleet at the half way stage.

As you all know, this is not somewhere I like to be!  We picked ourselves up and gradually took a few of our rivals out to finish in a credible 7th place.  Many lesson were learnt and the team was quite ecstatic at the end of the day.

Today there are two races and the forecast is for slightly more wind.  We are all determined to show big improvements and aim to be back on hte podium by the end of the day, where we belong!

Mark instigates an unexpected swim for James Wilkie, first mate) on day two of the training in Antigua on board Hydrocarbon! 

Despite breezes of upto 35kts mid-week the Wasash Spring Series 2011 was characterised by an unprecedented 6 weekends of light wind racing. Never in the history of the Spring series have we seen anything like it – not one windy race!

The first weekend saw VisitMaltaPuma out training under the watchful eye of Finbar as Philippe Falle was still in the Caribbean after his successful St Maarten’s regatta! Jaguar Logic had a totally new crew of mixed ability under the guidance of James Allen. And Lion Logic was entered with a team of complete racing novices on their first ever racing experience with Peter Burwood.

Philippe was back on board for the race start on the Sunday, and VisitMaltaPuma were keen to do well. So keen unfortunately that they were OCS (over the start line) and had to dip back again losing valuable time. Jaguar and Lion both fought hard in the windless conditions and finished mid-fleet – especially impressive for the team of novices!

Week 2 and Philippe took a tough training stance on his crew on the Saturday (the videos of his long gybing runs are on u-tube as evidence)!  Another OCS left them with much to do, but they fought back to finish 3^rd– great team work and almost faultless racing led to a fantastic recovery, and their best result of the series!

Jaguar Logic were the victims of some harsh decisions, when after we informed the race committee one of our sails had the wrong number on,  they protested us and the jury awarded a crippling 4% time penalty – leaving Jaguar finishing nearly last on corrected time. Ouch!

Light wind sailing is one of the most frustrating conditions and the most difficult to do well in. One of the key challenges is maintaining boat speed – so the slightest delay in getting the jib over on a tack means the boat loses momentum and can take several minutes to recover, losing valuable places in the process.

This happened to Jaguar on the start on Race 4 – despite having a great position on the front row of the start line, the slow jib trim resulted in a slow crawl across the startline watching the rest of the fleet accelerate past. How frustrating!

Week 4 also had an unusual number of starboard roundings, and by the third gear switch of the course, boat after boat rounded the top mark to launch their spinnakers – each with a twist in them!

Tim Thubron took over skippering VisitMaltaPuma but even his infamous lightwinds skills wasn’t enough to keep Playing Around at bay, and after an impressive series they took 1^st place overall. Very well deserved by Pete Robson and his crew.

Another element of light wind sailing is the greater effect of the tide, and knowing where the strongest flows are is crucial to the race strategy, so the navigator needs to be on the ball! 

At the end of the series VisitMaltaPuma secured an honourable 3^rd place, and Jaguar Logic finished a respectable 10^th (out of 21).

11 individuals came back for more racing with us, 5 people brought a friend down with them so they could join the Sailing Logic gang and 23 people joined us for their first ever yacht racing experience!

So the wind wasn’t great, but the racing was competitive, the sun was out and the scenery was – as always – stunning. Is there a better way to spend a few Sundays?!

Having completed a personality profile at work recently, as part of our on going quest for excellence at Sailing Logic, I decided to take note of what was said and take action!  What stood out for me most was under the heading ‘Philippe is motivated by.’  The profile then suggested, “take regular holidays and time off to pursue other interest and adventures!”

So four days after receiving the advice I was on a British Airways Boeing 777 destined for Antigua!  Taking these things very seriously I decided to make the most of my first few days in Antigua and after spending the first day working I was jumping off the back of a dive boat in a bay just outside Falmouth Harbour.

What an amazing experience it was to become.  Whilst in Antigua I set myself the goal of gaining my PADI Open Water certificate.  After the classroom session and relatively boring confined water sessions it was time to venture into the magnificent wilderness underneath the surface that I have spent hundreds of thousands of miles on.

I was not really prepared for what was to come as I spent two sessions under water with my Swiss instructor in a wilderness that was nothing short of breathtaking.  In the hour and a half that I was under water I marvelled at the sight of a relatively rare Eagle Ray, was humbled by the sight of two sharks, became fascinated by a puffa fish and glared at a rather large lobster with beady eyes!  This was in addition to the hundreds of other colourful fishes of varying shapes and sizes, including two barracuda and an angelfish.  What an introduction the deep blue!

Day two gave us a great opportunity to watch the magnificent J Class yachts battle it out on the race course on the final day of the Antigua Classic Regatta.  What a sight that was!  Nothing short of spectacular, and witnessing those magnificent craft power through the fleet of dozens of classic yachts was quite exhilarating, but admittedly left me yearning to be on board!

Then it was time to go fishing off the back of Hydrocarbon.  I looked on slightly sceptically as Mark prepared his two rods and lures in his bid to land us a delicious supper.  After three hours of sailing from the coast of Antigua the reel starting spinning out fast and Mark spent the next minute wrestling a rather yummie looking tuna back to the boat.  Supper was eaten within an hour and we returned to our mooring in English harbour shortly after sunset with big smiles of satisfaction on our faces.  

Next was a visit to the gym – it is only four weeks until our first offshore so I need to work hard on the fitness.  Now I am spending the evening preparing for the PADI exam as my mind drifts to the thought of two more open water dives. Now what will those have in stall for me?  I would love to swim with a stingray and possibly another shark!  This time I promise I will not be crapping myself though!