The second day of the Swiss Open Championship started yesterday with an early skippers meeting and immediate heading out to the Lake, despite no wind. Because we did not get in any valid races on Tuesday, the race officers wanted the whole fleet out on the water to take any and all opportunities to get some races in. The rules state that we need to complete three races for the event to constitute as the Swiss Open Championship. So, we sat in the drizzle and rain for over three hours.
At 1:30 pm, the first race of the day got started, the moderns got off the line just fine, but the classics were all a bit trigger happy after two days of jogging around. The first start was a general recall; the second start shortly after got blown off as well. The third try at starting a race was under the black flag, which means any boat being early over the line would be immediately disqualified, and still with only about seven knots of wind three boats were over the line early. However, we finally we had a race underway.
LUCIE went left to get under shore; the rest of the fleet split evenly, some left, some right. The left side paid off, LUCIE rounded the first windward mark as first boat, hoisted the kite and did not give up the leading spot for the whole downwind leg. It was a slow run, but at the leeward mark LUCIE had carved out a 40-second lead on the second place boat. From there, it was basically about covering the second place boat back up to the windward mark. By this time the race for the moderns had already been shortened, so the classics knew what was coming: finishing at the windward mark.
LUCIE defended her lead just fine and took the first bullet in the Swiss Open Championship. It was around 2:45 pm and very clear that no further race could be started before 3 pm, so it was time to head in. Just as LUCIE was being towed in, the orange storm warning lights on shore started flashing again! We towed the boat home at max speed and made it home safely with the rest of the fleet.
The planned awards ceremony for the Swiss Open Championship got cancelled as no three races could be completed. However, we all still had a very nice pasta dinner at the regatta center, all crews mixing and telling lots of stories.
There is still is a chance to complete the Swiss Open Championship, and two races have been scheduled for Friday morning, and if all participants vote and agree the Swiss Championship could be extended to Friday evening, with the 6MR European Championships being pushed to Saturday. More info on this will be provided later today.
Today is a lay-day for us, and all boats participating in the 6MR European Championships will have to get measured and approved. We are spending the day moving sails, getting the boat into race trim and making sure everything is in proper order.
