We arrived to the Buenos Aires nearly two months in advance, we felt it was a great opportunity to get some quality training in and experience the Worlds competition venue. We were very fortunate to be able to tap into some local knowledge and worked closely with my past boardsailing Coach Hernan Vila, who has spent most of his life living and sailing in the area. Our Dutch and British training partners rounded out the group and we began ramping up for the event with solid 4 hour days on the water and a powerful gym program. Having the opportunity to be in the same location for an extended period of time really let us settle into the simpler way of life in Argentina and absorb the culture, a rare occasion since we seldom get a chance to even unpack our bags.
A pedigree fleet of sailors arrived to contest the World Championships, although the fleet was a fair bit smaller then the 70 boat European championships, it was in no way inferior. Racing was extremely close, it was common to see 10 boats converging at mark roundings and many sailors having very inconsistent results. Conditions were tricky with strong current and shifty wind. We had our share of ups and downs as well and found ourselves in some unfavorable positions but rallied back. An 8 th and a 3 rd in races 4 and 5 put us back into striking ground of a solid overall result. The event finished on a weekend, loyal to their hometown hero's 1,000's of spectators came out to watch the final races. With a start finish line crowded with spectator boats resembling a stadium final positions were fought. Points were so close anything was possible, with a strong race you could climb several positions on the results. We came up with a good strategy and stuck to our plan pulling out a big race when we needed it most, we crossed the line 4 th in the race and climbed the results 4 spots to 16 th overall. We landed within the top 11 countries which will give us an early Olympic Games qualification if we can repeat the performance at the 2007 Worlds this July. Looking forward we have a very strong program lined up including some top secret developments which will be sure to boost our performance. Check back soon for all the good news
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