Takapuna, Auckland, NZ
March 15, 2008

The day looked promising as we left Takapuna Beach for the first race of the 2008 Laser Radial Women's World Championship today but expectations quickly faded. After an aborted attempt to start a race, the 116 sailors in the blue and yellow fleets drifted out on the Hauraki Gulf for six hours waiting for steady breeze that never materialized.

We’d been promised strong southeasterly winds, generated by a deep depression just off the east coast of the North Island, but the low strayed far enough offshore to leave us gasping for wind.

It was a spectacular warm, soft, late summer day – a day to laze on the beach, snooze in a hammock or potter in the garden. As for us, we just bunched up and drifted. The morning breeze was shifty out of southeast, up to eight knots at times, but it deserted us as the committee attempted to start the first race. Later we had two knots out of the east but very unstable.

The low is still churning out to the east of us and the forecast for tomorrow is for south to southwest winds at 20 to 25 knots, gusting as high as 35 knots early in the morning and easing in the afternoon to 15 knots. But that’s the forecast. We’ll have to wait until tomorrow for the reality.

You can find full results from this regatta at '08 Worlds Results. As always I want to acknowledge my sponsors Carmeuse and K-Swiss for  their continued support of my campaign for the Olympic Gold Medal in Beijing 2008.

Sail hard,
Anna