Bassadone Clark - 470 Olympic Sailing Blog

Luckily we know that this event was never going to be won on the first day, so with 2 races done and 9 remaining, we have a long way to go. That said today's start was not the blazing out of the blocks that we had hoped for. It was a tricky day on course D, with unstable winds both in velocity and direction.

We launched in a fresh 12 knots easterly and didn't get our hopes up as we were expecting it to drop by start time. It duly did, leaving behind the usual awkward Qingdao chop and marginal wiring conditions, that we are well prepared for.

In both races our fleet was extremely close. A few of the girls got off to a great start with 2 good races, but for the most part everyone was up and down, a trait of our fleet. In race one we got rather swallowed up in the middle of the course and never really broke free on a winning edge. While in race 2 we had a fantastic start, port tacking the fleet and rounding mark 1 in second. It all went bad on the run, with some bad decision making and an unfavourable wind shift. We finally scrambled together a mediocre 8th.

I wouldn't say that nerves got the better of us today; we slept well last night, held down our breakfast, and felt focused and ready going into the racing today. It was just a tough day in the office. This is going to be a long regatta with plenty of opportunities, especially as people let the pressure and nerves get the better of them. What is important is that we remain positive, focused and alert, ready to pounce on the opportunities of a new day tomorrow.