Day 1 of Evaluation

Today we woke up to a beautiful sunny day in Spain! We were introduced to the evaluation panel and members of ISAF who are here for the event. Everyone was very welcoming and friendly. In the morning we did not go sailing do to a lack of wind. We got to familiarize ourselves with the boats, and their representatives.

We went for lunch with our roommates from Singapore, and a Haylee Outteridge from Australia. Our other two roommates from Denmark have not arrived yet, they get in tonight.

In todays schedule we were assigned to sail the Aura, and the FX. We sailed the Aura first. Initially the winds were quite light, which allowed us to get the kinks out. Emily had fun hanging out on the wire. The boat was quite different from what we were use too, but quickly figured out body placement and how our weight worked with the boat. The boat had carbon racks and a narrow hull. The spinnaker was very deep and held a lot of power. The sails were set up well, and we felt pretty good.

Then a major storm front rolled in and everyone was thrown off by the major change in the wind conditions. All the boats were still set up for the 5knot breeze and it was now in the high teens. We both got out on trap and enjoyed a quick up wind. once we settled in on trap we kept the boat rather under control. The wind was very puffy and near the top of the course we capsized. The water was freezing! The boat proved very difficult to right and that was the end of our sail. Unfortunately we did not get the spinnaker up in the breeze and we do not know how the unique bow would affect the downwind.

We made it back to the CEAR without breaking anything! Just a little bump on Emily's nose, and Danielle has a stiff hand. Otherwise we were happy to be sailing. Unfortunately we never made it into the FX. The girls sailing it said they had a lot of fun and enjoyed it. Most of the boats were overpowered once the wind came up, but hopefully tomorrow the wind will not change quite so quickly on us!

Its raining now, and we are still trying to warm up. We will be going exploring later tonight and will be eating at the Irish Tavern! Happy St. Patty's Day!!