Rogla race report

The past weekend i was in charge to organize the third stage of the nationalchampionship series in the F5g sailboat class.
Earlier this year i made sure that we were allowed to use a small lake on top of Pohorje, a mountain nearby.
This lake is right next to a hotel resort and ski slopes. The location is at about 1520m above sea level, the water is clean, cold. It is often windy there.
This saturday was sunny, the wind was not exactly what i hoped for, but was good for sailing, gusty from3-above10 knots.
With help from a friend we set up the course, it was a classic "stick" and not the usually sailed triangle.
Luka, an experienced sailor and sailing judge did not manage to finish his new boat until the race and offered to judge the regatta and take care of the results.
Only 9 competitors entered the race, i was hoping for more, but for a first time on this location it is ok.
We started racing at about 12.20.

The starting line was set quite well, the left side was a little bit favoraised, but it lead ashore, where there was less wind. It was well possible to "win" an upwind leg by starting on either side which i proved along the day.

The boat with no number is my fathers old bot, similar to #165, it has a Fila b-rigg and is sailed by another friend who has decided that he will also compete in the naional championship series

there was no wave and fila is very fast in such conditions

A  strong left shift gave me the lead to the first mark in this race

Father brought his hobbyking wind tunnel, we had to remove one section of the wood fence, there is no gate to the lake

father was sailing evolution, having all sorts of problems i never encountered before

alinghi #68 was aiming for a spot in the top three

there were some borin luls

in this race the right side of the course was more promising

The friend who sailed the boat with no numbers was doing really well, aspecially considering that his boat was made mostly of spare parts! He was was always in the top 3-4 upwind, but dobnwind he was lacking sail area.

some people also came to watch

me, giving the jib more twist, the friend is watching closely

This beautiful colin archer was present, it can move under its own sail power, but has a propeler for help

leading the way around the bottom mark.

Left shift gain, a quick tack to make sure i am above everyone

after all 8 races were completed a navigational race was sailed, 4 started ,two finished

I really did not want to go somewhere and buy medals for the race, yes they would be metal, but also they would be small and the budget did not alow spending much money

i got around to designing my own medals in solidworks and printing them out in two parts
They are also bigger than bought ones, and are special!

Overall the race went well, the max number of races was sailed(8) + navigation, Everyone seemed happy.
The stick course was IMO much beter than the triangle, making upwind and downwind tactics possible.
The starting procedures were flawless, with the help of Nikos megafone.
The presence of a judge made the races even a bit more interesting.
A traditional pohorje plate menu was served at a local restaurant.

The results:

red are the discards

For the next time i wish we could get more competitors, i know that there are about 20 competitive and active F5g sailors in Sloveina, it would be nice to see all of them present at races.




Again Fila dominated the race.
A sharp start in all of the races gave me an early advantage.
My speed was very good again, and so was the angle, as a result i was first to turn the windward mark.
Downwind it was just a matter of spotting the incoming gusts and moving slightly to the side from which the gust came.

The reason for a sixth place finish is that the jib twist line caught the spreader and i could not manouver for about 30sec.
More photos sholud emerge shortly.

Videos at: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheZdaemi/videos