Jen here,
Erin and I are both back in Canada now, and taking a short break this week after five weeks of winter training down in Miami. I stayed an extra week to sail the Seiko Superbowl 29erXX event with Anne Round. This was a fun and relaxed event which proved to be a good opportunity to practise transferring my 470 skills into another boat, and to transfer my helming skills back to my old position of crew!
The boats are simple, straight forward and fun. That is not to say that they are easy though! In the breeze agility and the ability to respond quickly to changing boat balance proved to be the most important thing for Anne and I. I can't say that our cat-like reflexes were quite on par with the more experienced skiff crews once a bit of breeze came up, but in the lighter wind, we were able to keep up with even the experienced crews. Our best result was a 5th in the first race, having lost our 3rd place to two other boats right on the finish. This was a highlight of our weekend, and Anne and I, the two renegade skiff newbies from Canada looked at each other after the race and thought "wow! way to go team!"
Next weekend Erin and I will get back to work in the 470. As much as I truly enjoyed skiff sailing, and look forward to more in the future, I must admit to being a devoted fan of the 470. It's complicated, challenging, and sometimes incredibly frustrating...but that's what makes the 470 so rewarding.
I've attached a link to photos from the 29erXX event. Anne and I are sail number CAN6. I wonder if the 470 class association would ever consider incorporating pink sails into the picture???
http://photos.friedbits.com/201129erxxsuperbowl/h39cd1e76#h3eb24625
Cheers,
Jen
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