Real Close!
Only one point! ,
From winning my 4th Mistral World Championship.
But that’s just the way it goes.
I departed Auckland on the 5th of February for Argentina. I had planned a tight schedule for the day I
wanted to race the first 2 races of Sail Auckland and dash to the airport for my 5 pm
flight. I must have been in a hurry winning both races comfortably. The
flight from Auckland to Buenos Aires was 12 hours, I then had the mission of getting to
the domestic terminal 40 min away with my equipment for another 1 hours flight down to Mar
del Plata venue for the 2000 Mistral World Championships.
Well I was going to have a day off after arriving, but my
excitement could not be contained. I
wanted to get out training see who was going fast and sailing well, then kick there sorry
little arses. I had not raced or sailed
against most of these guys since November.
The jet lag really knocked me around Argentina is 15 hours
behind NZ it took about 5 days to get into a good sleeping program. My plan was to arrive as late as possible before
the event, to get over jet lag and get a feel for the conditions.
The conditions expected were 15-20 knot sea breezes and a
big ocean swells with the temperature 22-28 degrees.
We got the ocean swells but slightly lighter winds that expected, but in
this game you expect nothing, get nothing and your not disappointed.
My plan was to
train for 5 days with 2 off prior to racing. This
always works well for me. The race site
was based next to a navy base in a the Port of Mar del Plata, sailing in and out of the
harbor was dreaded, the water had to be the worst I have ever seen, it didn’t help
that there was a Twanesse fishing boat sunk in the Harbour with it fuel and oil leaking
out as well as a full hold of fish, which ripened during the week. The story was that the boat had been fishing in
Argentinean waters and tried to out run the Navy when they then fired upon them, they made
it to port, with the crew in jail. The
harbor is littered with the rusting hulks of ships and fishing boats. A real shame.
Argentina uses Argentine pesos and US dollars which are of
equal value, the Government is basically propping up the economy, which locals fear will
collapse any time. Every thing is expensive;
accommodation would range from $80 US to $120 US per night.
The smallest rental car we could find cost US $55 per day. I stayed with my mates in a 5-bed room house,
which they rented for a month. Cars, well a
fine selection of everything you can imagine, from the very old and very new, I even saw a
few Foresters and Outback’s to my surprise.
Racing started on the 14th of February. The fleet was 94 men, we were divided into 2
evenly seeded groups and we raced 6 races over 3 days, the scores added up and then split
into Gold and Silver fleets. Conditions ranged from light to moderate, previously not my
favored conditions but with the training that I had done over the last 2 months I was in
race winning shape. Three days racing then a
well-deserved lay day, these lay days are generally spent eating, sleeping and generally
laying around the idea is to do nothing. (I
am actually quite good at it now.)
Racing again another 3 days were scheduled, we only managed 4 more
races over 2 days with the last day blown out with no wind and pouring rain. After 10 races we had a result.
1st Nikolas Kaklamanikis, Greece 38 points.
2nd Aaron McIntosh, New Zealand 39 points.
3rd Carlos Espanola, Argentina 47 points.
4th Amit Inbar , Israel
48 points
5th Alex Guyader, France 50 points.
Final Results
2000 Mistral World Championships. Race
positions.
Our last day was a frustrating one heading out on the water only
to be sent back ashore to wait for the wind, and then it started to rain. We had to wait until 3 pm when they finally called
it off.
My next mission was to get packed up and off to the airport by 5
pm wet and sandy gear was thrown in to bags, and I was out of there. It was a shame to miss out on the prize giving but
if I had stayed it would have been another 2 days to get home. Now is crunch time, our NZ Olympic trials
are only 16 days away, I have taken a few days off to recover and refocus before winding
up the last of my training programme.
My result was a real confidence builder, I can now rubber stamp
and tick off the training that I have done so far this year. My goal for the Worlds was to sail a solid
regatta, minimize the mistakes and I did that, I know how good my speed and fitness is.
Now Roll Olympic trails. March 11th
–18th.
Thanks for your continued support.
|
McIntosh Racing - towards 2000
Last updated 05/02/98