team race day one...

a quick update...USA has moved to the round of 16 with two wins in the opening round.. With a bye in Flight A on the basis of their 5th seeding, the boys beat 29th seed CAN (which had beaten 20th seed GBR) with a 1-2-4-5 in Flight B, then beat IND 1-2-3-6 in Flight C, to move along. IND had beaten better-seeded URU and NED, so there was some anticipation for USA-IND, but the the boys controlled the start and were mostly able to fleet sail around the course.  At this writing, first seed THA has also advanced, with wins against CRO and PER. PER can still make the next round with a win against URU. another update when today's results are complete...

day 3...

Three races today, in a breeze that started strong (12kn) and gradually became a bit crazy for races 8b and 8c: very different strengths and directions on different parts of the course. Very frustrating but still some very good US performances.  Overall, Chris stands 11th, Richard (pictured above) 27, Wade 36, Duncan 55, and Harry 128. Results are posted on the official sites.

Per the NOR, based on fleet results for the first 5 races (through day 2), the US is seeded 5th out of 43 teams for the first round of team racing, starting tomorrow. This is a great seeding, reflecting the strong performances of day 2. Two days of TR, then a day off before the final three days of fleet racing.

Langkawi Vice

"So, are your kids in this flight?", Gerard Koeppel is asking the friendly officers.

This is our spectator/fishing boat

Mohammed's ark and fishing boat...(that's him waving in the back behind Gerard)

day two...

The US turned it up today. Duncan won race 4b, pictured above crossing line (pardon amateur photography by the blogger). Richard had the best US day, with an 8 and 7 (results now posted: www.optiworld.org/MiniSite/results.php). Chris had another very good day, Wade also a good day, and Harry finally broke through with a good finish in race 5.
Racing started an hour early (10a), we thought to take advantage of stronger breeze earlier in day. In fact, it was to get two races before Muslim sabbath observance. The kids sailed in from the race course around 1p, in the strongest breeze we've seen in nearly 2 weeks. The breeze during racing was 8-12kn, again with considerable shifts. Course was reshaped for R5 to account for a considerable right shift. Courses in general have been well-shaped, perhaps a bit shorter than might be expected for this level of competition.

day one...

have not seen full results yet (nor been able to watch tracking) but the best US performance of the day was by Christopher, who spent much of the day looking back at competitors. Christopher had two top 10s and a 15 (or so) in three races with typical conditions: light air, shifty, and current (strongest on right side of the course, especially adverse in R1). 3 relatively short races: R1: 8-11kn (35 mins), R2: 6-10 kn with left shift, R3: 2-12kn, with the first flight getting the 12kn beat in a rainstorm. R2c and R3c were both shortened to end at the gate, which denied Wade especially an opportunity to claw back on a second beat.
US parents were out in a typical local fishing boat "chartered" for the occasion (a picture forthcoming tomorrow), allowing us to get relatively close. early start (10a warning) tomorrow (presumably to get the morning breeze before it burns away)

Opening ceremony

On stage at the opening ceremony

the boys with their new wives, a Langkawi island honor for visiting sailors