Dark and Stormy Day 1 in Terrigal Laser Worlds

With clear skies and warm, humid temperatures near 80 degrees early in the morning down in the boatpark on the supposed opening day of racing at the 2008 Laser World Champinoships we knew one thing was going to happen: thunderstorms. We were postponed ashore waiting for the southerly to fill in front of a ‘cool change’ (as the label their cold fronts here). When the southerly did fill in to adequate levels we headed to the water with swells rising and a certain electricity in the air that apparently had nothing to do with the tensions between the 170 sailors. The fleet was only afloat for less than an hour.

As soon as we arrived on the course area about a mile due east of Broken Head and Terrigal Beach, the race committee began frantically waving us back to shore. Only putting up the AP flag (as opposed to AP over H, which is the standard for recommending return to the harbor), we were a little curious when the jury etc. started heckling us quite aggressively to go directly to the beach. As soon as we hauled out, in faster time than I imagined it would take 170 Lasers and their coaches to get out big black thunder heads swept over the sun and darkness fell across the sky. I changed and rolled up my equipment and then took cover with a few other guys in a neigboring apartment complex to watch the weather unfold.

Sure enough, the rain started pouring down accompanied by visible lightning strikes on the headlands near the boatpark and on the ocean in our course area. Of course ahead of the storm cells there was sailable breeze, but immediately afterwards the breeze would crap out and drop to nil. After about an hour of waiting the race committee decided to call off the day’s racing probably upon learning that Sydney airport had closed due to extreme winds and weather headed our way. Nothing we can do about the weather, but the committee definitely did the right thing. It felt a bit like the Atlantic Northeast of the US with the thunder and lightning keeping us ashore, but then you realize that a monster two-increasing-to-four meter swell was running underneath you and breaking in double-overhead waves on the point 150 yards from our launching beach. The surfing was entertaining, but the sailing was literally a wash.

Forecast looks better for today, but waking up this morning shows the sixth day in a row of drizzle and light air on the race area.- Andrew Campbell

Andrew Campbell: Rough Start to the Laser Worlds

With four days of rain and onshore breezes and swells, New South Wales and the Central Coast is trying to wring itself out and get settled before the Laser World Championships starts here on Wednesday. While most of the counties have been in months long drought, the top stories are about flash floods swallowing objects such as Rescue Fire Trucks and small villages. The entire month of February’s expected rain has arrived in it’s first four days. All the while the swell has rolled in bigger and bigger each day onto our little beach under the faint protection of a natural jetty beside ‘The Haven.’

I know of at least four boats in the last week that have been gobbled up by rogue breaking sets of waves and come ashore with broken masts, torn sails and thoroughly embarrassed sailors amongst cheering crowds of onlookers. Last night apparently the race committee boat, which was peacefully anchored alongside the local fishing fleet, broke loose from it’s ground tackle and rode ashore to be found this morning full of a mix between buckets of rain water and sea water from the waves breaking into it.

All that and our forecast is calling for the swell to potentially increase over the next few days as the low pressure system intensifies. That could make it difficult getting through the already meter-high beach break, but we’ll see what happens.

After taking Super Bowl Sunday (or Monday by Australian eastern standard time) to watch the big game, I’ll be heading out on the water for a last bit of training before the regatta starts. Taking proper care to sail around the reef that is gaining a toothy reputation, I’ll spend a couple of hours making sure that the gear is set and ready for a seemingly traditional Laser Worlds: lots of wind, lots of waves, and lots of miles around the racecourses. All is relative after the Korean Worlds a couple of years ago where we had to sit out a few days waiting for a hurricane to pass over.
More to come from down under…http://www.campbellsailing.com/