Reports on the racing from Paul Cayard:
SPA-May 26, 2004-1st Race Day
The locals said it was a good day..13 degrees centigrade just a little rain but not too windy.8-14 knots. Still, it was cold, grey and overcast out there. The wind was oscillating around 330, plenty of opportunity to go up and down.

We had a fantastic first race. Had a good start, didn't feel fast, but kept staying in phase and probably got more than our fair share of luck and ended up winning by 200 meters.the biggest margin I have won a race by in the last four years. Unusual for us, we were fast downwind today. We passed boats on every run!

Freddie Loof did a very good job of working one edge of the last run to pass about 7 boats and finish second. Mansfield (IRL), Percy(GBR), Neeleman (NED) and Rohart (FRA) rounded out the top six.

We are getting a new mast sorted out and not 100% sure of all the settings yet. Yesterday we tuned with Percy and he pretty much blew our doors off. So it was nice to go out there and do well in the first race.

We had a bad start in the second race, cleared out to the right. Being back a bit meant fighting for our lanes which is tough but good practice. We got around the first windward mark about 14th and went well down the run, maybe passing a boat or two. Up the second beat we did well. The left was good and we were most of the way on the left. We rounded the second top mark 9th and passed two on the final run to finish 7th.

Rohart won the race(FRA) and Percy was 2nd, followed by Serge Kaats (NED), Marazi (SUI- second at the world Championship in Italy last month), Loof (SWE), and Ross McDonnald(CAN) rounded out the top 6.

SPA-May 27, 2004 - 2nd Race Day
We had a bad one today. Two bad ones. The wind was 6-10 knots from 330-360 today. Very streaky.

In the first race we had a bad start and got farther back by going to the wrong side - the left. We made up a bit of ground during the race to finish 12th. In the second race we had a good start and were in a strong position 2/3rds of the way up the first beat. Then the wind went very light and then filled from the left. Left was good and we rounded the first mark about 16th and basically stayed there all race. Peter Bromby (BER) who had a bad day yesterday won the day today and Ross MacDonnald (CAN) and Colin Beashal (AUS) who also had bad days yesterday had good ones today.

Hard to give you a play by play today as it was just a cluster of boats for us all day. We made a small adjustment to the mast after sailing today - still getting that tuned.

SPA-May 27, 2004 - 3rd Race Day
"We had a shocker" today as they would say in New Zealand. We did not even finish the second race.
The wind was 0-4 knots from 060-100. Very spotty - some spots of complete calm. The race committee did not hesitate to run races in these conditions..no delaying.

In the first race we had a great start, came into the line up late with losts of speed and the timing was perfect. We shot out in front of the crowd and were in a strong position half way up. Then we missed a big left shift and then the subsequent right shift. Then a huge hole and we were in last. We clawed our way back for the rest of the race to finish 14th.

In the second race, we had again a good start and were amoung the top three boats half way up. But we continued to work the left side which had been good to us up to that point. Then the wind which was 2-3- knots, filled in at 4-5 knots from the right. We got to the top mark about mid fleet. I can't really remember how the rest of the race went expect that we were in company with Torben Grael and Freddy Loof, actually ahead of them for the rest of the race. On the last run the wind went basically calm. Then we the misery was about to end, we were one boatlength from the finish line, the committee blew the gun signaling the end of the 30 minute time limit. If you don't finish within 30 minutes of the leader, you don't finish. So us the next 10 boats got scored for 35th. We would have finished 24th so hopefully it doesn't matter to our final score as it will be a discard.

Ross MacDonald (CAN) and Peter Bromby (BER) sailed excellently in that stuff, each scoring a 2-3. Ross is now leading with 22 points to Bromby's 27. Third are the Spanish with 30 points, fourth Loof (SWE) 30 points, and fifth is Percy (GBR) 32 points. In the end of the day, somehow we are still 8th over all with 50 points.

SPA-May 28, 2004 - 4th Race Day
Better today. Much better. We won the day with a 6-3. More than a bit of luck involved but that is the kind of place it is. Nothing is straight forward here. Wind was 5-8 knots from 120-130. Huge holes and then huge puffs from the right usually.

I need to take care of a couple of housekeeping issues first.

1) The Spanish had the best day yesterday with two bullets. I completely missed that yesterday but then again I missed a lot yesterday. 2) I forgot to whine about the flies. The flies are bad every day but yesterday with a flat calm on the last run, as my blood pressure was boiling over anyway, I was smothered in flies. Needless to say I am not looking for real-estate here.

Today was SUNNY ALL DAY! The Dutch are reveling in this weather. The cruising fleet was out in force today as it is the weekend. I have my shorts on now and flip flops.

Back to the racing.

In the first race we had a good start and worked the right and rounded the first mark about 7th. We battled there all race until the last run when we gybed at the top mark with Freddy Loof following on our tail. We got a nice clear lane away from the fleet and a little shift our way. We passed a boat or two and finished 6th, right on Bromby's tail.

In the second race we started to leeward of the fleet. We had more pressure and were sailing a higher course. We got a bit of a header and consolidated. WRONG! That is not the thing to do here. We ended up in the middle and lost to both sides. We gained a bit down the run and lost it all by rounding the wrong gate and heading out into a hole. The guys on the right were hull down and lifted 30 degrees. So we scrambled over there and by the time we got there it was gone. So then we sailed a header back the way we had come.

We rounded the last mark 25th and finished 3rd on nothing but skill and boat speed. We are now in 7th overall with 59 points. There will be one race tomorrow and then one more race will be discarded.

Peter Bromby (BER) was in 2nd or 3rd at the last windward mark in the last race and finished 15th. He should be leading the regatta nicely.

SPA-May 30, 2004 - 5th Race Day
Today was a non event for us.

The whole fleet went out for a 1250 start. At 1250 the committee started us in 2 knots of wind. It was a joke and they abandoned the race at the windward mark about 45 minutes later.

The whole fleet towed in including some committee boats towing competitors. Once in the harbor, some boats got the word that the committee wanted to try to run another race.

At that point we were amongst the half that had enough of SPA. We had no coach boat to tow us back out there and also, we did not have much chance of going up or down today. So we packed it up.

Apparently they did have a race that had a large wind shift so it was all one tack upwind and a reach downwind.