The experience of Wrightsville Beach had not left me by the time of the regular Tuesday night racing at the Rat. The winds were strong out of the southwest, which means the best possible conditions for us. We get waves and wind and the course can be relatively balanced.
But I was still mad at myself from the weekend in North Carolina, and my foul mood translated into a pretty dark attitude. I am not yet convinced that it was a bad thing for me because it comes with a confidence and swagger that I don't normally feel. But it didn't help the results. I don't know exactly what they were, but I know I retired from two of the races, came 4th in one, and didn't win any. Oh, and I dumped once at the windward mark when I missed the straps on a tack.
When I wasn't racing, I punished myself with tacking and gybing drills, pushing myself till I was gasping for breath, and then doing some more. It was delightfully brutal, and my attitude became more gruesome as I continued.
But I stuck around till the last race. It was a bizaar affair with Paul Muldoon, Ken Walton, and I being the only ones to remain. The wind was about 10 knots to start, but switched off at the windward mark. We drifted around the mark, and I went left and found much more wind. Then halfway down the last leg, the wind filled in on the other side and pushed both Paul and Ken past me. It was a fitting end to a dark, dark day of sailing.
Rob Koci races in both the Laser Full-Rig and Laser Radial fleets around District 3. Currently, Rob is the District 3 secretary and maintains a frequently updated race diary on D3Laser.com. Rob's home port is St. James Town Sailing Club in Toronto, Ontario.
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