Day 28 – Screwed up Tactician

Mood right now – Lousy

Activities of the day
- Talk with kids
- Exercise
- Ultimate Frisbee
- Wind
- Race

Had a talk with the kids today.. find out about what they think of their performance for the race yesterday and the day before yesterday…. Their thoughts and feelings… I called Andrew for being too complacent.. he seemed a little downcast by that… He doesn’t know the meaning of that thou.. bet he’ll be pulling out his dictionary the first minute he reach home… I hope he din lose his assertiveness thou.. it was in good thoughts that it was done. I explained to them that they are wasting a lot of time.. and asked if they felt like they’ve improved the last two weeks.. they said no.. and I said.. Damn right! I felt that the last two weeks for them was a total waste of time! so I told them abt the international standards…what the kids are doing in other places to get them where they are.. and what they should be doing.. I broke their time down.. and make them realize that they are indeed wasting a lot of time and really they should be getting more out of it. I told them that they need to be more agile.. and fitter inorder to fight till the finish.. Then I introduced a set of exercise to them.. and made them do it. I did wall squats together with them during the last leg. I’m surprised that I was able to hold it for so long.. I guess the cycling helped.. They groaned.. but they all went thru it.. felt better after that.. cos they were able to play ultimate Frisbee.. I went on to analyse the race for them yesterday.. and Eileen took over halfway.. I guess she couldn’t stand not being heard.. either that or she thinks I’m doing it totally wrong.. oh well.. who cares… if she wants to run it.. she can.. BUT I JUST CAN’T STAND WATCHING THE WHOLE 6 WEEKS GO TO WASTE!!!! arGH!! Anyway.. We had lunch.. went out for race together with the Intermediate kids.. and Advance kids in the Xcites.. Eileen predictably rigged up an Xcite to sail and she told me only when I ask if she was gonna sail… she was just training for the Xcite nationals.. that sneaky girl.. she went off all the way almost to Hart Miller Island.. and all the kids went with her.. I’m like.. wtf.. she knew the race course isn’t so far out.. and without a powerboat.. she still wanna go so far?? She’s the one that bitches about if there isn’t a powerboat on the water with the engine running.. no boats are allowed to launch.. but yet she did.. Man.. it sucks.. I hate double standards..

Anyway.. they heard thunder.. and saw lightning..and they got everybody in before the race even got started.. Eileen capsized.. and apparently she turtled.. and got her mast stuck in the mud.. cos it came up muddy.. Lindsey asked if she turtled.. and Eileen said no.. and say some how.. the mud got churned up and they stuck onto the mast and sail. I’m like. DUH!!! WTF!! Anyway.. I couldn’t be bothered.. but it made a good laugh.. I mean.. it’s the amount of confidence that all these ang mohs have of themselves.. sometimes.. too full of it… Geez..she can find an excuse like that.. Champion!

Anyway.. we called the whole afternoon off.. I found it a waste of time. we should have brought the boats out again then the storm blew past us.. Oh.. chrissi lost Nick’s specs..poor kid. It was accidental..

We went home.. I helped Chrissy recover her lost 3 bucks.. it was near her car.. on the ground. We reached home.. talked abit..snacked abit.. went to check the crab pots.. fill it up with bait.. got a dead fish hang out halfway.. got a dead crab inside that apparently died because of hunger.. sigh.. too bad we din give that one food..

We went for race after that.. stopped by to get a phonecard to call home.. but it din quite work.. it says network not able to connect.. darnit. Went for race.. Wind was shifty.. big huge shifts… I couldn’t quite grasp a pattern of it.. I’m appointed tactician since last week.. cos they figured I like to talk.. and I do make some sense when I talk.. and I seem to like calling out tactics.. But I was slow to call at the start.. cos the wind shifted again.. we still started on the pin end.. on the starboard.. we were good on the line.. but Liquid tension came up and sat on us.. I couldn’t figure out why we were caught.. and not pointing as high..and losing ground.. I thought abt it after the race..and decided that it was the jib traveler..during the race I noticed that the shape was weird.. but it din occurred to me that it was set wrong. Darnit. I should have made the call… .I’m not very sure of translating the numbers.. I have to call when I’m in the middle of the line to tell which is biased.. too used to sailing a Laser.. I miss my laser.. I duno which side to call the Spinnaker on too.. I suck at downwind with spinnaker.. I need to go read up more on it.. I also din call a header the last beat up..I saw the clouds coming.. I made a comment that we might get a header on the right.. But I din call for the boat to head up further..so that we din have to tack anymore.. Sigh.. I sailed right into that.. wat a moron.. Sigh.. Mike was ok with it.. but I felt bad.. First day at ‘work’ and I screwed it up..

Thoughts of the day: A cow boy never gets cow dung on his boots. I need to start reading up on downwind sailing for big boats..