ASB Finn: 'Weed is still a massive problem'
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| 'Dan Slater was runner up in the 2008 Finn Gold Cup.' Event Media |
New Zealand Finn sailor, Dan Slater, who is training in China for the forthcoming Olympic Games at Qingdao sent this report to Sail-World.Dan comments on the state of the weed problem on the sailing course. It seems that despite the massive efforts of the hosts in clearing huge amounts of the stuff and placing barriers to prevent encroachment, some work still remains to be done before the sailing starts in just three weeks time.
Hi
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Dan Slater training off Qingdao, July 2008 - Dan Slater Click Here to view large photo |
The Finn fleet have all been sailing together on our race course area for the Games which has been great to keep a tab on how I'm going against the others. Some of the other classes have gone off into small training groups looking for that little edge or re invent the wheel.
I have seen some new radical designs in sails and masts in all the development classes, which is really cool to see people having a go.
The weed is still a massive problem and the last two days it has got lots worse. This has made racing and testing really difficult and almost unfair. On one half-mile beat today I had to clear the rudder and centerboard six times.
Some patches are up to 25m long on the course area.
The air temperature has gone up 3-4 degrees the last few days that seems to have set off the bloom again. The locals have a massive job ahead to clean it up while it's still growing before August 9th for the first race.
Below are a few pics of the weed:
Dan
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Weed islands off Qingdao, July 2008 - Dan Slater Click Here to view large photo |
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Weed islands off Qingdao, July 2008 - Dan Slater Click Here to view large photo |
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Dan Slater |
by Dan Slater
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Click on thumbnails to enlarge and find more photos:22.JPG)
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