Rain, rigging and a dodgy halyard before the Zephyr Nationals at Taupo

No racing yet at the Zephyr North Island Championship, but the fleet has arrived at Lake Taupo, and the weather already looks like being the story of the regatta.

We made it to Taupo after a bit of a confused convoy. The drive was broken into three stages, with the plan of getting four Zephyrs in a row along the motorway. Our coordination turned out to be about as good as our roll tacks, so that didn't happen, but we got here. Registration was only a couple of hours away.

The racing area is right in front of Lake Taupo Yacht Club, and it looks lush.

Then came the rigging. By 5.11 pm I had found out that my halyard was polyester instead of Spectra. Can you believe it? Super coach Brian Peet came to the rescue, though I'm now wondering whether he was the one who fitted that halyard when I picked up the mast…?

I asked Brian what the weather would do for the regatta. "It's gonna be windy!" he said. Someone else disagreed: "No, it's not windy." So we really have no idea what's coming. It was raining out on the lake, with moisture in the air. Keep your fingers crossed, though I'm not sure why.

By 5.36 pm a storm front was rolling in over the lake and the rain arrived properly. The only reason to celebrate sailing in the rain is that it hides your tears.

The day ended at the local Chinese restaurant. The food came out quickly, which was just as well because we were getting quite hangry.

The plan for Saturday morning is to be at Lake Taupo Yacht Club early and make sure everything is ready. The briefing is at 0930, with the first warning signal at 1055.

Here we go!