1. Sailed not aggressively enough for lack of confidence. In all of the 3 of the 4 major races we have not sailed at full potential, reducing sail to avoid messing up the taking a reef when it would get airy, or not deploying appropriate downwind sail area to avoid problems and manoeuvre. As conditions were manageable this shows lack of confidence and therefore more time on the water required. It also shows some laziness which can be overcome with systematic trust in numbers: put up the correct sail config for the existing TWA/TWS for a given VMC.
2. After 26 hours we retired 2 hours from the end at the major race for the season due to a sudden storm with steep breaking waves on the bows and just a few hundred meters from the rocky coast on the lee. After diving the bows a couple of times and reaching a full stop, retiring was a painful but quick choice to take. It was right then and it feels right afterwards. More than half of the fleet came to the same decision within minutes after us. Security for the crew and the boat must come first and seamanship is the right spirit.
3. Keep focus. Indecision has emerged several times. In spite of a generic strategy, long races require to be broken down into legs and strategy planned and revised for each leg.
4. Preparation preparation preparation. It is well known that sailors have check lists that never get ticked off to the end and preparation to a race never seem to be completed. At some point what is done is done and will do. There are however a number of items on those lists that must be ticked before a race starts. They require time and that time must be ensured.