In search of the Holy Grail - Alternative report by Mark Emmett.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to pack everything into the car, hitch on your racing machine and drive south. Drive and drive until you can drive no more, but then keep going. Drive through France, into Germany and then to Austria. Cross the Alps and wonder in awe at spectacular rock and mountain, and keep driving south. Dodge the German police and watch the maniacs driving at over 120mphg in the outside lane and continue south. Go past Innsbruck and soon you realize that the road just seems to be going down and down. For hours and hours you drive, the road seems to be never ending, the twists and turns unrelenting and the mountains form steeper and steeper walls either side of the autobahn reaching up into the clouds. Dreams and legends are made of this, it is a land for giants and we are just spots on the landscape. Over 13 hours pass without stops or rest.
Eventually we arrive. Tired and worn we emerge from the Alps into a deep canyon with crystal waters spread across the base. It's early afternoon and we suddenly notice that the water is covered with dancing horses, leaping boards and windsurfers. Paragliders descend into the basin and mountain bikers scream down the huge mountains - this is an adrenaline junkies paradise, oh and playground for the Laser 5000 European Championships.
The Eurocup format has ended and the new format arrived. One event, counts for everything, 3 races a day, no chances, no mistakes, only the best will do now, and there's the legendary 'Ora'. Each day we meet from 10 to 11, and prepare for the task at hand. The gods turn up the heat and the air is still, the water glassy. Temperatures rise, 20, 21, 22, then higher and higher and soon it's 30 and we're all melting. But not for long, all of a sudden we can see something on the horizon. As we look down the lake to the south it is perfectly flat, just like a mirror, but in the distance a dark band moves closer. Closer and closer it comes and soon we can see what it is - dark blue, very dark but with white specks too. We hurry as time is now running out fast, the time is near. Over 70 teams must launch from one slipway, there's no breeze but anticipation is high and while some wait, others push. Heartbeats rise and then it happens. The breeze (Ora) is here!
On day one we have 20 knots of breeze, text book stuff the lake is covered in white horses and all the time we are dwarfed by the cliffs that rise high into the sky from each side - absolutely vertical on the West towering from the water into the sky and in the east just as high but not quite as steep. Three races start from the West side with a heavily biased line sending you into the middle, while all the time you want the extra breeze by the cliffs and to get onto the legendary "escalator". We wait and wait while the starter signals the approaching race and then released, we scream first to the south and then the north and then back again. 4-5 laps, relentless, the pressure is on, heartbeats race and there's no time for errors. Soon it becomes clear that there are 3 mighty contenders, 3 teams who lead and will battle for the honour of champion to the very wire. West Country Watersports would have won this event last year but had gear failure on the last day and were relegated to 2nd at the final hurdle. At the National Championships 2 years ago, Hyde sails followed them into third place steeling our podium and then there is us - team T&G. We all chase and stretch each other to the limit, but after the first lap we lead from the others. It's close and there's no margin for error, the pressure's on and it's now or never! In the end we win from Hyde and West Country and then there's a gap to the chasing pack. We sit exhausted and catch our breath, taking in the great start we have made but also taking care not to drift too close to the towering cliffs with the raging wind and the crashing waves. We wait and we wait and then we wait some more. Eventually it's time again. Race 2 is here and we know that we have to get to the cliffs and get there fast. There's an abrupt realisation that the normal strategy has changed and chaos ensues - crossing with no rights at the wrong end, pile ups at the favoured end but the three break away again, this time with a new team Mikos Farrer and Cristos Grosscurth. But the breeze changes and the rhythm breaks. As we arrive at the leeward mark the angles have all changed and we all approach from different directions. For an instant time stands still and there's a chance for any one of us to take the prize and lead the rest. But the instant is gone and we round first, almost surprised but still unhindered, we desperately crave another win and lead the way. At the end we have kept our lead and won this battle. Hyde are close behind in 2nd and this time West Country only manages 4th. We rest and wait again. Not for long, soon it's time to race on again. There's still chaos, still uncertainty still 3 teams leading the others and striving to be the best and win. This time the pattern is clearer to us and we hit the cliff first. At the top we lead again but this time with a big margin, the chasing pack further behind. We check that we haven't missed a mark or forgotten something, but we are ok. We stretch away for a straight win and return to the shore to rest. Properly this time. Pasta is served in the bar and the beer and ice cream are plentiful. Pizza is never ending and the Italian hospitality warm. The Ora disappears and as the evening slowly cools we party for a while and then rest.
Another day dawns and this time the Ora arrives early. It's very early indeed - by 11am it's already 20knots and leaving the beach is tough! The waves crash and throw us around. Our shiny machines are getting damaged and we need a new plan to just get on the water. We launch everyone already in their boat, the trolley disappearing into the depths of the valley, rescued from hundreds of feet of darkness by a thin lines of rope. As we approach the race track, one thing is clear - this is hard core! By the time we start it's blowing a steady 30 knots and already some of the less experienced teams are struggling, fragile rigs start to break. We take it easy, careful not to break anything and mindful of the bigger task at hand, but in these conditions it's hard to push while also taking care! West Country take the bull by the horns and lead and after 2 wins are starting to damage our precious lead. Hyde sails show relentless consistence and score 2 more seconds and we trail with 2 thirds. Race 6 is here and we decide we have to push on. We can hold back no more and have to take the risks and push the limit. The breeze suddenly eases and we put out foot down once again. At the top we lead and stretch away, we really want this one in the bag and focus hard. Again the pack chase hard and again it's the top three who lead. At the end we win from West Country and then Hyde. As we complete the race we hear thunder and lightening and the breeze vanishes. Stranded we wait, but not for long. The 'Peller' rips down the lake. It's blowing full force and suddenly the morning breeze seems light by comparison. It's time to hang on as this is going to be a bumpy ride! Bit by bit we struggle to reach the safety of the shore while gusts rip down the valley and try to tear our fragile rigs apart. It's carnage as teams are decimated in it's wake. Then we see lightening. When you sit on the water and point a metal rig into the air, even the bold get nervous and others try desperately hard not to panic. Somehow you have to get out of there, you have to reach safety, you must go on until you succeed, there is no other option. Exhausted and shaken we eventually reach the shore and by now it's raining hard and the thunder and lightening are almost non stop. That was a close one!
Day 3 dawns and there's been more thunderstorms in the night and a lot of rain. We all wait in anticipation - will the 'Ora' arrive today? The rain has gone and we all try to dry out, waiting watching, praying for some breeze. The mighty 'Peller' is dying slowly but then the race officer decides to wait no more and we leave to start in the light fickle northerly - at least we can race again the continue the battle. This is a new game with a clean sheet and nobody knows where to go, it's almost like starting the whole event again. We take the favoured end, but West Country wants it too and we become locked in a battle while the fleet slips away. At the top we round 5th and West Country are struggling for air back in the pack. While they need an oxygen mask to breathe, we chase the leaders and try to stay in the breeze, stay in the game. We cannot let Hyde get away and have to ignore West Country. The corner is working hard and nothing else can compete. We catch up, but then loose a little, catch up again, but then it slips away once more. This is an infuriating game! Eventually we manage to scramble into third place as West Country clinches a 5th - we both hope to discard this race but with Hyde winning this one the gaps are closing more and now it's a tie for second with our lead down to only a few points! The breeze is dying fast and while the race office waits for the 'Ora' we can see rain in the mountains again and know that we will not race again today. We return to base and rest.
The event seems to have only just started, yet suddenly we are at the last day. We have three mammoth races and will then pack up. There will be prize giving and we will be exhausted. But then we will start the last part of this amazing mission - the 13 hour drive home. When we drive we have to remember not to race any longer, but this time we will have to brush that aside - we have to be at work the next morning! Minds race but we have to focus. I wonder if we have let too much slip, has the event slipped away already, did we take it too easy on the second day, what if Hyde had stayed in second yesterday? Your mind is having a great game and it's getting fully carried away and driving you mad. And we haven't even started racing yet! All of a sudden we break free, casting the subconscious aside. We want this, we want it badly, very badly. I realise that it's time to try and turn up the heat. If we want this event we have to grasp it by the horns and take it for ourselves. We must be strong. We know that as long as neither of the other teams win 2 races today and we win one, then the event is ours. But even this thought is cast aside, we cannot focus on the minimum, if we want this we must take it now, three firsts today will do fine and we must start with the first. As we are released the 'Peller' is still there and we pray that it will go. We need the 'Ora' and we need it now, we can wait no more. But we have no choice and wait. It gets very hot and the time is racing on, ironic as we cannot! Just as it seems that we will loose a race, the race officer changes the course and sets up for the 'Ora'. We cannot see it, but know it's coming. We wait some more and squint to try and see it coming. And then it's here. Gentle at first we wonder if it will stay or go and wait until the last minute to set the rig. And then we are away. We seize the favoured end and race to the middle as there is more breeze here and it looks fully dodgy under the cliffs! As we round the top in the lead the others follow in the pack but we have a lead and will protect it to the end. This will be our day, we tell ourselves, today we will be king of the lake. We were lucky and this was no race for us, but for the others it was critical, all or nothing. In the end Hyde piped West Country and the overall results were changing. After a rest race 9 started, but this time in chaos! The breeze had shifted left still more, but was nowhere near steady and everyone scrambled for that end. Our strategy was instantly wrecked when we realised our timing was out and we fought to resurrect a sensible score and remain sane! At the cliff there were a whole group milking it for all that was there and we were buried in amongst them. All previous order had gone and this time it was the Mckees in the frame fighting for the lead. At the bottom we had caught right up and led, chased hard by West Country Watersports, but they forced the error and we dropped too early. At the last minute it had got very close and rule infringements were being called. It was as if it was this race that would decide the event everything else counted for nothing, but at the top we led again, this time with the Mckees right on our tail! One downwind leg to go and then the race across to the finish. As we took the breeze down the cliff, more pressure filled in from behind, each team getting better and better position. We were hung out to dry with nowhere to go and hung on by the skin of our teeth to resurrect what we could. The Mckees forced the lay line and took us on the inside, but this triggered all followers and for a few minutes 5 of us were neck and neck. As we reached the bottom mark the breeze eased so we all tried to hang onto our kites to the finish line. It was tight, very tight indeed with each boat on it's ear and both crew hanging on for all they were worth. We couldn't hang on any more and somehow ended up capsized on the line, unsure if we had finished in 3rd or not. Jonny thought we had so he watched the others coming down, but although I wasn't so sure, there was this stark realization that finish or not, we had just won the event! It seemed as if time stood still and everything was silent. There was noise, but I didn't hear it - this was a strange moment indeed. We cleaned up the mess and prepared for the last race. Were we there or were we just close? After 10 races with discards the maths gets very complicated! As the start gun went we tacked off and headed straight for the cliffs, I took the wall to the sky and arrived there first. At the top we led and held this to the end. The holy grail was ours, today we were king of the lake, European Champions, No 1 in Europe. We had done it, all the hard work, all the preparation and the practice had paid off.
We packed up, had our prize-giving and started the next race, the race home. 2 days later we woke up and suddenly realised the victory, this had not been a dream! The tiredness has gone, the exhaustion brushed aside and the elation has arrived. Now we celebrate!