GOLD


Table of Contents:

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10


Chapter 1
August 12th 2015: Nathan Spithill and Jimmy Outteridge woke up. It was the first day of the 2nd test event in Auckland, New Zealand before the Olympic Games in 2016. They got up and ate a good breakfast at their hotel just up the hill from where the boat park was. They walked down the hill and started rigging their 49er. Nathan, the expert at boatwork was doing some last minute splicing on their bridle while Jimmy, the technical one, was tuning the rig for the expected conditions. The boat was in pristine condition having only been used for a week leading up to this event, the hull was shiny and the rigging was brand new.  It was a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky, nice and warm.
Now, other teams started arriving including their main competition: Ansgar and Soenke Panuschka, the German team. They always beat Nathan and Jimmy and they always got second. Nathan and Jimmy had been doing everything they could to be faster than the Germans. They had been working out like mad and were super buff, their boat was perfect. Now it was just up to the sailing, it would be close. They had their skippers meeting and it was all the usual. They got dressed and got out on the water. Nathan was the skipper, Jimmy the crew.
They got out to the course and it was about 10 knots, just starting to whitecap. They did their normal routine, sail the course, get the boat handling down, check the line, and look up the course for breeze. Knowing the venue pretty well, they saw more breeze on the right knew there was usually a couple big righties over there they decided to go right.The boat was favored as well so that was a no brainer.
They got a great start right next to the boat and the germans were right below them. They tacked out and headed right, after getting headed right off the line. They were going fast towards the right and saw the germans tack right behind them. Pretty soon the germans were right on their hip, what was going on. They tried to pinch them off but it just wouldn’t work. They tried to put the bow down and go fast and pretty soon the were rolled. They tacked out and back to get clear air. They were ahead of the fleet but the germans were miles ahead. How did they do it. They rounded the top mark in second and the race finished that way. They had to figure out what made the germans so fast. The next two races were the same they got second and the germans won. They were going to have to take a peek at their boat overnight, and see what was up.
After everyone left the boat park they went to look at the germans boat. They checked their tension and everything and it was all exactly the same as their boat, it was identical. They had no idea what it could be.

August 13th 2015: The next day they got to the boat park and the only people there were the germans. They had their boat on its side and it looked like they were waxing it. Because they were there early they decided to do the same, maybe it would make a difference. After they finished waxing they got the boat rigged up and ready to go.
They launched the boat and got right out to the course. They got out there and it was blowing a steady 8 knots and seemed like it was building a little. They did their routine and found that the left was slightly better with more breeze and some nice lefties coming through. The boat was favored so the figured they’d start a few boats down from the boat and hold everyone out to the left and cover the fleet. The germans were right above them off the line and tacked pretty quickly. They got to layline and tacked, the germans had to duck them. That was a first. They got to the top mark and set the kite, and they got going fast. Because it was fairly light they had to sail super hot angles. The germans rounded the mark and were heading super low but with the same speed. How were they doing it? They tried it but it just wouldn’t work. No one else could do it either. Something was up.
They finished second that race and had a 2 3 in the next two. The german won the next two. The day was over. After they got derigged, they went back to the hotel to watch some video of the day. They had to figure out what was going on. They noticed a few things in the video, the battens were looser on the germans boat and their leach was more open. They decided to try these things.

August 14th 2015: They went to the boat park early and fixed their battens and made marks on their settings to make the leach more open. After they fixed these things they got rigged up and set things for the conditions. They got dressed and launched the boat.
They got out to the race course and it was blowing 18. That was great because they sailed in this all the time. They did their routine and it was time to start. The pin was  massively favored but no one seemed to notice, so they port tacked the fleet and got a killer start. They took it all the way to layline because the right had more breeze and rounded the top mark winning by a ton. They headed downwind going super fast and held their lead, winning the race. The germans got a 5th. The second race was a little better for the germans getting a third and Nathan and Jimmy winning. By the last race it got up to 30 knots and they decided to call it for the day due to huge waves rolling into the harbor.

August 15th 2015: It was the final day of racing for the event and medal race day. Nathan and Jimmy sat in 2nd with 15 points and the germans in 1st with 14. It was all up to the medal race. They got rigged up and hit the water early to check out the course.
They got out there and it was nuking, there were storm clouds rolling in and it was blowing 35. They set their boat up for the breeze and sailed the course. They were going so fast it was ridiculous. After checking the course they decided to be safe and go right. They got a good start off the boat and tacked to go right. They were completely lowered on the trap and their sails were half luffing, it was too windy to keep them full. They got out right and tacked on layline. The germans were just rounding the top mark, how were they so fast in the breeze. They rounded the top mark in second and set the kite, this would be sketchy. They set and were able to go pretty much dead downwind with the main and jib all the way in and still slightly luffing. They were down to the leeward mark in about a minute even though it was a mile downwind. They rounded the bottom mark and the germans just finished. They ended up 2nd that race. That was a disappointment, they really wanted to win.
They got in and derigged, then they went to the trophy ceremony and accepted their silver medals reluctantly. They knew they had some work to do. They headed to the airport to get on their flight back home to Sydney, Australia. They were gonna train so hard everyday. They needed to beat the germans no matter what the cost. They needed help. They decided to call their long time mentor, Russell Connor, before their flight left.

Nathan called him, “Hey Russell.”
Hey Nathan, what’s up?” Russell replied.
Nathan said, “We just finished the test event and we got second to the germans. They are so fast, so we need help, we have to beat them.”
Russell who lived in San Diego, CA, USA replied, “I’m on the next flight to Sydney.”
Nathan said, “Thanks.”
Russell replied, “See you at the airport tomorrow, bye.”
Jimmy asked Nathan, “So?”
Nathan said, “He’s on the next flight.”
Jimmy replied, “Sweet, we really need him to beat the germans.”
“Yeah, we gotta be the fastest boat out there no matter what the conditions.” Nathan said.
Jimmy replied, “We are going to be, I know it.”


Chapter 2
They got back to Sydney and went home to their downtown apartment that they share looking over Sydney Harbour and unpacked their smelly sailing bags. They got a text from Russell saying his flight would get in at 9:00 tonight, it was currently 10:00 in the morning. They were super hungry so they went to their favorite sushi bar just down the street and had some delicious fish. Then they went back home and passed out, they were tired. They woke up at about 3 and hung out for a while. Pretty soon it was time to go get Russell at the airport. They were really excited to see him.
Russell was a salty old guy who had done more olympic campaigns than you could count in everything from stars to lasers. He was one of the best sailors to ever live.
They headed back towards the city with Russell to go have dinner and discuss the training program. They went to nice Italian place right on the harbour. They sat down and ordered and then came the important stuff.
Russell said, “First off what are your diets?”
Jimmy replied, “I eat 5 eggs for breakfast every morning, I typically eat a bunch of pb&j while I’m on the water for lunch, and I normally eat something loaded with protein or carbs for dinner.”
Russell said, “Ok, Nathan?”
Nathan said, “ I’ll usually have 4 or 5 eggs for breakfast and same as Jimmy for lunch and dinner.”
“Ok, well you guys are good there. You’re eating just fine. Do you drink anything other than  water?”
They both simultaneously replied, “No.”
Russell said, “Great, perfect. What do you guys weigh, and how tall are you?”
Nathan replied, “I’m 5’9” and 160 pounds.”
Jimmy said, “I’m 6’0” and 175 pounds.”
Russell replied, “Ok you guys are in the perfect range for that. So, I know you are great sailors, so the only thing really left is boat stuff because I’ve heard you guys have perfect boat handling and are super fast, just not as fast as these german guys.”
Nathan said, “Ok great.”
Russell replied, “So why don’t you guys go get some rest and we’ll meet at the club (Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron) in the morning.”
Jimmy said, “Ok thanks Russell.”
Now Nathan and Jimmy knew they were in good hands and didn’t need to worry. They were gonna be ready to go win that gold medal far before the games. The germans were gonna lose, they were gonna get killed. You could feel the determination if you stood 100 yards away it was so strong. They went home and went to bed quick, still tired from the long flight. They dreamt of holding that gold medal with the german holding silver and it was great. The country of Australia would definitely have yet another couple of gold medals in the trophy case. It was completely and utterly unquestionable, everybody knew it. It would be great.
They woke up the next morning, ate and headed to the club. It was another beautiful  summer day in Sydney. When they got there they uncovered their boat which was identical to their one Auckland with all of the same settings and everything. Russell got there and started looking over the boat, checking marks made, tension, rake, spreader angle, everything.
After about an hour he asked, “And everything is identical to the boat in Auckland?”
Jimmy replied, “Correct.”
“Well, everything looks good and fast, I don’t know what it could be,” Russell said.
“Ok well maybe we should go sailing and you can watch us,” Nathan said
Russell said, “Sounds good, let’s be out by 11.”
Nathan said, “Ok sounds good.”
They got the boat rigged up and headed out at 11. Russell met them out there with a video camera and a GoPro to put one their boat. They did a long upwind with lots of tacks, accelerations, and 720s. Then they did a long downwind with lots of gybes and 720s.
They went in for a little bit to have lunch and watch some video. Nathan and Jimmy were excited to get faster and learn from Russell.      They went into the clubhouse to the media room and hooked up the video camera. Russell hit play and started critiquing little things they were doing.
Russell said, “Ok so there Nathan you want to stay on the trap a little longer to get a better roll. Jimmy you need to trim more for heel, flat is fast. you guys could both be lower on the trap there, then Jimmy won’t have to trim for heel as much. Jimmy you should be cranking a lot more on the downhaul and a little bit less on the vang. Nathan you need to communicate more to Jimmy about kite trim and you should also be flatter so you should head down more.”
He was getting every little thing possible. Finally the video was over and Russell said, “Ok so I know that was a lot so I want you to pick one thing everyday to perfect and that’s how we’re going to do this.”
Nathan said, “Sounds great.”
Jimmy said, “Ya.”
Russell said, “Ok let’s hit the water again.”
Jimmy and Nathan said, “Ok, let’s go.”
They put the boat back in the water and headed out. Jimmy decided to work on trimming for heel and Nathan decided to work on staying out longer through the roll tack. They got out there and Russell took more video while they did the same routine but working on their things. They finished up around 4 and headed in. They derigged and then watched some video. They watched the GoPro and normal video this time. The things they worked on drastically improved, the were looking better already. And the things they worked on actually improved other things as well.
After finishing watching the video they talked about their calendar up to the olympics. Which included the ISAF Sailing World Cups, and the ISAF World Championship. As well as lots of training in Sydney. After that they  went home planning to be back the next day for more training.
So for the next few weeks they did the same thing. They sailed everyday and worked on one thing everyday and pretty soon they were getting lightning fast. They were gonna go beat those germans.
After 3 weeks it was time to go to the ISAF Sailing World Cup Hyeres, France. They got on a plane to France and headed out of Sydney with Russell coming along to coach. It was a dreadfully long flight of 23 hours. They slept most of the way.
They got there and went straight to the boat park to get their boat that they keep in Europe ready to go for practice the next day. Then they went to their hotel to get sleep to bypass the jet lag.
They woke up the next morning ready to go practice hard to prepare for this event. They got there early to get out early before the crowd came. They got rigged up, dressed, and headed out. They did their normal practice day routine, fixing some minor little things before the event, and they also lined up with the other Australian boats for some speed testing and just blew them away. It was ridiculous. After that they headed in and fixed a few things on the boat as well as checking over the whole boat for any broken parts and McLubing everything. They got it done and headed back to the hotel to get a good dinner and night of sleep before the event.

September 7th 2015: It was the first day of the sailing world cup and Nathan and Jimmy were ready to go. They had their skippers meeting which included introducing the course that would be used for the olympics, triangle-windward-leeward with a leeward gate on the windward-leeward. It would be fun with the reaches. They got rigged up and hit the water early to get a good look at the course. They’d sailed here many times before and knew the course fairly well.
They got out there and it was about 15 knots gusting to 18. They looked up the course and the left looked like it had more breeze and the pin was favored so they started right next to the pin and headed left. The germans, they saw, had gone right and didn’t look very good. They kept playing up the left and they got to layline and tacked. The germans were coming in at about the same speed and barely crossed. They both rounded the windward mark and headed for the reach mark going blazing fast. They got there in about a minute and gybed with the germans just barely holding their lead. Both teams were trying to head higher than the other to roll the enemy but neither could get over each other. They rounded the bottom mark and headed upwind right next to each other. Nathan and Jimmy weren’t gonna lose this race. So they planned to do something risky on the downwind they called the “distraction”. They rounded the top mark right next to each other and miles ahead of the fleet. They were ready to do the “distraction”. They set the kite heading upwind still and heeled all the way over, the germans were really confused and the crew who was hoisting the kite looked back and stopped hoisting. Consequently the kite got in the water and started filling with water about halfway. The kite dragged the bow down and they pitchpoled. It had worked! They headed downwind and flew past the germans like a rocketship. They won the race by tons and the germans ended up 5th. That was epic.
The next race the germans were shaken up and got a 3rd while Nathan and Jimmy won. The day was over and they only had 2 points and the germans were in 2nd with 8 points. 
They went in and derigged then they went to their hotel with Russell to debrief.
    They turned on the computer to watch footage Russell took from the coach boat. He had videoed the starts, some upwind, windward and leeward mark roundings, and a little bit of downwind. Some of the things that didn’t look so good were their gybes, they looked a little messy, and the jib looked a little funky upwind. Other than that they looked super fast. They planned to work on their gybes a little bit before racing and to adjust the jib battens a little bit to make the jib look better.
They went to bed, they needed to sail well again the next day.

September 8th 2015: They woke up ready to have another great day of sailing. They ate a good breakfast and headed to the boat park to go out early. They met Russell there to fix the jib and they decided to loosen the battens a little bit because it looked a little hooked on the leach the day before. Then, they got rigged up and hit the water to work on those gybes.
They got out there and got towed really far up the course so that they could have a long downwind. They got off the tow and set the kite. They immediately started doing gybes very often and Russell started giving them tips.
Russell yelled, “Nathan, come off the trap a second earlier. Jimmy, pull the kite around a little earlier.”
They got those things down and then Russell said, “Nathan, if you steer just 2 or 3 degrees more you’ll come out perfect.”
Nathan got it down and now they had great gybes. Now the rest of the fleet started getting out there and Nathan and Jimmy did their normal routine of course checks. It was blowing a consistent 12 knots and they found that the right had way more breeze and the pin was really favored. They decided to take a risk and try to port tack the fleet. The gun went off for 5 minutes and they started sailing towards the pin from the boat. It looked like the germans had the same idea because they were hanging out by the pin. This would be interesting. They got to the pin at about 3 minutes and charged the germans on starboard while they were on port. The germans tried to duck them but were forced to gybe around and head away from the line getting tailed by Nathan and Jimmy. They tailed them until about a minute and then tacked around back towards the line. They were blazing towards the line but it would be a close cross and the germans were right behind them. 5,4,3,2,1, Beep! They crossed the other boats by inches and had a killer start while the germans had to duck the entire fleet. Naturally, they were first to the windward mark and won the race by miles. But the germans some how came back to get a 2nd.
By the next race the wind had picked up to 15 gusting to 18. The left looked good again and the boat was favored so they decided to start at the boat and go all the way left. The germans set up right next to them on the line, right below them and tacked and ducked them right before the gun. The germans looked like they were gonna take a flyer right and they did. Nathan and Jimmy covered the fleet all the way to the left and tacked on layline. Somehow the germans were crossing them by a ton. They rounded in 2nd and tried to go as fast as they could on the downwind but they just couldn’t catch up. They ended up 2nd that race and headed in, they were doing 2 races a day.
Now Nathan and Jimmy had 5 points while the germans had 11. They were still doing good. They went back to their hotel and ate dinner and then went right to sleep, there were only 2 days of the event left and they needed to win.

September 9th 2015: Nathan and Jimmy woke up, got dressed, ate, and headed to the boat park to get rigged. They got there and there were only the germans there. That was odd. They got rigged and ready to go and headed out early to check the course a bunch because they couldn’t afford to lose again today. They decided again that the left was better and the pin was favored so they decided to start pin and go left. They didn’t see the germans off the line and they headed left. They got to layline and tacked, crossing the fleet. But the germans were crossing from the right again. Again, they couldn’t catch up and ended up 2nd, while the germans won the race. The following race they decided to go right something was up. Coincidentally there was a big right shift before the start so they started at the boat and went right. They didn’t see the germans at all weirdly and somehow the crossed and rounded in 1st. They won the race while Nathan and Jimmy got 2nd. How did this happen. The germans went the opposite way each time but still came out ahead by a lot.      
    The day was over and now the germans had 13 points and were in 2nd while Nathan and Jimmy were winning with 9. They were still doing well but not as well as they would have liked. They went back to their hotel, ate dinner, and went to bed they really didn’t want to lose.

September 10th 2015: It was the last day of the event and they needed to pull some good scores out of the bag. They got rigged up and their plan was to try to stay on the same side of the course as the germans the whole day.
    The day started out with about 10 knots of breeze and the wind out of a really weird direction. They got out to the course to find that the wind had died, now blowing a steady 4 kts. They found that the pin was very favored and the right seemed better but they were gonna do what the germans did. Right before the start, all of the sudden they heard something from above them but didn’t think anything of it. They found the germans at the pin and started next to them, the Germans headed left and Nathan and Jimmy followed. The Germans were kind of half covering them up the beat so they rounded in 2nd. As Jimmy was pulling the kite up they heard a massive crunching noise and the mast started coming apart. They kite halyard block had come undone and because the halyard ran inside the mast it ripped the mast open. Now the top of the mast was starting to be hanging off the top and the main was getting wrecked. They pulled the kite back into the bag and released the kite halyard, pulling it all the way out. They called for help. Russell came over and having seen what happened needed no explanation. They got the sails down and the main was ripped in the top, not usable, and the jib and kite were luckily fine. They held on all the way in and finally got back to the boat park. They were done for the day and would receive 2 DNCs of 30 points. They were not going to win the regatta even with a throwout. They got second. They got their second place medal and headed for the airport. They were mad.They got back to Sydney and slept for a long time.

Chapter 3: Getting Up
    Russell showed up at their door at 7 am the next morning and woke them up.
    Jimmy and Nathan said to Russell, “Can you come back in a few hours we gotta sleep.”
    Russell said, “No way you guys gotta get training, you’re not gonna earn gold by sleeping.”
    Nathan and Jimmy replied, “What’s the use the germans are better than us.”
    “Are you kidding me! That’s like saying that an opti is faster than a 49er. It’s ridiculous!” Russell yelled, "You can't give up you'll be throwing your gold medals down the drain!"
      "You know what, you're right Russell. The only reason we lost was because our mast." Jimmy said.
      "Yeah we're way faster than them." Nathan replied.
      Russell said, "Ok well let's get training. You guys need to be lights out fast."
    They replied, “Ok we’ll meet you at the club in ½ an hour.”
    They got ready to go and headed to the club to get rigged up. They uncovered their boat and washed it. It hadn’t been sailed in a few weeks. They got rigged, had a quick snack and got on the water. It was pretty light, about 8 knots, and there was not a cloud in the sky. It was a great day to go sailing.
Russell got out there and gave them little tips here and there while sailing up and down Sydney Harbour. He videoed them as well as having the GoPro on the boat. They were super fast, they were faster than the germans. It just needed to be proven on the water. They trained like this for the next few weeks leading up to the Australian Nationals in Perth.

They arrived in Perth and their boat was there for them. It had been trailered across Australia for them. They got the mast up and the boat rerigged so it would be ready to sail the next day.

October 1st 2015: It was the first day of the Australian Nationals in Perth, Australia. The nationals was for all Olympic Classes: 470s, 49ers, Nacra 17s, Lasers, Finns, and RS:X windsurfers. It was a beautiful warm day in Perth and a great day for sailing. It was already blowing 15 knots, perfect conditions, and they were the clear favorites for the event. They got rigged up and hit the water.
They headed out to the course and Jimmy started calling what would work that day, he had grown up in Perth. The course was situated right up against the shore that was lined with rocks and had stands for spectators. The rocks usually were the way to go if it was blowing anything over 10 knots. So they decided to go left and all the way to the rocks and to start pin, which was luckily favored.
The gun went off and they had the best start by far. The were launched off the line and sailed a great race, winning by a ton. The whole day went like this, they were just plainly faster than everyone.
They got 4 races in that day and had 4 points. After they got derigged they were approached by a news caster to do an interview. They kindly did the interview.
The newscaster started by saying, “We are here in Perth today reporting on the Australian Nationals for Sailing. All of the olympic classes are here and this is Nathan Spithill and Jimmy Outteridge here sailing in the 49er class. Nathan and Jimmy, how are you?”
“We’re well, thanks,” they replied, “We’re excited to be here and racing against the best in Australia.”
The reporter replied, “Now you guys had all bullets today, how does that make you feel, Nathan?”
Nathan replied, “It feels great, its really cool to be doing so well considering all of the sailing talent Australia has.”
“Jimmy, you guys have been travelling the world representing Australia and prepping for the Olympics in Auckland in 2016. You guys have been doing extremely well and you really only have one rival boat, the german team of the Panuschka brother, what are you guys going to do to bring the gold medal home to Australia?”the reporter asked.
Jimmy replied, “We have a great training program going with Russell Connor coaching us, which has been great, and we’re going to stick with that and just keep getting faster everyday.”
The reporter replied, “Fantastic. Well, we’ll let you guys get some rest, thanks.”
“No problem, thanks,” they replied.
They went back to the hotel ate some dinner and went to bed.

October 2nd 2014: The slept pretty late and then got up and headed to the boat park. They got rigged and headed out to the course. Things were extremely similar to the day before so they had the same game plan. There were 3 races scheduled for the day. They started and headed for the rocks. They crossed the whole fleet easily and won the race. The whole day was like this, they had very little competition. They won all 3 races and headed in. They got their boat on their trailer and headed to the awards. They won the regatta by 19 points, a great result, and they were Australian National Champions.  That was really cool.
    After receiving their trophies they headed to the airport to get on their flight back to Sydney.
    After a 4 hour flight they were home and went to bed. They slept for a while, tired from their flight, and then got up at midmorning to meet with Russell.
They met at a cafe downstairs from their apartment called Cafe Sydney. They got coffee and discussed the weekend and their future plans up to the olympics. Their next event was here in Sydney, The ISAF Sailing World Championships. This was the most important event before the olympics and  the event that qualifies the country for the Olympics. It was on November 3rd through the 10th, each class would have 5 days of racing, they had to offset them because there are so many fleets. The 49ers would be racing from the 4th to the 8th. To qualify the country they had to get top 15 but that was nothing they wanted to win, to become World Champions. They had a month to prepare, in the venue which was right in their backyard, and they were going to train hard. Some of the other Australian teams were also coming to train with them, including the young and coming team of Harry Hansen and Kurt Morton. They had been just missing the podium in some big events and had gotten 2nd at the Australian Nationals. While they were not nearly as fast as Nathan and Jimmy the would be good to train against because they were the closest thing to their speed other than the germans.
After they finished planning their training they went to the club and got on the water. Out on the harbour it was blowing about 12 knots and there were clear skies and it was a nice warm day. It was the normal weather for Sydney. They did their normal training session and things were getting really good, their tacks and gybes were flawless and the boat was dead flat 99.999999… percent of the time. They were getting really good. Now Russell decided to put a speedometer on their boat to record their speed. Then he would record the conditions for the day, wind strength and direction, waves, chop, puffiness, weather, everything.
They finished the session and debriefed. Russell started going into rig tune more now. They had some good base settings for certain breeze down but now they were getting more into mast bend in certain areas for different conditions and things like that. He said he would teach them that stuff the next day. So they went home, changed and decided they wanted chinese for dinner. So they went to a chinese place right around the corner from their house. They ate and at the end of their meal they got fortune cookies. Nathan opened his it read You will soon have a great success, be patient. Jimmy opened his it said hard work pays off in the end. They were excited by these messages and posted them on their fridge. The were going to win. They went to bed excited to get there.
They woke up the next day and headed to the club for breakfast and then met Russell at their boat. They started talking about mast bend in the top which was non-controllable but bottom mast bend you can control. They adjusted a few thing to make it bend more down low and got rigged to go try it out.  They had the speedometer on their boat and the GoPro they headed out and did their normal routine the conditions were very similar to the day before. They felt fast. They came in off the water and Russell saw that their speeds were 2 knots faster upwind and downwind, that was a lot. They now had a new secret weapon.
    They continued training with this mast bend and learned how much was faster in certain conditions and now they had numbers for different breeze. After training for the next few weeks like this they were ready to go kick butt.
    They other Australian teams arrived a week away from the Worlds to start training. On the first day they were there Nathan and Jimmy went out to speed test and just blew them out of the water. Nathan and Jimmy were ridiculously faster than them. Nathan and Jimmy’s boathandling was 10 times faster and smoother. The other Australian teams would be rolled to leeward, that’s how fast they were. They kept training with the other teams but they didn’t get much better.
    The worlds were coming fast now and teams from other countries were starting to arrive. Some of the first to arrive were the germans. They would go out and just watch Nathan and Jimmy sail up and down the harbour. They were looking how they sailed the harbour to figure out the course. Nathan and Jimmy figured this out and sailed up the side where the current just rips in all the time. Later they saw the germans  trying it. They knew the germans would figure it out but at least they would be wasting time.

November 4th 2015:
It was the first day of racing for the 49ers at the ISAF Sailing World Championship, Nathan and Jimmy woke up ready to race. They were determined to win. They went to the boat park and got rigged up, Russell met them for a quick meeting and talked about conditions for the day, he discussed bot setup and rig tune. After they met they went to the skippers meeting, it was all normal stuff. After the skippers meeting they got on the water and headed to the course. The course was fairly normal with about 8 knots of breeze so they decided to go left but the boat was favored so the started boat and headed left. Off the line they were looking good, they had clear air and were going fast they hit a header and tacked. They were pointed rigt at the mark and crossing the fleet.
 


Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8
July 20th 2016:
    It was the last day of the Games, they woke up ready to go. This was it, this is what all of their training ended with. There would only be one race today, the medal race. Currently the germans and them were tied. Whoever beat who would win Gold. They headed to the boat park and got rigged up, there were only ten boats in the race and only the germans or them could win. They tuned their boat to perfection and then got on the water.
It was a beautiful day with sunny skies and fairly light winds of about 8 knots.  The breeze was normal direction so they decided the left would be better. The pin was also favored. The 5 minute horn sounded and they saw some big black clouds rolling over the hills towards the harbour. They now second guessed their decision but still went left. The gun went off and the germans were right next to them at the pin. They headed left and dug into a header over there, pinched off the germans and tacked. It would be close. They headed towards the windward mark, the rest of the fleet had gone right and were behind. They got to the windward mark winning but the germans were close behind. The storm was right behind them as they rounded. The storm started rolling over them, it started blowing 30. It would be a survival race. They flew towards the bottom mark going super fast, the germans right behind. They got to layline, it would be a really super sketchy gybe. They got into a massive puff and went for it, hoping for the best. They nailed that gybe. They looked back at the germans, they had as well. This was going to be close. They rounded the mark. They looked back at the germans and in slow motion they saw them pitchpole. The germans both went flying into the water. Now all they had to do was finish, they went flying towards the line. They crossed the finish line. They won, they won olympic gold!!!!!!!!!!!!! They both jumped off the boat joyfully!
Chapter 9


Chapter 10
Their house was a modern house in a highrise. It was neat and filled with all kinds of boat parts, sailing books, and pictures of sailing. Everything was boaty and smelled of salt water.