FIRST EXPERIENCE as RACE OFFICIAL

It's always the first time we experience things that we remember best. This is certainly gonna be one of them- my first experience as a race official at the National Inter-school Sailing Championships. Not because it was fun, but because it was so dreadful. First, the boat was really too small for 6 people! Then the smoke from the engine exhaust was terrible. It also did not help that two of the race officials were smokers. Being the only woman on board made me feel even more helpless and alienated. THEN the awful happens - I threw up! Not once but three times. Thereafter, I sat on the only chair available and went to sleep while the men snaked around me doing their duties. I couldn't care less. I only wished I could be home sleeping, but then I guess which of the men there didn't? So after a short nap, I tried to be useful. The wind kept changing direction so they had to set a new race course again. Each time they set the course, they had to inform the other markers by walkie talkie to change their marker positions too. Altogether there were 4 marks which the competitors had to round on their left. We had to give the starting signals (very complicated - something like 5 consecutive signals for start) and we had to note the numbers of the sails as they came thru the finish line too. The competitors sailed 4 races today and I'm sure glad for the rain else they'd have gone on to do the fifth race. I din get to eat my lunch at all till about 3.30 pm when I felt much too hungry and ate some of the veg in the pre-packed lunchbox.

Sigh, another 3 more days to go. I went to the pharmacy get something for the seasickness and was recommended these wristbands which are supposed to act on the acupuncture points. Well we'd see how it goes tmr..