G'Day Mate

Today's the day.

A few weeks ago the International Laser Class Association announced the entry process for the Laser Masters Worlds in Australia next February.

In order to keep the entry process fair to all those wishing to compete the ILCA has decided to delay the opening of the entry for the World Laser Masters Championship 2008. It is anticipated that this delay will allow all interested sailors both local and abroad to check their schedules and to be ready to complete entry soon after the opening of the entry forms. Entry will open at 12:00 (noon) GMT on Tuesday 28 August 2007.

I don't quite get the logic of that, how delaying the opening of entries makes things fairer? But whatever. Go with the flow. I want to go to this regatta and Tillerwoman is even more eager to revisit the land of her birth so I have to secure an entry. Today's the day.

Let's see. Noon GMT is 8am EDT. So I'm up early. Wolf down my breakfast and at 7:30am I'm at the computer, fingers poised over the keyboard, ready to log in to the ILCA website.

What's this? Email from a US master sailing buddy saying that entries are already open. What? Aaaaargh. They jumped the gun. Maybe I will be too late.

Hurriedly open up the event website and start entering my details. They want my ISAF number? Who remembers such stuff? Luckily there is a link to a site that enables me to look that up. Now they want my height in centimeters and weight in kilograms? Whaaaaat? I'm a strictly imperial measures guy. A provided link to a conversion tool doesn't work. Think my pop-up blocker may be to blame. Find another converter via Google. 62 centimeters and 193 kilos. Does that sound right?

I plough on with entering all the details and hit submit. Hope I'm not too late. Rumor is that hundreds of Aussie Laser Masters are going to soak up all the available places in the first few minutes. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? An error message. It doesn't like my birth date. (Neither do I. It was far too long ago.) What can be wrong? Aaaah. I have it. The birth month has to be "JUL" not "JULY". I hate computers.

I move on to the next stage. Fingers working as rapidly as they can. Tillerwoman is asking me something. I block her out. Credit card details. Correct the address that got corrupted by the computer from the first time I entered it. Click on a box saying I have read the Notice of Race and accept everything in it even though I haven't. Hey what can possibly be bad in it? This is Australia. No worries, mate.

I hit submit again. Yeah. I've been accepted. I'm in!!!! Australia here we come.

Let's see how many people have already entered. I go to the entry list. A bunch of Aussies already. The rumors were true. Did they know that entries would open up early? Who from the USA is going? Only entries so far are me, the guy that sent me the email.... and.... OH NO.... it's that guy again, my nemesis. Not only does he beat me by a place or two at every damn regatta this summer, he even beats me to enter the freaking Worlds. How does he do it?

Anyway, we're going to Australia. Ace!