SATURDAY, MAY 26, 2007
Jaclyn and I left for Connecticut around 7 AM because we didn't really know how long it would take to get there. Luckily, it only took about an hour and a half to get to Captain's Cove and we found it without much of a problem, so we got there about fifteen minutes before registration began.
The venue was beautiful. The competition area was right off the bay with ships in the background and a number of large Rubik's Cubes as decorations. I brought six Stackmats and displays that we set up and we verified that all the equipment was in working order.
The first event was the 3x3x3 Round 1. I barely made the cutoff since only 8 cubers advanced to the final and I was 8th, so I advanced with my 22.62 second average. Fortunately for me, though, I got a (non-lucky) 16.49 second solve. Only Anthony Hsu had a faster time than me on that scramble, so I was proud of that accomplishment. Anthony led after the first round with Andy Camann and Erik Johnson following behind.
Next, I competed in the 4x4x4 Cube. I had three solves under two minutes and improved my competition average to 1:55.38, which was good enough for sixth place in the competition. I would have liked to place better than that, but the work I put into the 4x4x4 this week was reflected in my times (except for the 2:17--I don't know what that's about).
I lost Jaclyn during lunch, but I eventually found her being shy eating her chicken nuggets and fries like a little cutie pie. I gave her a Magic to warm up with and then did a few practice solves. As usual, I wasted all my good solves during practice and only placed second in Magic and third in Master Magic. I was proud of Jaclyn, as she placed third in Magic and earned herself a certificate!
The 5x5x5 was the first thing after lunch (Magic was held during lunch). Peter was worried about time, but I assured him we could fit in all the 5x5x5 solves, so it was a straight final. I had two solves over six minutes because I like to start my 3x3x3 solve before pairing all the edges, pairing edges when I get to the last layer, solving as a 3x3x3 again, finding the parity, fixing it, finding the parity again, finding more edges to pair, etc. 'Nuff said. :(
When the 3x3x3 Blindfold round started, things got interesting. Tyson and I had a bet going for lunch about who would have the fastest BLD and OH solves (San Diego or Captain's Cove). Naturally, we were given a 60 second handicap for BLD and 5 seconds for OH. In the blindfold round, Rowe solved in only 1:50, so we easily clinched the bet for blindfold. Anthony Hsu was the only other person to solve a cube blindfolded. I was close on all three, but my mind was elsewhere at the time.
I hate the 2x2x2 round because it's annoying. I spent a lot of time scrambling 2x2x2s, which is little fun because it is nonstop. I had three solves under two seconds, a 15 second solve (what happened?!?), and I may have become the first person to DNF a 2x2x2 solve (wrong algorithm). Overall, it was pathetic, but a new best competition average for me at 11.02 seconds, giving me 5th place.
In the one-handed competition, our competitors had no chance against the Dzoans. Our fastest solve was only 28 seconds by our winner, Rowe Hessler, but that was well behind the sub-20 solve that was achieved in San Diego. I had a 32 second solve, a 37 second solve, and a few in the low 40s, giving me a 40 second average. I was hoping for better, but I haven't practiced one-handed cubing in a while, so it was okay. This only gave me 6th place, so I was disappointed.
In the 3x3x3 final round, I hand another bet to worry about. Adam Zamora and I bet lunch over which competition would have a faster 3x3x3 single solve (we had a one-second handicap). I thought we would win when Anthony got a 11.88 second solve, but Leyan sneaked by with only a couple tenths of a second to cost me a lunch in Chicago. Personally, I had my best 3x3x3 competition average with 20.16 seconds, just barely missing my goal of a sub-20 second average. I know for sure I will average under 20 seconds in Chicago because I have three full weeks of cubing ahead of me.
My 3x3x3 average gave me 5th place overall for the competition. Anthony Hsu of course won the competition with an average of only 15.10 seconds. Michael Gottlieb won the big cubes and the little one (2x2x2), while Tim Reynolds won the magic events. Overall, I felt it was a great competition with a very nice atmosphere (and free food!). Peter has certainly improved his organizational skills since the first competition and I look forward for any competitions that he plans to host in the future. I would like to thank my girlfriend (for being patient with me), and the entire organization team at the Captain's Cove competition (especially Peter). I had tons of fun.