Owner-reported racing lesson. Dates, classes and official event names are still being checked against records.
I do not regret the confidence of that first entry. Without it I might not have entered the Witbank race at all. I do regret how little I had learned before I asked the boat to race.
Confidence opens the door. It does not choose the propeller, learn the course or build a partnership with a co-pilot. Those are preparation, and they are visible to everyone else on the water even when you cannot see them yourself.
The second race is the chapter I point people to. Same driver, different preparation, a different result. That sequence is more useful than any claim that belief alone carries a boat.