Owner-reported racing lesson. Dates, classes and official event names are still being checked against records.
It is tempting to look for the single change that explains a season. Racing did not work that way for me. The propeller, the engine setup, the balance of the boat, the line through a turn and the timing with my co-pilot each moved the result a little.
Practising more was not the same as practising the right thing. Hours on the water helped only when I could say what I was testing. A change that could not be felt on the next run was not yet a change.
The same habit applies off the water. A career total is a pile of small corrections that were kept. Owner-reported highlights on this site — 64 podiums, three South African titles, three Trans Agulhas wins — are the visible end of that pile, still being checked against result sheets.