Tuesday, December 8, 2009

2010 Racing Schedule

My Laser Racing Schedule for 2010:

GP= West Coast Laser Grand Prix Series
# = U.S. Sailing Team Ranked Event

Location: Event: Date:
RYC Richmond Midwinters Dec 6
RYC Richmond Midwinters Jan 3
RYC Richmond Midwinters Feb 7
HMBYC GP Londerville Cup Feb 13-14
RYC Richmond Midwinters March 6
STFYC GP Spring Dinghy March 13-14
ABYC # Long Beach OCR March 20-21
RYC # Midwinters West March 26-28
SCYC GP Nor-Cals April 10-11
RYC GP Big Dinghy April 17-18
HMBYC GPCommodores Cup April 24-25
STFYC GP Elvstrom Zellerbach May 1-2
RYC GP Dinghy Invite May 15th
SCYC # Laser PCC's June 4-6
TISC GP Summer Salstice June 19-20?
STFYC # SF NOOD Regatta June 26-27
FYC GP High Sierra Regatta July 10-11?
LWSC GP Dinghy Delta Ditch July 24th?
TYC GP Kip Lar Rieu Sept ???
RYC GP Totally Dinghy Sept 25-26
STFYC GP Fall Dinghy Oct 23-24

Monday, December 7, 2009

A Good Start!

The results are in! I finished 6th out of 24 boats! I could have done a lot better but for my first official regatta with the new boat I can't complain! Here goes the re-cap:
First Race: 5-10 knots of breeze, 40 something degrees, and a lot of chop! I had a bad start but was able to make up the distance by the first mark in 7th place. On my second lap around the course I was sitting in 4th and managed to foul another boat so I had to do my penalty turns. In the end I finished 7th and with in a few boat lengths of the leaders.

Second Race: 10-20 knots of breeze, 40 something degrees, pouring rain, and a lot of chop. Had yet another bad start ("Third Tier"), managed to get fired up and sailed my way into 8th place at the top mark. On the downwind I found another gear in the boat and ended passing 4 boats! On the upwind to the finish I was caught up in a four boat drag race. Some how I managed to pull off a 3rd place and missed second by an inch!

Third Race: 15-25 knots of breeze, 40 something degrees, sprinkles of rain, and a ton of chop and swell. I finally managed to get a good start and had clear air to the first mark and found my self in 4th place. On the downwind I fought off some attacks from my fellow competitors and climbed into a second! All of a sudden I caught a funky wave and a bad wind shift and I flipped the boat! I managed to stay dry and got the boat upright again only to find myself in 12th place! The adrenalin got pumping and I sailed my ass off in the final leg of the course and managed to finish the race in 7th place.

Overall the weekend was a great success! I got the boat dialed in, had some solid results. All that's left is me getting more time in the boat this winter! The next Richmond Midwinters is not until the 3rd of January so I have some time.


Special thanks to my sponsor GU Energy for giving me that extra fuel to make it through the day.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Richmond Yacht Club Mid-Winters

This Sunday is the first of four Sundays of racing at the Richmond Yacht Club Midwinter's Regatta. It is always a fun event! Last year I finished 3rd overall! The race course is located on the San Francisco Bay between Berkeley and Richmond. So far there are 15 Lasers signed up for the event, so it should be a good one!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Thanks For your Support!




Just wanted to say thanks to my Friends Family and Sponsors for supporting Jesse and I during our 2009 505 Worlds Campaign! "We survived!" It was one of the most intense and demanding two weeks of sailing. All though we didn't do as well as planned we gained a ton of experience and fueled our fire to keep trying to win the 505 World Championships. Currently my 505 is in the shop being repaired and undergoing new modifications that will be tested this spring.

Special Thanks to West Marine Rigging, GU, and New England Ropes and of course my wife Keely for letting me spend so much time on the water!