It was a long distance to travel to get my butt kicked, in the end it was well worth it! I figure the only way I am going to get better in this sport is by racing against the best in the world. Although my results did not show it, I was hanging with the big guys! This event is the biggest Olympic Classes regatta in the country, and the organizers did a great job of running a high end regatta for over 700 athletes.
The laser fleet was so big that they separated us into two fleets of 52 boats. Throughout the week the wind ranged from 0-25+ knots and out of a different direction everyday. I think the wind actually averaged around 15 knots for the week. The weather was a warm 70+ with the water temperature around 75. Most guys looked cold and were geared up with jackets and and other warm apparel, me I was toasty sporting my Zhik hiking pants and a rashgaurd. Good Times!
Eating and sleeping Lasers!A quick rundown my typical day at the Miami OCR:
-Wake up 7:00am shower eat some breakfast and a glass of GU recovery.
-Drive to the US Sailing Center to check the notice board to see what fleet I was in for the day.
-Stop off at the market and grab a sandwich and snacks for lunch.
-8:00am start rigging the boat and snacking.
-8:45am begin stretching/yoga exercises.
-9:00 Throw on sailing gear and get in line to launch boat (165 boats, one ramp!)
-9:30 get in the water and start sailing to race course, while eating a sandwich and hydrating with GU Brew.
-11:00 Hopefully make it to course by now! Usually takes an hour and a half to sail to the course depending the wind. Start tuning and figuring out the course and eat at least one packet of GU gel.
-11:15 Race start time! During/between races I drink two bottles of GU Brew, 3-5 packets of GU gel and 2-3 Snickers Bars.
-3:30 Finish racing and start sailing in...
-5:00 Arrive back at sailing center, wash and de-rig boat and pound a bottle of GU Recovery Brew.
-6:30 Find something healthy to eat for dinner... Everything is fried or covered in cheese here!
-8:00 Call friends and family for a debrief.
-9:00 Pass out!
*A few guys in the boat yard did the math and figured that we sailed 22 miles a day!
The week in review!The first day I was plagued with bad starts. A little bit "Star Struck" and intimidated by the competition, i.e. Paul Goodison defending Gold medalist, current World Champion, and Clay Johnson top dog on the US Sailing Team just to name a few. Unfortunately in this big of a fleet it is all about the start, and it was hard to make up any distance with elite of a group. I finished 46th and 42nd out of 52 for the day.
By the second day I got my first day jitters out of the way. I had great starts and was able to hang in the middle of the pack. This fleet was so competitive that if you made one wrong move, shifted your body in the wrong position while going off a wave you would looses speed and get sucked up by the fleet and end up in the back of the pack. I finished out the day with a 45th and 43rd.
As the week progressed I found my groove, amazing starts and even better boat handling/speed. I kept finding myself up in the top half of the fleet and would be there throughout two thirds to three quarters of the race and somehow I would manage to make one little mistake and find my self getting sucked up by the fleet. Arrrrrrg!
I had two areas that I really struggled with through out the week that kept coming back to bite me. The first being the reaching leg, I kept loosing boats on this leg almost every time. This is do to the fact that most of the regattas that I compete in on the west coast don't use the Olympic trapezoid course that involves long reaches, so I lack that experience. The second area of improvement is sailing in 15+knots with close steep chop. I do have a lot of experience with this situation while sailing in the Berkeley circle, though I still have not perfected the technique to the degree that this fleet has. Nothing more time on the water and hopefully a coach can't help!
In the end this was a great regatta for me! My results were not the best, by the last days I was rounding the marks in top 20 and even the top ten. My best result for the week was 33rd. I have a lot to work on before my next major regatta, this event fueled my fire/passion for competitive laser sailing even more. I finished out the regatta in 95th place with plenty of room to improve on for next year. After completing the regatta I was ranked 22nd in the US and 95th in world rankings.
I appreciate this great opportunity to travel across the country to race Lasers and compete against the best of the best! I could not have done it with out the support from my sponsors and especially my wife for flying all the way across the country to support me!
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