Lake Lansing

Lake Lansing Laser Regatta was held on saturday at the beautiful sailing club they have there. An amazing 37 boats showed which was more than we could have hoped for! There was some great competition and good company! After a nice day of sailing in 5-10 knots and a great battle with Tom Labelle I ended up coming in second to a worthy competitor. I highly suggest anyone in Michigan to come this event next year, same time, same place!

Also I will be hosting a speed clinic there sometime in spring of 2011!

CORK FINAL

VICTORY!!! Yesterday concluded CORK OCR, which ended with a forced race in around 2-3 knots of wind. I got off to a solid start but played the course pretty conservatively so I ended up in the high teens around the windward mark. On the first downwind however I pulled off a nice pass of about 15 boats by getting on the right jybe around the windward mark, and taking the pressure straight to the leeward mark! And from then on I had a nice beat to the next windward and was able to keep my position for the finish, increasing my lead to 15 points. Then after about an hour of waiting for more wind the RC called it and I went down in the books as the winner of CORK OCR 2010!

Thanks to all my supporters who helped me out this summer and thought of me as a worthy investment! And to Avon Sailboats for their continued support! I could not have done it without you!

CORK Day 4

Today started off with an exciting twist when after the third attempt to get a race off, the black flag went up. The fourth attempt ended on a general recall but I along with about ten other boats where over near the pin end. This meant I had to sit out the first race of the day. After a start in the second row a few well timed tacks on the first beat led me to take a second place finish in the second race! The wind had died down to about 4 knots by the beginning of the third race, and the black flag was still in effect. With the need to be cautious on the start line(due to my previous BFD(black flag)), I ended up with another poor start. After having a very slow upwind I rounded the windward mark in about 8th lo last, needless to say I had some sailing to do. After the fleet rounded the reach mark I took off at hot angle by the lee until I had gone far enough I could take that same angle towards the mark which worked out well. The next upwind was a much better than the first and I passed another chunk of boats. On the last downwind I managed to do the same thing and move up the ladder even farther rounding just in front of a large pack. I finished this race in 6th which I was very pleased with considering where I came from! One more day of racing to go, my black flag is my current throw out, and I am in the lead by ten points.

Cork Day 3

Windy is a little understatement for the conditions we saw for the three races that were run today. It was the most breeze I have sailed in all year! The first race got off to a good start with a New Zealander and I taking off at the start. We round right next to one another at the windward mark, reached off, and he said goodbye at the jybe mark as my lack off experience in this wind and awkward wave conditions became apparent. I hung on to second for that race. The next start gave me some work to do and after some trying downwinds I finished that race with a 7th, the New Zealander taking 2nd. After a solid 3rd start and a windward mark rounding with the lead group I hung on in the 20-23 knot breeze for a 4th to finish the day, which leaves me in first place by one point ahead of the guy from New Zealand. I have been working on recovering and getting my body ready for more breeze tomorrow!

CORK Day 2

Today started off slow with a two hour postponement while we waited for the wind to decide what it was going to do. The rain decided to come along for the ride as well, misting consistently all day. However, the first race got off around noon with an 8-10 knot breeze. After having a nice start I could not decide where on the race course I wanted to be which ended up costing me with all the tacks I threw in on the first upwind. I came out of that race with a 6th. The next two races went better, with an idea of what the wind was doing and a little more patience I finished the day off winning the next two races! This means I have qualified for Gold fleet and am feeling ready for next three days of racing to come!

CORK Kingston, ON

The first day of my last planned regatta in a Laser Radial is over! After this I make the push to gain as much weight as possible to sail a Laser Full. Today the wind was a steady 12 - 14 knots. The first race I thought that I could have been OCS(on course side) at the start so I went back and cleared myself. After this I had a lot of work to do so I got my head in the race and started going. I ended up getting a nice righty on the second upwind and managed to come back to 10th. The next race started a bit better coming to the windward mark in 4th. The three that were ahead of me tried the right on the downwind and I passed them on the left. Came to the windward in second and followed the leader until the very last moment where I shot the line and beat him out by a nose!

Goal Check: Earlier in the year my goal was to do well in the North American Grand Prix Points, I am currently sitting in 5th place overall. I am 29 points out of first place. This regatta is worth 30 points towards the grand prix so if I place third I will be tied for first and anything better than that I will be winning! Four more days of racing to come!

US Nationals Final

The last day of Nationals brought with it excellent breeze for a long awaited day of sailing! The breeze was already around 12 to 15 knots as we were making the 5 mile sail downwind to the course at 930 in the morning. I warmed up my downwind technique as I went and was feeling good because we were finally sailing in some breeze!

The first race was started under a black flag, so after my incident in Texas I decided to play it safe. Starting in a position were is was hard to be seen and yet had an exit route off the start. The first race I got to the top mark around 14th or so and I realized I had some work to do. The first big puff of the day hit us while we were on the reach and by taking it low and keeping it going fast I managed to slide by two or three boats. The downwind to follow proved to be a nice run, by taking the straightest path to the mark and surfing all the way I managed to pass another four or five boats. Then I picked the correct side on the next upwind and finished the race in second.

Race two started with a bad start and i was not able to save it after fouling a competitor at the top mark. The next race went well with a bullet in the rising wind, now around 18 to 22knots. The next one went much the same except a hit the leeward mark just before the finish and had to spin letting my competitor go by. But when it was all said and done I ended up 2nd overall which I was pleased with. CORK OCR this weekend! Lots to do and thanks to Avon Sailboats in Rochester, MI for their continued support!

Nationals Day Three

Yesterday races were cancelled due to a massive storm that was supposed to arrive. It ended up going north of us but it left no breeze behind to work with. Today we had an early start on the water which turned out to be about 5 hours of waiting till the first race, which happened to be very light. I had a decent start and was 6th to the top mark lost a little as the race went on. The light and very rough conditions were tough for me. I am sitting in 4th place, 8 points out of 1st. Hoping for more breeze tomorrow!

US Nationals

Today was the first day of racing in Milwaukee, WI. We are sailing on Lake Michigan which is a great place to sail, I love the great lakes! It is like sailing on the open seas except no salt in your eyes or sharks and jelly fish in the water! Nice!

I ended up getting very fortunate with a place to stay, a very nice lady at the Yacht club(Debra) offered me a place to stay when I was hopelessly searching for a spare room at 930 last night. So I have a wonderful house to stay on at the lake and great company.

The sailing today was better than expected with a three hour delay due to no wind. Once out on the race course the wind picked up to a steady 8-10knots from the east. I managed to get two solid races on the day in the lighter air and am looking forward to the rest of the week with an even stronger forecast!

Great Lake Champs/ No Coast Champs

Great Lake Champs in Sandusky, OH was a good time! It was fun to see my friends from Ohio and sail at a nice venue. On Saturday we postponed on shore until three in the afternoon when the race committee decided there was enough wind to go out. We sailed in the harbor right next to Cedar Point in around 3 to 5 knots of breeze with heavy wake from power boats. But it was steady enough to get a race off, after following the leader around three legs of the course I managed to get a pass on the downwind and hold off for the win in the light air! That was the only race for the day but the next one looked promising so RC decided to go for an early start at 9 the next morning. The breeze was around 12 when we got to the race course and it picked up through the day. As it built I got more confident and I managed to pull off four wins on the day! So when the regatta was finished I was throwing out a first place! It was a show of the skill I have developed over the summer, I believe I am becoming a smarter sailor which I am very pleased with.

I could not have done this without my work at No Coast Champs in Colorado where in sailing with the full rigs forced me to look at how I could be smart with my sailing because my boat speed was not equal to my competitors. I also got a better handle on my emotions during a race, learning how to stay calm and focused no matter what happens.

And THANK YOU TO AVON SAILBOATS FOR THEIR SUPPORT!! PICTURES OF NO COAST AND GREAT LAKE CHAMPS COMING SOON