The Next Chapter

I just graduated with Phi Beta Kappa and honors from Eckerd College and sent in the first installment of my team membership to Quebeq Voile! I am so excited to be joining their team as a full time international training partner. I will be training with them full time this year and continue my studies independently in Arabic. I am also going to be taking advantage of the French immersion the team has to offer and begin studying French.

This week I am on campus training and practicing for the Intercollegiate Sailing Association Women's National Championships. Semi finals start the following Tuesday at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. I will drive home for a few days before driving up to Canada for a training camp. This summer I will be working at the Vineyard Haven Yacht Club, working on the windsurfing program and training. Cross Training will be the name of the game, so come short boarding with me and teach me your moves!

RS:X North Americans

Last week I left school to go race in Cancún at the RS:X North American Championships.

I was there as a member of the Quebec Voile International team.

Quebec Voile International at the Opening ceremonies.

We had two training days, a rest day, a practice race day, and 4 days of racing (song to the tune of a "Twelve Days of Christmas").

On our second day of training we had a little adventure. We sailed to Isla Mujeres for lunch.

It was not quite as windy as we had hoped for, but windy enough to be railing. Railing is when you are sailing upwind with the centerboard down and have your feet in the beating straps. You are lifting up the windward rail of the board and pushing against the leeward rail and the centerboard. This can be almost as fast as planning upwind, but with a more reliable angle.

We did different speed drills on the way. We worked on body and sail positioning and pumping. I enjoy long distance sails with speed testing partners because it allows you to get into the groove and test new things, but also requires enormous amounts of concentration. I was working on keeping my head out and using the uphaul line to get farther out and in greater suspension. This upwind sail was great for me to get by confidence up. It showed me that my technique was good, even in the chop. It is important for me to have confidence in my technique, especially at a mid-grade event like this, so that I follow my skill set and do not get sucked into making mistakes of those around me.

It took 2.5 hrs to get there and needless to say I was starving and exhausted. Our coach boat ran out of gas before reaching shore and a teammate slowly pulled her to shore! At lunch I fell asleep and kept taking catnaps until my team tracked down a way to fill the boat with gas. My coach had considered having us camp out on the island for night as an adventure, but I had homework to turn in early the next morning, so we sailed downwind to Cancún in a little over an hour. It took a lot of work because the wind had lightened to the point where you had to pump the whole way back.

Quebec Voile at the Event site. There was nothing there besides this sign protecting the alligators.
(They eventually did put up tents for sun protection)

My results were not nearly as good as I had expected, but 

I earned the US a spot at the Pan American Games!

World Cup Miami

Three regattas down and two more to go, all worked around my final semester at Eckerd College, has been a busy month. Orange Bowl showed my natural strengths with tactics and early plaining downwind. Nationals showed me how strong I have gotten, but that I need to work on keeping my head in the game.

And then there was the Sailing World Cup Miami. The first day I felt fantastic. It was light wind and I was at the top half of the second pack, almost breaking into the top pack. I was strong and tactically consistent. I ended the day hungry to pump myself into the top pack. The next day it was light wind again and we were sent out late in the day. My energy was low, but I still sailed well. 

Wednesday and Friday we did not have wind, so there were no races. For the whole event we had 7 races out of the 15 scheduled, this meant that there was a lot of weight on my mistakes. I went into Thursday with a good point gap that put me confidently on the US National Team. The wind was up and down and shifty between the rain clouds. I sailed very well and had some great starts. One start I port tacked the fleet. I was right behind the girls who were hunting for the podium positions. I slipped and fell and lost the whole fleet and my position as a US team member. Friday's lack of racing was a big disappointment for myself and many others since the scores were so close. I was three points away from making the team, something I knew I could do in one race, but this is sailing and crazy things happen.

All in all I am very happy with my regatta. I sailed very well, even port-tacking the fleet! I am just very disappointed that the results do not reflect this. I am also bumming that I did not make the team; especially because it was the result of a silly fall and lack of race-able conditions, not poor sailing. It is a strange feeling to complete a regatta proud of your sailing, but not having achieved your goals or have the results to show it. I am confident in the sailing I did. It shows me that I have a great future and that with full time training, I will be in the hunt for medals.

Thank you for all the strength and support you have given me, I leave for Cancún on Saturday!

Québec Voile International Windsurfing Team!

Happy New Year!

We just started the next training block, and my final one before going back to school :(
2013 was a good year and a year for refocusing. Here are some highlights!

12th at Women's Nationals, sailed A division for Eckerd College.
Named to the 2013 Inter-Collegiat Sailing Association All-Conference All-Academic Sailing Team.
Launching this blog!
A wonderful expansion of my Olympic Family, thanks to the Styron family and Herring Run Kitchens and Provisions.
Winning district championships in the tough Charleston current and finishing 9th in B division at the Women's Atlantic Coastal Championships.
Joined the Quebec windsurfing team as a part-time training partner.
3rd women at Orange Bowl Regatta.

Looking forward to 2014 for the:
RS:X Nationals, Miami
World Cup Miami
RS:X North Americans and the Pan-American Games country qualifier, Cancún, Mexico
Graduating from Eckerd College
Training full time for the Olympics.
International Sailing Federation World Championships and Olympic Games country qualifier, Santander, Spain.
And lots more!

Merry Christmas!!!

A little Santa Surfing with hundreds of people on the water with santa costumes. It is a really fun event here, in Cocoa Beach to support a group helping people get to the cancer treatment they need.

Christmas Training with the Canadians

I arrived a week ago to Cocoa Beach to train with the Canadian team. Because some of the Canadian windsurfers made the Quebec sailing team, Dominique is now a full time coach. This has meant that the team has opened up to other windsurfers for high-level, structured training, giving me an excellent opportunity to receive coaching.

I had four intensive training days with three other girls. We work on technique in the morning and then race in the afternoon. There is another Swedish girl here, so we did some team racing; Sweden vs. Canada. We totaled the scores after 4 races; we were ahead by 2 and then in the third race it went to a tie, unfortunately team Sweden was so tired that we collapsed and lost the series. I fell confident in my progress here and in my results from the practice races.

Over the rest days the boys started to join us, adding a new dynamic of different equipment on the course. We have three more days of training and then it will be Christmas. I am looking forward to the Christmas potluck with a mixture of cultures coming together. On the 26th we will go down to Miami to race for four days at the Orange Bowl Regatta. The plan is for me to return afterwards for another 4-day training bloc before having to return to school for my comprehensive exams.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

Thank you!!!!!

I am so thankful to all of you, my Olympic Windsurfing Family, for helping me reach my goals.

I am thankful for my Clearwater windsurfing family and the wind that has made this Thanksgiving week spectacular. We had lots of sailing, turkey, pies, and laughs.