I was just in Santander, Spain for three weeks training and competing in the 2014 ISAF Combined World Championships. This event happens every 4 years, bringing together all of the world’s best sailors in each or the 10 Olympic sailing classes. It was a great experience; I learned a ton about starts, sailing stances, and about myself as an athlete. The racing was incredible and will inspire my upcoming year of training. I am pleased with my results, as they are the starting point for my first year of full-time training.
When we first arrived the wind was strong out of the Atlantic creating some fantastic swell. It was so much fun to be flying down wind in the waves. I had a tough time keeping the giant board in the water upwind over the swell, but all of my hard work this summer working on my jibes gave me confidence going down wind and I had so much fun!
The World Championships started in very light wind. We were lucky; the women’s course area for the beginning of the event had a thermal wind, so we stayed mostly on schedule. My coach and I concentrated on the process of a good start. It has been really hard to improve starts because there is only one event a year in North America where there are more than 15 boards on the line and here there were 31!
My best race was when it was planing conditions and this has not been my strong suit, so that was exciting. I was able to beat Farrah Hall, US representative to the 2012 Olympics! It was windy and the race committee put a slalom section at the end of the course. She was right behind me going into the slalom and I was able to keep my cool and make all of my jibes, keeping her behind me! I am so thankful to Alejandro Monllor, who also teaches windsurfing at the VH Yacht Club, for helping me with my jibes. These past weeks are proof that my training has paid off. My focus for the summer was board control and jibes and I was able to pull them off in high stress situations!
I learned a ton and now my coach knows where the focus of our training will be the next few months. I learned a lot about her coaching style at a competition and I have learned to trust in her style. It is the first time I have had a full time coach, so I am not used to having someone thinking on my behalf in a long-term plan. It is wonderful to have a friend and coach to rely on.
For more information on the event check out www.santander2014.com. The latest International Sailing Federation rankings were recently posted, putting me at 56th out of 146! Thank you so much for your support! There is a long road ahead and I am so thankful you are on my team. Progress is being made and I am confident in the plan. I am in Canada for training right now and we go to Florida for the winter training bloc soon. My next event will be the Kona World Championships, starting on Halloween.
