Miami!!!!

January is a very important part of my training each year. I peak every year for the last week of January, for the World Cup Miami. The World Cup Miami is used by the US Sailing Federation as the qualification for many things. This year it was not only the way to qualify for the national teams, but also for the Pan American Games.

The weekend before is generally a MLK weekend regatta that serves as a warm up event for the World Cup event. This year I really showed how much I have improved in the past 5 months. I was able to post some great scores, including a 3rd! I really felt like I was racing at my full capabilities the first 2 days. The final day I had some problems, but it is clear what I have to work on now. I finished 4th and was ahead of some talented sailors that I have previously struggled to be ahead of.

At the World Cup Miami I also raced well. We had 5 days of racing with a day of very strong winds and days with moderate wind and a day of almost no wind. I was able to be rounding the top mark in the top ten often. In the gusty conditions it was very difficult to maintain that position and I would lose, but I know what I have to work on and I am learning a new mindset to have when going down wind when the wind is so shifty and gusty. Unfortunately I was mentally exhausted the final day and dropped in the rankings. I tried to come back in those races and pumped the entire race without rest, but sometimes that is not enough.

I was not able to place as well as I had hoped amongst the Americans, but I have shown how much I have improved. This was not the true goal. The true goal is to qualify for the 2016 Olympics and that is where I must focus. I have made huge improvements in the past 5 months and have 12 more months to improve. I sailed very well and have recommitted myself to training full time for one more year; to qualify myself to represent the US as the sole female windsurfer at the 2016 Olympic games. The next 12 months will be focused on fighting my way up the ranks to the top. I am very excited! I came out of this regatta disappointed in my results, but energized by the major improvements I have made!

Thanks for 2014 and Here's to 2015!

Some highlights of 2014!

• Joined the Quebec International Windsurfing Team as a full-time member and have made huge improvements!
• 3rd Woman and 11th overall Kona World Championships
• 4th at RS:X North Americans and the Pan-American Games country qualifier, Cancún, Mexico
• Graduated from Eckerd College Phi Beta Kappa with Honors.
• 1 of 10 named to the 2014 Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association Second All-Academic Sailing Team. 
• The ICSA All-Academic Sailing Team recognizes those scholar athletes who have proven themselves to be highly competitive academically and in national competition.
• A wider expansion of my Olympic Family, thanks to the Styron family, Morretti-Lee family, and Herring Run Kitchens and Provisions.
• 5th Woman at RS:X Nationals, Miami
• 14th at the World Cup Miami
• Made the US Sailing Development Team Sperry Top-Sider, I lost the 2nd spot on the US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider by 2 points.
• Had a very successful fundraising campaign to compete in the World Championships.
• Competed in the International Sailing Federation World Championships and Olympic Games country qualifier, Santander, Spain
• 11th at Women's Inter-Collegiate Sailing Nationals.
• A new sail numer; I am now USA39!!!!!

Looking forward to 2015 for the:

• Pan-American Games
• Banana River New Years Regatta
• RS:X Midwinters, Miami
• World Cup Miami and Pan-American Games Qualifier
• The Princess Sofia Trophy, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
• Delta Lloyd Regatta, Medemblik, Holland
• RS:X Class European Championships, Siciliy.
• RS:X Class World Championships and Olympic Games country qualifier, Oman.
• And lots more!
  
  
  

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season! I am so thankful for my windsurfing family and to all of you for making it all possible!

300 Surfing Santas!

Lots of Miles

After Spain I went home to recuperate and recover from a cold. After the week, I returned to Quebec. It was cool and got colder. The first weekend was spent just outside of Montreal at a Quebec Sailing Team training camp. Here are some pictures from the off the water component.

Running with the baby

After 10 days of cold weather and finding ice near my board I was happy to make my way down to Florida. 

We trained in Clearwater for a week, supporting the youth contingency of the team at the RS:X Youth Worlds. The current is really strong upwind so we did a lot of sailing down wind, an unusual opportunity. 

Blindfolded Sailing!

Then we were back to the 'home base' in Cocoa Beach to prepare to the Kona World Championships, but there wasn't any wind so I learned to surf! Surfing is awesome cross training; learning about waves and a great back workout.

Then we were in Islamorada in the Keys at the Kona World Championships.

Kona is a one design long board where no pumping is allowed and sail sizes are determined by weight. Everyone is on the same starting line, providing a unique opportunity to work on tactics. The boards are slower and maneuver like a dinghy, making the class highly tactical. My starts improved dramatically and I learned a lot. I did really well! 3rd amongst women and 11th overall! 

My coach in 2nd amongst women, myself, and team mate 5th overall
A great showing from the Quebec International Team!

The regatta became a family battle between a Swedish family and mine. Unfortunately, my mom was injured and couldn't compete, but my dad was 3rd overall and my brother won the World Championships!

Pumped after we got 1st and 2nd!
Andrea Holm is super fast and was one of my training partners last winter!

Then a crazy thing happened! My training plans suddenly lead me to Maui. My coach was going on vacation to Maui and found an inexpensive set up. I have barely done any wave sailing and have been long intimidated by the idea of waves. I was getting better the previous week in the waves, so Maui waves didn't feel completely out of the realm for me. I felt it was a rare opportunity to go and face the waves with my coach and having no pressure. It was an opportunity to learn from her and be surrounded by people who were at my level or slightly above to give me support in navigating the waves. I went quickly on an 'off-the-books' training trip to Maui. In the end it wasn't such a crazy idea; I learned tons and there were several other top RS:X sailors on the island!

The first week we had no wind so we surfed a bunch, giving me knowledge and confidence in the waves. It translated very well when sailing the following the week. 

The first week we surfed for hours daily and did some tourist activities when our noses were full of salt water.

always having fun and training!

Sunrise hike on the crater!

tourist trip to see the unusual sighting of Jaws 

Lots of gear, great rental package from Kanaha Kai Surf rentals

An amazing day of wave sailing!

I am so grateful for the trip! I have learned so much about the ocean and have gained so much confidence. It was an invaluable experience. I am so proud of my first day in the waves. Everyone was shocked I was out there because it was considered a big day at Kanaha!

I am back at the 'home base' and will be here for most of the next two months, training for the World Cup Miami, a critical event for all of us. It is looking like great wave sailing conditions tomorrow, can't wait!

Wind and waves in Cocoa Beach!

THE World Championships

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 56^th 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.

The Big Update!

The first weekend was the Olympic Classes Regatta at CORK in Kingston, Ontario. Unfortunately I sprained my wrist at some point on the first day. The second day I did the first race, which was in light wind and involved a lot of pumping! My forearm became very inflamed so I finished the regatta from the coach boat with an icepack. I was able to see the race from my coach's perspective and learn how to avoid the mistakes that drive her crazy!

The International RS:X fleet; from Egypt to Canada!

We had a few days of training back in Troi Rivieres, Quebec. Which I had recovered enough for. Saturday we had a long distance race from the club to the city center, 20 km! It took me 3 hrs and 20 minutes. I was happy with my endurance and ability to remain focused.

We sailed from West of Point-du-Lac near the "40" to the island NorthEast of the main city of Troi Tivieres

pumping into the finnish

A week later we flew to Madrid and buzzed through the desert to Santander.

This place is one of the most beautiful spots I've ever been to! We arrived to tons of wind and huge swell, sometimes you could only see the tops of the sails behind the waves! It was a short boarder's dream! I was really wishing I was at a slalom race, carving down the waves instead of getting blown off the wave crests. It was gorgeous!

The Harbor in Santander, Spain

The light house next to our bungalow, with a fantastic view!

The Most Incredible View

Where I do my warm up swim! 

The View From the tent with 170 windsurfers

Our Castle in the Sand

The City is so Excited for the Combined World Championships

staging area for the opening ceremonies
Each country had a 10 yr old local carry the sign and lead the country in

Marching In!

It was a big show, complete with planes drawing the Spanish flag across the sky!

It was incredible walking into the center of the Opening Ceremonies. The President of ISAF (the International Sailing Federation) speculated it was the biggest turnout of speculators for a sailing event ever! On stage he estimated 20,000 people, but estimates were published as high as 40,000. To put this into perspective I looked up how many people live on the Vineyard year round and it is 15,000 people; crazy! The speeches were translated on the screens and wove in and out of Spanish and English so that they could be enjoyed by everyone!

A beautiful place to sail!

Light wind racing!

I had fish and my coach had churros!

We didn't race yesterday do to no wind and we have a rest day today, so my coach and I went out to celebrate her birthday with a Spanish style dinner! This was the midnight snack! Happy Birthday to my wonderful coach!

I will do a regatta recap when I return home in a week!