This summer, Peter Busch and I traveled to Canada to compete in the C420 North Americans. I was excited to compete in this event because it was my first time traveling to Canada. We arrived at the Buffalo Canoe Club on July 25th to warm up and learn more about the venue. After sailing in the C420 nationals earlier in the summer, we knew that we struggled in the waves due to our minimal time sailing in those conditions, so practice time on Lake Erie was crucial. After our practice session, we heard roomers that storm systems might be rolling through during our race days, so we started preparing for a regatta filled with chop and heavy breeze.
The first day of the regatta was surprisingly cloudy, width only a light breeze. Once we got out on the water, we noticed that the breeze seemed to be fighting, with pressure filling from the South and the West. This kept the velocity down throughout the first day of racing which helped us secure two 1st place finishes. Unfortunately, the light wind also meant postponements which only allowed us to get two races off. The next day of racing had similar cloud cover, but it burnt off quickly, with the west direction winning out. We had a tough day with some big comebacks to stay inside the top ten. The pressure increased, which allowed us to improve our technique, but we still struggled to compete with teams with more experience in those conditions. There were even more waves and breeze with gusts up to 25 knots on the last two championship days. The locals call the waves refrigerator chop because they are as tall and steep as one. These were not our ideal conditions. We worked hard and tried to stay focused, knowing that anything could happen on the last day. By now, we had learned how important it was to get physical, and our technique was much better. We had a great comeback and finished the regatta in 6th out of 97 boats. Given the conditions, we were happy with our result and learned a lot.
After the North Americans went on and raced in two more regattas, the CJ Buckley Team Race Championship in Rhode Island and the South Shore Championship in Long Island, NY. Last year we did well at both regattas, and this year we did great again, winning the CJ Buckley and finishing 3rd in the South Shore. These results helped us finish 2nd place in the year-long C420 Triple Crown Championship series. We wouldn't have been able to accomplish this without the help from the San Diego Competition Fund. Thank you to all the members who contribute to San Diego Yacht Club's junior sailing. Thank you all for your support!