Recently, I was lucky enough to compete in the Clearwater Olympic Classes Regatta (OCR) from February 4 - 7, 2021. I have been in Florida since mid-December, first training with Key Biscayne Yacht Club (KBYC), and now with Lauderdale Yacht Club (LYC) team, beginning in early January. Clearwater OCR was the third of four regattas I am competing in, after Orange Bowl and Lauderdale OCR, with Mid-Winters East coming up soon in late February.
Clearwater Beach has been voted the best beach in the United States, so it was a beautiful place to sail. There were three classes, including Full Rig/Standard, Radials, and 4.7s. I sailed with the 4.7s. I was the youngest sailor in the regatta and the only sailor from SDYC. I sailed with the LYC team, which was great. They have great, experienced Laser sailors and awesome coaches. One of the coaches is Erika Reineke, a World Champion and Olympic Coach in Radials.
The conditions in Clearwater were all over the place during the four days. From very little wind to 17 knots and no chop to lots of chop, it also was very shifty at times. Paige Railey, a two-time U.S. Olympian, sailed in the Radial class and got second place. Connor Nelson, another top sailor who gave a talk after one day of sailing, got third in the Full Rig/Standard class. In the 4.7 class, I got third behind Evan Wern from Davis Island Yacht Club, and Anna Vailieva from KBYC, who won. I sailed against Anna at the Orange Bowl and LOCR, too. She got 10 bullets out of 11 races at Clearwater.
Everyone showed a lot of mental toughness under challenging conditions during the regatta. Overall, I think we all had a great time and learned a lot. I'm excited to sail in the next upcoming event, Mid-Winters East, and then come home to San Diego to sail with all my friends at SDYC again.