Last month we traveled to El Balis, outside of Barcelona, Spain, for the 29er Open Worlds. Two hundred forty-two teams from 26 countries came for the racing held August 1-6. There were three days of qualifying and 3 days of final racing.
It was very difficult sailing conditions for us with super light winds and massive chop. Many days the wind came out of the opposite directions from the day before.
Unfortunately, none of the San Diego Yacht Club teams made it into Gold Fleet this year. In the finals Anton and Peter Joslin top finishes included a bullet and a fourth, but also a UFD (42), to finish 49th overall and 9th in Silver out of 40 boats. Alice and Sammie Gardner top finishes included a 4th and a 9th, for an overall finish of 56 and a 16th out of 40 in Silver.
This year our results were disappointing, but nonetheless we learned so much through the racing and from the amazing coaches. I want to thank comp fund for allowing us to have this opportunity.
On August 9th I took a flight from San Diego, CA to Faro, Portugal for the 2022 ILCA 4 (Laser 4.7) World Championships which were to take place a short distance away in Vilamoura, Portugal. I arrived a few days early in order to get acclimated to the time difference as well as get a couple of practice sailing sessions in with the USA Team and Coaches (Steve Mitchell, Pedro Mascarenhas, & Marie Barrue) prior to the beginning of the regatta.
The Govenor’s Cup is one of the showcase events for youth match racing. Due to its ability to accept more than one team per nation, many regard it as more prestigious than Youth Match Racing Worlds. Hosted by Balboa Yacht Club each year in custom made “Gov Cup 22s,” acceptance is by application only and entries are capped at 12. This past July, I was fortunate enough to participate in this event for the second time.
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.
In late July, I took part in my first international sailing event. Taking part in the Laser Men’s Youth Worlds out of the Houston Yacht Club. Hearing from my friends and coaches how light and lumpy the venue was, I came with the anticipation of drifter conditions. Instead, each day of the regatta presented itself with a 2 to 4-foot chop and 15-20 knots. With mucky brown water and an eight-foot-deep bay. The courses were relatively short because the nearby shipping channel and edges were critical to starting at. As well as the sideways chop presents a more technical form of steering through waves.
It was great to get back out east for the 2022 Morgan Cup Hosted by New York Yacht Club. Newport Rhode Island in mid-August is second to none for great sailing, weather, and hospitality. This years Morgan Cup Team was the youngest team SDYC has assembled in recent memory. As a 6-year Morgan Cup Veteran, a large focus of mine was getting the new team up to speed and comfortable with keel boat team racing ahead of the event.