When we arrived in Florida, I unloaded my 29er off the trailer and rigged it completely to ensure everything was rigged correctly. After that, I went to eat sushi with the team.
On the second day, we sailed about 30 minutes out to Biscayne Bay to practice. I was struck by how clear and shallow the water was in the bay. When we got out there, I could see hundreds of other boats sailing. We did a lot of up-downs and lineups, then a practice race with the other teams. It was hot and sunny. This was the last of the warm weather for the remainder of the trip.
The first day of racing was postponed until one in the afternoon, due to wind and rain and possible lightning. When the race committee finally gave the green light, we sailed to the race course. When we got out of the channel, we started to feel the gusts of wind which at one point was 35 knots. We flipped twice and everyone was sent in without even doing one race. We then de-rigged the boats and got ready for the next day of racing.
The second day of racing was light wind, cloudy, and very shifty. The race committee packed 5 races in to make up for not sailing on the first day. On the final day of racing the conditions were almost identical to the day before. The downwind was especially challenging for us. We sailed 4 races the last day and were off the water by 1:30 pm.
My biggest takeaway from sailing here was the wind in the San Diego Ocean is very consistent and it was a good lesson to learn how to sail in very different conditions than I am used to. Our finishes were mixed, as I was expecting being it was my partner Braden’s and my first time doing an event like this. We finished strong with a 3rd place in the final race, so that felt especially great.
It was also a great experience to spend a lot of time with my teammates. I think we did a great job of all supporting one another. The SDYC team all finished in the top ten. After a quick award ceremony, where Holland Vierling and Kevin Cason received their fourth-place trophy, many of us headed to the airport to come home.
It was my first opportunity to sail 29ers on the East Coast, and it was an incredible experience. I’m proud to sail with the San Diego Yacht Club, and I want to thank our coach Noah Nyenhuis, all of the parents who were there to support us, and of course the San Diego Yacht Club for their support.