Over this summer, I had the opportunity to participate in my first international event, the ILCA 4 Youth World Championship held in Volos, Greece.
We left on July 15 with practice starting the next day. My coaches Susannah and Rosie Chapman coached me as well as 15 other US competitors and in total there were 26 US competitors competing in the most well attended 4.7 worlds so far with 430 competitors total.
Before the racing started, we had a few practice days as well as a measurement day. The practice days were a great opportunity to understand the local conditions as well as get used to the venue. Extreme heat everyday ranging from 95 to 110 made heat management a priority. Each day the coaches and parents had to fill up multiple coolers with tons of water and ice so we wouldn’t get too dehydrated.
The next day measurements were held, which was a very different experience for me because it was a very fast paced and yet very official way of checking everyone’s gear and equipment. It was amazing to see all the different parts of the system from checking the blades and lines to the officials stamping every part of your gear.
The next day, the 24th, we had a practice race as well as the opening ceremony in the evening, which was unlike anything I had ever experienced. The practice race was completely chaotic because everyone did a different course and was over the line due to lack of enforcement. Later that evening, the entire USA team gathered in our team shirts to walk along a pathway carrying the US flag. It was an amazing experience to be a part of because every team there was in their own country gear carrying their flag and representing their country.
The first official day of racing started on the 25th. It started out with a long postponement due to the usual wind not kicking in until 3 or 4 in the afternoon. We finally completed a few races but the conditions were unstable and shifty. I went into that day of racing prioritizing clear lanes and clear starts, but unfortunately I started off the qualifying series with a BFD. Day 2 came along with crazy wind and extreme temperature predictions. It started off with a postponement again as we waited for the wind to fill in. Just as the wind died by us, we could see a line of white caps off in the distance. A front was rapidly coming towards us and within a few seconds we had 45 knot gusts and 110 degrees of heat. Due to dangerous conditions and a few people fainting, the day was canceled. Day 3 brought a new wind direction with a building sea breeze and once again, another postponement. We finally went out on the water for 2 races, but the conditions were very unstable. The wind would go from about 2 knots to 15 in a split second and large wind shifts every few minutes. I was given a UFD later that day for pushing the line a little too much.
Part of the uncertainty in the conditions was due to the smoke impact from the local wildfires, and later in the afternoon the coaches were called into an emergency meeting. They were asked to help evacuate a local town with their coach boats. Although it was a very unexpected turn of events, I am very grateful that the coaches were willing to help with no advanced notice. Day 4 brought windy conditions around 15+ knots along with a big swell. We completed three races due to the lack of races earlier and the racing went better for me that day because I love the windier conditions. Day 5 brought yet again another postponement. It began with a light to medium sea breeze that never really built. The current was pushing everyone over the start line so we had many general recalls, as well as Black flag starts. One start in the Silver fleet had around 30+ people black flagged and unfortunately I was one of them. I went into the last two races focusing mainly on my speed and lanes since those were the main priorities and tried to push the many BFD’s out of my mind. Day 6 was the last day of the event which again started out with a postponement. Since everyone knew it was the last day, there was a big trading circle over by the main rigging area where everyone was trading gear and shirts and signing sail bags. Soon after, the Race committee canceled the silver fleet which meant I was done for the regatta. The gold fleet was sent out, but they only completed one race in the boys gold fleet.
Overall the regatta was a great learning experience for me. It was my first international regatta and I learned more about sailing in big fleets, as well as sailing against people from all over the world.
Although it turned out to be far from what I imagined, I am very lucky that I had the opportunity to go with such an amazing group of teammates and coaches and train alongside accomplished sailors for the United States like James and Nathan Pine as well as Anna Vasilieva, as well as people from all over the world. James ended up finishing second overall in the boys category and Anna was the top US girl. I would like to thank the SDYC comp fund for making this opportunity possible for me. It was a great experience and I look forward to competitions like this in the future.