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.
In late July I competed in the 2022 USODA Opti National Championships at The Gorge. We flew into Portland, OR, and after a long wait for a rental car, drove to Cascade Locks on the Columbia River to prepare for a week of windy practice and racing. The next day I got my charter boat, rigged, and launched for practice from a rocky beach, which was different than what I was used to. I thought it was going to be very windy and choppy, but it was only very choppy and puffy. But then throughout the day the wind would turn on and be around 15 knots then die to 10 knots. But then on the long sail up the river the wind picked up to 20+ knots. What I learned today was that the up winds are very fast, and the down winds are very slow but feel fast because of the current. Also, I learned that the gorge would funnel the breeze by the wind going in the valleys and picking up speed.
This past July, 97 (ninety seven) C420 teams gathered at the Buffalo Canoe Club for the 2022 C420 North Americans. The trip was a long one, but it was well worth it for the incredible conditions we got on Lake Erie. We had great wind all but one day, where it took a long time to build to a raceable condition. Peter and Cam were impossible to beat in the light wind, they were just so much faster than the whole fleet. Dylan and Nathan Sih also had a great first two days in the other fleet, finishing with huge gaps behind them. The light wind was slightly frustrating, more from the crazy amount of bugs than anything else, but we kept going no matter what.
The Youth World Championship is an incredible and unique event that only 4 US 29er sailors get to participate in each year. Through a series of qualifier events, the top mens and womens sailors in different classes age 18 or younger get to travel to represent their country. After years of training together, Sammie Gardner and I qualified with fellow SDYC sailors Ian and Noah Nyenhuis to attend the 2022 Youth World Championship in The Hague, the Netherlands. Here, all sailors stayed together in small 2 bedroom houses spread out across a large campground where each sailor was given a bicycle. From there we would make the daily 4+ mile commute to the venue. Although the sand dunes made the ride anything but flat, the beautiful view of the ocean surrounded by wildflowers made it more enjoyable. During the opening ceremony, 250 sailors from 50 countries took to their bikes for a 15 minute long “parade” of the city.
Recently, Noah and I competed in the 29er Open World Championships in El Balis, Spain. It was the biggest World Championships that the class had ever had with almost 250 teams competing from 26 countries. The racing was held on three different course areas about 30 minutes up the coast from Barcelona.
In July, we got the chance to travel to The Hague in the Netherlands to represent the US for a second time at the Youth World Sailing Champoionships. We had hoped that this event would have a predominantly strong breeze that is typical in the area but, in typical regatta fashion, once we arrived on site, the conditions changed to something out of the norm. Throughout the regatta, only one day was raced in wind in the teens. This was also our first time racing in strong current, up to 2 knots at some points. This added a lot of new elements to the racing that we have never had to deal with to such a large extent.
On June 29-30, seventy C420s gathered at Wianno Yacht Club, Osterville MA, to compete in the annual New England’s Championship. The venue was very unsuspecting at first, with the club being very small and launching a bit chaotic, but it was soon evident that it was shaping up to be a great event.
I recently returned from sailing in three SDYC Comp Fund supported regattas over a three-week period. The regattas were North Americans (Cork/Kingston, Canada), Atlantic Coast Championships (Larchmont Yacht Club, New York), and Nationals (Brant Beach Yacht Club/Long Beach Island, New Jersey). I originally signed up to sail in the ILCA 4 fleet, but due to the pretty light conditions at each venue, I decided to make the switch to the ILCA 6 fleet for all three regattas. I learned a lot at each event and it showed in my results.
The Dutch Shoe Marathon (DSM) marks a special moment in a junior sailor's life. A right of passage, it's known for. The day where you sail for hours, the longest distance yet, against friends and peers, with family or for most - totally solo. Winning the Dutch Shoe Marathon gives the champion more than just bragging rights. It gives them the practice, experience, and confidence that they will carry with them on the water for years to come. This year, the 49th DSM Champion title goes to C Fleet's Ronan Servais!
Ernesto Rodriguez and Kathleen Tocke are officially the winners of the 2022 Snipe US National Championship! Over the past four days, this duo has proved themselves worthy of the champion title. Rodriguez and Tocke placed in the top three in six out of the eight races of the regatta. They're not deemed the SSL Snipe World Ranked no. 1 team for nothing.
50 skippers and their crews have made their way to the San Diego Yacht Club to kick-off a week of epic Snipe sailing in the Pacific Ocean. After prepping for day one of the Snipe US National Championship with a cocktail or two, hors d'oeuvres on the Sail Wash Lawn, and live music by the Snipe Fleet Band, the fleet was ready for the action out on the water.
This past June I got the great opportunity to sail an at home match race regatta, that being the USMRC. My primary goal in this event was to switch my brain back on to match racing, as I had not competed in this discipline in 2022. Additionally, I will be sailing the Governor's Cup, hosted by Balboa Yacht Club at the end of July. The Governor's Cup is an international match race regatta hosted in custom “Gov Cup 22s” which occurs each year, and is invitation only.
San Diego provided some great early summer conditions, with perfect match racing conditions both days. As per usual, San Diego did a great job running the event and the J22s were a great platform. After day one I was leading the round robin, but unfortunately did not have the same success on the second day as I finished third overall. The event as a whole had a great energy to it, and attracted sailors from across the country to compete. Thanks to the competition club and San Diego Yacht Club for their continued support, and I’ll be back on the water soon!
Summer Update: Long Beach Youth Worlds Training Camp, West Marine US Open Sailing Series / 29er Nationals, and US Sailing Youth Championships
We have just wrapped up a three-week training and racing session that was made up of 5 days of training in Long Beach, 3 days of racing in San Diego at the West Marine US Open Series / 29er Nationals, 3 more days of practice in San Diego, and 3 days of racing in Mission Bay at the US Sailing Youth Championships.
The first stop in the West Marine US Open Sailing Series’ California tour comes to San Diego Yacht Club this week, June 17-19. Supported by Title Sponsor West Marine and National Sponsors Gowrie Group a Division of Risk Strategies and Gill Marine, this event features the ILCA 7, ILCA 6, 470, 29er, Finn, and Snipe.
2022 C420 Midwinters in Jensen BeachWith conditions ranging from windy, stormy, and wet to warm, sunny, and light, this years C420 Midwinters Championship was extremely challenging and competitive. My skipper Emily and I never seemed to have a moment to relax, whether it be staying upright between races on the first day, or fighting for a spot on the line the next. The current was ripping from boat to pin, and the pressure could be quite unpredictable. The right often paid, so we usually set up near the boat in hopes that there would be an opportunity to tack once we sailed up course into the shallower water. It was a great experience, and congrats to Peter Busch and Cam Spriggs for getting second place! SoCal crushed it, taking up many of the spots in the top 10!
After many weekends of training and practice we were ready for February 19th things finally came around for and 29er Midwinters East. This event is one of the biggest in our season as it is the first qualifier that determines which teams represent the US in the 2022 Youth Worlds.
Earlier in February, my skipper Anton Schmid and I traveled to Miami for the first of the Youth Worlds Qualifiers (YWQ) in the 29er class, MidWinters East (MWE).
We arrived on the Thursday before the regatta for a practice day. We towed out to the ocean from Miami Yacht Club, the host for the event, where we were met with 7-10 knots and a really big chop. We had a productive warm up session with our SDYC training partners Alice Schmid and Sammie Gardener, as well as Noah and Ian Nyenhuis.
Ian and I got the chance to travel to Miami for the 29er Midwinters East Regatta. This year, the regatta was the first part of the two-part Youth World Championship qualifier. The regatta was
held out of Miami Yacht Club and was raced in the ocean just south of Miami Beach. It is a place where we have raced several times before and were comfortable with our experience sailing at that venue. But one thing we have learned about Miami, like everywhere, is that anything could happen.
The Open Orange Bowl 2021 took place in Miami Florida through the end of 2021. Racing in the 29er fleet, I sailed in the Open Orange Bowl with my crew Peter Joslin. It was an overall light air regatta with the big Miami chop. The clouds and temperature affected the wind and waves a lot through the regatta, as we learned from a local coach there.