Miami Training

I only had a few days to sail in Miami, but I made the most of it. For the past few days Mike Gebhardt and I have been working together, and it's been an enlightening experience to say the least. There have been certain technique issues that I have been struggling with, and needed some new concepts to help make my next breakthrough. We've been working with some really basic concepts that I never learned when I started to sail, and just in a few days, my sailing is already different. It is amazing that there are such big gaps in my learning, but now the biggest ones are being filled. The best thing is that I now have new goals to accomplish over the next few months.

Another treat was the Wednesday night Formula race held at Shake-a-Leg in Coconut Grove. This is a summer series which includes a few classes of keelboat like J24s and Sonars. The usual Miami crowd was in attendance, and we had three races concluding when the sky started to get really dark. We had light wind of about 12 knots, and everyone was using their biggest gear. This is always great for me, because I get to use my favorite 75-5 XXXS fin made by Dave Kashy. I honestly think it's the best fin in Miami, and I love being able to see how hard I can push it to make me go faster and higher. So far, I haven't found its limit. There are a bunch of fast guys in the fleet, and a few are really good starters. It was nice to get the practice in with a great group of sailors, be back on the Formula equipment, and to get to sail around an interesting course with shifty wind, weeds, and big sailboats. I was on my toes the whole time! Thanks to the Shake-a-Leg crew for a great evening.

On Saturday I leave for Poland and the Delta Lloyd Regatta in Medemblik, Netherlands.