Off the Wind

Silver Medal at the Rolex Miami Olympic Classes Regatta

2012-01-31T09:54:00.003-05:00

Daniel Forster/Rolex

Yesterday I finished my 8th Miami OCR. Every year, I expect the same thing from the event: that it will be a great warm-up for the season, it will be great light wind training, and it will be an opportunity to practice the latest techniques I've learned. Each year, competitors experience the same type of conditions - mostly light and marginal wind, pumping conditions, one or two planing races, sunshine, and seagrass hazards floating around the course.

Mick Anderson/SailingPIX.dk

Looking back through the years, my regatta experience here has been a reflection of the progress of all aspects of my Olympic campaign. In particular, the development of my coaching program has influenced the 2011 and 2012 event in a really positive way. At the end of 2010, I was still struggling with many light-wind technique issues. Putting together and implementing a good program over the course of a year made an impact on the scoreboard during both of these events. In each case, confidence in my new abilities and support during the regattas gave me a mental edge and ability to use my fitness properly.

Mick Anderson/SailingPIX.dk

Last week during the racing, opportunities abounded to put together new technique, tactics, and fitness to create a strategic and powerful event for me. The regatta was mostly light wind, with shifty tactical days, and days where speed was more critical. Our fleet was mostly Americans from all continents - North, South, and Central, and many of us were matched well for speed and abilities. Because I was one of the strongest sailors, I could take creative control of my racing. I could start wherever I wanted to, make my own decisions on the course, and still be able to recover after a mistake. Most importantly, I could clearly see which decision-making processes were working, and which ones needed to be revised, clarified, or added to my master list.

I still have a week of training here in Miami, and I'm excited about the opportunity to keep working on these skills. I'm really happy with my progress so far and am looking forward to further developing my program. None of this would be possible without the help of my great sponsors and supporting foundations. Many thanks to Compass Marketing, the St. Francis Yacht Club Foundation, the Annapolis Yacht Club Foundation, the Olympic Sailing Association of New Orleans, and the Southport Sailing Foundation (Clever Pig).

Top of the Leader Board after Day One at Rolex Miami OCR

2012-01-23T19:15:00.003-05:00

The past three months of intense training with my coach Max Wojcik have been paying off. I have gotten a lot faster in every condition and my board handling and mark rounding have improved greatly. Today it was really nice to see how it can all come together with a 2nd and 1st place in the two races today, to be scored as the overnight leader. Tomorrow I will be wearing the yellow jersey!

After spending two months training and racing in Perth, Australia, I took a few weeks off to spend Christmas with my family and friends. After New Year's Day, I went straight to Miami where I again met up with Max. One of the best benefits of working with Max is that he is a top international RSX sailor in the Men's class. Having him to sail against means he can easily demonstrate proper technique and is constantly pushing me to go faster. Additionally, we decided it would be good to have a fast woman RSX sailor to train against, so Max could spend some time in the coach boat. We flew in Malgorzata Bialecka from Poland to train with me and compete in the regatta.

As Max says, "let's not get too excited," but for sure progress is being made. I still have a long way to go but I know that getting better is a matter of time. There are 185 days to the start of the Olympics and I plan to make every day count towards a top result.

Results

US Olympic Selection for Women's Windsurfing Completed

2011-12-12T03:10:00.007-05:00

Two days ago the RS:X women's event concluded at the ISAF World Championships in Fremantle, and I'm really happy to announce that I qualified to be the US Olympic Representative in the RS:X women's windsurfing class. The regatta was also an opportunity to qualify the United States for a berth at the Olympics. 28 countries will compete at the Games, and here, the top 20 countries were selected. I missed qualifying the USA by a slim margin, but will have another opportunity at the Worlds in Cadiz next March.

The ISAF Worlds are the peak event of the year and the level of the competition reflected that. After training in Fremantle for over a month, I found a different perspective on the racing - I was having a lot of fun. For the past few months I've been really working on the board handling and technique in planing conditions. Working on technique meant that coach Max and I broke down a race to work on individual elements. I didn't do a lot of actual racing during training and instead focused on tacks, jibes, speed, and more "fun stuff." In return, I gained a lot of confidence in my board handling abilities and got a mental break from the more grinding practice races. I felt fresh and happy going into the regatta and noticed a lot of improvements in my racing.

Carrying gear in and out of the water between races

Another major difference that I noticed in my outlook was that I felt noticeably less tired after this event than most of my previous regattas. I attribute this to a slightly different approach to training; that after a lot of long sessions, a few races a day weren't incredibly tiring, and I felt so enthusiastic about the skills I learned over the past month that I maintained a high level of "stoke" throughout the event. I could see that I made measurable progress and looked forward each day to accomplishing goals. I still have a lot of work to do going into the spring season, but I've laid the foundation for a really great season both physically and mentally, and I'm looking forward more than ever to future events and lots of training! I have one more week left in Fremantle, and I'm taking the opportunity for more training in great wind and waves.

I'd like to thank my sponsor Compass Marketing for all their support this year, and also the St. Francis Yacht Club Foundation, the Annapolis Yacht Club Foundation, the Southport Sailing Foundation (CleverPig), the Olympic Sailing Association at New Orleans, and all the folks who have been following and helping me with my campaign. You all make everything possible for me.

Training in Australia: A Coach's Perspective

2011-11-14T03:26:00.003-05:00

Max Wojcik, from the Polish National Team, shares his thoughts on training in Perth. Max is coaching me through the ISAF World Championships in December.

There are still three weeks to go before the Worlds in Windsurfing will take place in Perth, Australia. After 10 intense training days in Perth with competitors from all over the world, Farrah has made great progress in technique and board handling such as tacking, jibing, and starting. We usually spend 3-4 hours a day on the water, although yesterday we got carried away and spent 5.5 hours training just to improve tacking.

In addition to the progress in windsurfing, Farrah is mastering diet secrets by weighing and writing down all the details of the food she eats every day. This includes calories, protein, fat, and carbohydrates. Everyone thinks windsurfing is all about fun - I suggest that you think again, because there is a lot of work too! However, today is a so-called "lay day," a day of rest which will wisely be used for laying around. :)

P.S. - Rumor has it that two great white sharks, one 9 feet and the other 15 feet long, prowl coastal waters. We didn't see a great white yet and we hope not to. We take comfort in a statistic that shows more people die each year from coconuts falling on their heads than being attacked by sharks.

-Max

Pan Am Games and Australian Arrival

2011-10-30T19:06:00.004-04:00

It's been a fast-moving October and I've finally had a few days to rest and catch up on communications! I'm currently in Fremantle, Australia beginning preparations for the ISAF World Championships beginning the first week of December, and I'm looking forward to working in this location for the next month before the event.

Last week I was happy and excited to bring home a Bronze medal for the United States at the Pan American Games. The Pan Am Games are like the Olympics of the Americas, with all the ceremony, security, and ritual expected at such an event. Held once every four years before the Olympics, summer Olympic sports and even a few non-Olympic events compete in the Pan Am Games. For North, South, and Central Americans, the event is a great chance to bring home medals for their country, as the competitive pool is smaller, although still at a high level. Such was the case with our fleet of seven women - very competitive sailors, but as sailing is an expensive sport, fewer countries on the American continents participate. The event is made to be really special, and it was an indescribable honor to stand on the podium at an elaborate, ritualistic ceremony and receive a medal for the USA. The experience was a culmination of the hard work and challenges I faced this year, and a new beginning and feeling of excitement for the future of my racing and Olympic campaign.

I went into the regatta with just a few goals: use and reinforce the light wind techniques I freshly learned in Annapolis, get good starts, and create a good tactical plan before each race. The conditions gave me the chance for good practice of the new skills. We had a daily sea breeze of around 6-10 knots with a bit of ocean swell and chop. The weather was sunny, hot and humid, which was a nice change from the European events, which are usually really cold! I enjoyed carrying out the relatively simple plan for the event, which clearly worked!

Railing the board in light wind

Overall, I was impressed with the effort the Vallarta Yacht Club and Mexican volunteers and event staff put in to make the event successful. The venue was thoughtfully chosen and organized, and resources for sailors like water, food, and a hangout at the VYC were readily available. The race committee was efficient and learned quickly, and worked to maximize the opportunity for the best breeze every day. The event's staff and volunteers were helpful and friendly, and were clearly thrilled to host so many international sailors. I was happy that my first impression of Mexico was of good people, and I gained good perspective on how well Mexican and American culture overlaps.

Although I enjoyed the competition and getting to experience a bit of Mexico, an unexpected pleasure to me was how proud I felt to represent the United States, and how people reacted to me as a Pan American Games athlete. During travel, Americans were very excited to see and meet Pan American athletes wearing all their team gear. They felt proud that we were competing, and the Pan American Games were a tangible reminder that the summer Olympic Games are just around the corner. Although I'm definitely a patriotic American, being a full-time competitor in a small and less-recognized sport, traveling and competing alone, doesn't usually leave a lot of room for thought about national pride -- personal performance is the focus. A jolt back to the bigger picture of the Olympic Games was a welcome and humbling experience.

Boards and bikes en route to Puerto Vallarta

After the Pan Am Games, I flew to San Francisco; I wanted the opportunity to visit the St. Francis Yacht Club, of which I am a new member, to thank them for the coaching support they gave me this spring. In addition, flying to Australia is a lot easier from the west coast. I had an incredible amount of equipment (two full sets of RS:X gear plus duffel bag and backpack) and got my heart rate up at each layover dragging it around. First was a leg to LAX on Southwest Airlines, separate from my international flight to Perth. I dragged the gear from the domestic to the international terminal, up an escalator, and re-checked it. Next, after a 16-hour leg from LAX to Melbourne, the gear needed to clear customs. In order to accomplish this, I dragged the gear, with the help of an airline rep, through the terminal, up an escalator (two trips), and down an elevator (three trips), as it was too big to check in the normal oversize area. The airline rep was unfazed by the size of the gear; clearly a lot of sporting equipment gets flown to Australia! After getting the gear in Perth and loading everything on the poor little rental car, the entire trip took about 32 hours. I was jet lagged, exhausted, and really stinky and sweaty!

I'm a little more recovered now and am excited about training in Fremantle, where I have a big opportunity to improve my planing technique. I can't believe I'm in Australia, a place I've always dreamed of seeing. Other than training, I have some big plans for bird watching and seeing some completely different species - I just have to find a new bird book! I'd also like to stick my head underwater for a few days and learn some new things. I'm looking forward to a completely different experience.

Pan American Games Bronze Medal for Farrah Hall

2011-10-24T00:28:00.006-04:00

Photo By Ariana Cubillos

U.S. Sailors Claim Four Silver, Two Bronze Medals

NUEVO VALLARTA, Mexico (October 23, 2011) — Team USA’s sailors wrapped up the Pan American Games regatta at the Vallarta Yacht Club on Sunday by grabbing six total medals — four silver and two bronze — in the nine classes contested.

The U.S. earned silver in the J/24, Lightning, Snipe and Sunfish classes. Bronze went to the Americans in the Laser Radial and women’s Windsurfing classes. Each class raced just once today with double points on the line to decide the medalists.

“We had four medals secured yesterday and we were able to close out two more medals today for six total. That makes us really happy,” said U.S. Sailing team leader Dave Johnson. “A lot of these athletes don’t get to necessarily compete at the Olympic level, but the overall level of world-class sailing was definitely shown here by the Americans. Our sailors were able to perform, and it’s pretty exciting to see that.”

Among the U.S. silver medalists was the Lightning team of skipper Jody Lutz (Brick, N.J.) and crew Jay Lutz (Houston, Texas) and Derek Gauger (Ann Arbor, Mich.) The Lightning was fifth in today’s medal race to finish six points back of gold medalist Chile.

While he was disappointed to not bring home the gold, Jody Lutz enjoyed his Pan Am Games experience. “It was such an opportunity to represent the U.S. It was something that us ‘old guys’ don’t get a chance to do very often. The class that we sail, the Lightning, is not in the Olympics, so this is our Olympics,” he said. “To have the support of the U.S. and all the staff that’s involved here was tremendous. I’m disappointed that we weren’t able to bring the gold home to everybody but I’m proud that we did it right and we acted properly and competed fairly. We did the best darn job that we could.”

In addition to the Lightning team, the following U.S. sailors also earned silver medals:
• J/24: John Mollicone (Newport, R.I.), Geoffrey Becker (Arnold, Md.), Daniel Rabin (Charlestown, Mass.), Paul Abdullah (Jacksonville, Fla.)
• Snipe: Augie Diaz (Miami, Fla.), Kathleen Tocke (Miami, Fla.)
• Sunfish: Paul Foerester (Heath, Texas)

Bronze medals went to:
• Laser Radial: Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.)
• RS:X Women (Windsurfer Women): Farrah Hall (Annapolis, Md.)

Additional USA results:
6^th, Hobie 16 Greg Thomas (San Diego, Calif.) and John Williams (Long Beach, Calif.)
6^th, Laser Clay Johnson (Toms River, N.J.)
7^th, RS:X Men Bob Willis (Chicago, Ill.)

Visit guadalajara2011.org.mx for complete results.

Also joining the team in Puerto Vallarta: Head Coach Leandro Spina (Miami, Fla.), Team Coach Greg Wilkinson (Rockport, Mass.), and Team Physical Therapist/Athletic Trainer, Dr. Scott Weiss (New York, N.Y.).

The 16 athletes qualified for the US SAILING 2011 Pan American Games Team after winning a select regatta previously determined as a qualifying event for each class. US SAILING’s Olympic Sailing Committee then submitted its team to the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) for inclusion on the 2011 U.S. Pan American Games Team. Athletes must be U.S. citizens to qualify for the team, members of US SAILING and the classes in which they compete.

Since sailing was included in the Pan American Games in 1955, USA has won 72 medals in sailing: 33 gold, 29 silver and 18 bronze.

For more information on the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, visit the event website:

About US SAILING Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, US SAILING is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. US SAILING offers training and education programs for instructors and race officials, supports a wide range of sailing organizations and communities, issues offshore rating certificates, and provides administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the country. For more information about US SAILING, please visit: www.ussailing.org. For more information about the US Olympic Sailing Program and the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics, please visit: http://sailingteams.ussailing.org.

(end)

Contact: Dana Paxton, danapaxton@ussailing.org; mobile: 401-369-0490
Sailing Venue Press Officer in Mexico: John Martin, John.Martin@usatriathlon.org

Pan Am Games Day 3

2011-10-20T20:26:00.006-04:00

Farrah Hall

(reprinted from US Sailing)

Team USA Sailors Well Positioned Through Six Races

NUEVO VALLARTA, Mexico (October 19, 2011) – Heading into the scheduled “lay day,” Team USA leads in the Lightning and the J/24 classes and stands in medal position in three others through six races of the Pan American Games sailing regatta at the Vallarta Yacht Club.

In addition to the two leaders, the U.S. stands second in the Snipe and Sunfish classes and third in the RS:X Women’s (Windsurfer) class.

The U.S. Lightning team, skippered by Jody Lutz (Brick, N.J.), picked up fourth- and second-place finishes today to secure the top spot through six races with 11 net points. Jay Lutz (Houston, Texas) and Derek Gauger (Ann Arbor, Mich.) round out the Lightning crew.

“We didn’t see much current on our course that affected anything, but the wind was light and there were puffs of wind throughout the racecourse that changed things rapidly, so you had to be a little lucky to get it,” Jody Lutz said. “There were a couple of times we were lucky and there were also a couple of times we weren’t. We’ll take the way the day went, but for us it could have been a touch better.”

Led by skipper John Mollicone (Newport, R.I.), the J/24 team recorded first- and third-place finishes to move into first place with eight net points through six races. Joining Mollicone on the J/24 are Geoffrey Becker (Arnold, Md.), Daniel Rabin (Charlestown, Mass.) and Paul Abdullah (Jacksonville, Fla.).

Skipper Greg Thomas (San Diego, Calif.) and John Williams (Long Beach, Calif.) on the Hobie 16 also enjoyed a strong day with back-to-back third-place finishes to stand fifth overall, just two points out of third.

“We’re just going to keep improving as the week goes on,” Thomas said. “We don’t have a lot of time on this boat, so every day and every race that we spend on the boat we’re just going to keep getting faster, and that’s obvious from what we did today.”

Farrah Hall (Annapolis, Md.) turned in a second straight solid performance in the RS:X Women’s (Windsurfer) class with a third- and a second-place finish. Hall is third overall through six races.

While several boats are well positioned through six races, the U.S. sailors know there is still work to be done. “There’s only a point or two separating three boats,” Jody Lutz said. “The competition is tremendously hard out there. We’re happy just to be in the lead right now, but things can change quickly.”

Each sailing class is slated to race twice per day, with the exception of a scheduled off day Thursday. The medal races, reserved for just the top five in each class, are set for Sunday. The low point total at the end of competition will decide the medalists.

Visit guadalajara2011.org.mx for complete results. (http://info.guadalajara2011.org.mx/ENG/ZZ/ZZS158A_SA@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ENG_date=2011-10-19.htm)

(end)

Pan American Games

2011-10-16T19:31:00.004-04:00

Since my return from Bulgaria, the past few weeks have been filled with action. September and October are usually a time for a break from sailing; instead the focus is catching up with sponsors and making a new plan for the winter and spring season. However, this winter is filled with important events: our last Olympic qualifier in Perth, Australia, and the Pan American Games, which start tomorrow in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Having a big winter season meant that I had to crunch all the normal fall activities into a training camp to prepare for the Pan Am Games. I flew a training partner, my friend Max Wojcik, from Poland to Annapolis to spend a week and a half helping me with technique. Luckily, the fickle Chesapeake wind cooperated for us, and although we had a few really cold sessions, we ended up with a wide range of conditions to work in. The Severn Sailing Association in Eastport kindly supported our training camp, and we were able to store our gear and launch there. We had a busy backdrop of the Annapolis boat show, and a full harbor of cruisers. It was a great feeling to finally have a training camp in my hometown, and two windsurfers out on the water was a curiosity to many people. We attracted a lot of attention and questions!

The week was also successful for networking as we did a photo shoot for my sponsor, Compass Marketing, and attended a few company outings. Gregarious Max kept everyone entertained and was the star of the show.

Immediately after the training camp, I flew to Houston for team processing. Being around many athletes from other Olympic sports was thrilling. I felt that I belonged - I am as fit and train as hard as any of them. We had a few debriefs and received our team clothing, which was exciting. Bob Willis, the USA men's RS:X competitor, and I flew all our gear, plus two duffel bags each, on the flight to Puerto Vallarta. I had five pieces of checked luggage, the most I've ever had. It's a relief that the US Olympic Committee is picking up the tab for the extra gear!

Upon arrival the team took a coach bus to our hotel. Most of the athletes are staying in a hotel that's serving as the "Olympic village" for the sailing, beach volleyball, open water swimming, and triathlon venue. The hotel is on the beach, and has a lap pool and small gym. The athletes are filling an entire side of the hotel, and security is tight. Police with machine guns and metal detectors surround the premises. The sailing venue is at the Vallarta Yacht Club, a 30-minute coach bus ride north of the hotel, complete with armed police escort!

Racing starts tomorrow and I've had a few promising days of training already. Puerto Vallarta is a new kind of venue for me. The weather is extremely hot and staying hydrated is of utmost importance. The wind is light, a choppy ocean swell comes into the bay, and a strong current runs with the wind. I feel that the most important aspects of the racing here will be getting a good start in the current, and pointing high in the gusts and swells. The event is also very small; we have seven girls in the RS:X fleet, including some fast contenders from Brazil, Mexico, and Canada. Racing should be really interesting and I'm looking forward to getting started.

My internet is really spotty so I can't upload pictures now, but I'll try later in the week. Keep updated on all the racing on the USSTAG Facebook page!

2011-10-11T14:52:00.003-04:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—

COMPASS MARKETING SPONSORED FARRAH HALL TO MAKE APPEARANCE IN ANNPAPOLIS

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland; October 6, 2011 – Windsurfer Farrah Hall and Maksymilian Wojcik from the Polish national sailing team are training this week in Annapolis. Hall is the top-ranked windsurfer for the USA after finishing as the top American in the RS:X Female class at the Sail for Gold regatta in Weymouth, UK in June.

Hall has recently been in Europe competing in windsurfing competitions in Britain and Bulgaria. Later this month, Hall will compete in the 2011 Pan American Games in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico from October 17 to 23. After the games, Hall will head to Australia to begin training for her next qualifying regatta, the Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships. There she will compete to qualify for the 2012 Olympics.

John White, Chairman & CEO of Compass Marketing is proud to sponsor Hall: “Farrah’s success does not come as a surprise considering the hard work and determination that goes into everything she does. Her success is a direct result of her ability on the water as well as her strong character and conviction in life. She is a role model for everyone by persevering and working hard to accomplish her dreams.”

About Farrah Hall

A natural from the start, Farrah Hall acquired a love for the water when she began sailing small sailboats at the age of 13. A devout athlete participating in sports from soccer and lacrosse to basketball and swimming, Hall became involved with triathlons at age 16 and participated in local Olympic distance events around the state of Maryland. Continuing her love for sailing throughout her college career, Hall attended St. Mary’s College in Maryland known for their sailing program and quickly shifted her focus to windsurfing. During the summer of 2002, Hall started racing and soon moved to St. Petersburg, Florida where she began her Olympic campaign. In January of 2011, Hall earned the number one spot in the Miami OCR and recently finished training in Cadiz, Spain with teams from Poland.

About Compass Cares

Compass Marketing has a long and active history of giving back to the community for a variety of causes through its foundation Compass Cares. Whether it is working with JDRF, the United Way, the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center, Pathfinders for Autism, Cystic Fibrosis, the International Foundation for Research and Education on Depression (iFred) or many others, Compass Cares brings together clients, customers, employees, family and friends to help make a difference.

About Compass Marketing Inc

Compass Marketing, Inc. is one of the leading marketing and sales company for consumer products in the country. Chairman & CEO John White founded Compass Marketing, Inc., headquartered in Annapolis, MD, in 1998 while working out of his home. For more information visit www.compassmarketinginc.com

To learn more about Farrah Hall, go to http://www.farrahhall.com, become a Farrah Hall fan on Facebook and follow her blog at http://farrahhall.blogspot.com.

For press contact please contact:

Alisa Greenwood at

agreenwood@compassmarketinginc.com

410.268.0030 ext. 200

Bulgaria

2011-09-10T12:36:00.006-04:00

Seafront park in Burgas, Bulgaria

The RS:X European Championship is held this week in Burgas, Bulgaria, a place where most competitors have never visited. Going to a new place is always a bit tricky, but when I arrived I was happily surprised to find the Bulgarian town a paradise for windsurfers.

Bulgaria, like most East European countries formerly under the burden of communism, is in the midst of a rebirth. New buildings, roads, and parks are everywhere. Burgas is a summer resort town with a very local flavor, an affordable and accessible place for Europeans on a sunshine break. Summer is hot, sunny, and breezy, and with a few miles of sandy beach adjoining a grassy park, a perfect launch for windsurfers. Not wearing a thick wetsuit every day is a welcome change from most of the European events!

Training here has been easy and because the conditions are similar every day, it's a perfect opportunity to test fins, masts, and sails. I participated in a training camp with the Polish team, and have also been tuning up with the sailors who showed up early. We competed in the Bulgarian Championship Regatta, which saw some big wind stirring up big swell, making launching from the beach challenging. However, the scary launch was worth it - it's been a while since I've had so much fun surfing and jibing down big waves in warm weather!

The European Championships is well-publicized and reporters wander the venue and interview sailors daily. They are most interested in hearing how foreigners find their city to be, and a frequent question is "Are you considering making an investment in property in Burgas?" Foreign real estate offices are prevalent downtown, and property prices haven't risen to the extent of other countries, making Burgas attractive to investors. Indeed, a Polish friend of mine has been meeting with agents already! Burgas is a bit too far away for an American, but living here for three weeks has been very pleasant.

Grassy venue

Living here has increased my appreciation for friendly people and community - as a rather introverted person, I don't normally get forced to interact at a local market buying the daily veggies, or hang out with my local travel agent and landlord's family. However, I've made friends with a lot of the people I've had to ask for help, in the market, in the park, and at the windsurfing club, proving that making friends isn't as difficult as I think it is....and I'm not starving, either! I'm enjoying the shift, enjoying the weather and training, and looking forward to a great week of racing.

Olympic Test Event: Predicting the windsurfing outcome of the Games?

2011-08-16T12:05:00.008-04:00

Last week top Olympic sailors wrapped up the Olympic Test Event at the Weymouth and Portland International Sailing Academy. The regatta came with a few significant changes from the format of a normal World Cup regatta, including a week-long venue closure immediately before racing, a staggered schedule for the different classes over more than 10 days, and daily course changes for each Olympic-class fleet.

Affecting the boards the most was the daily course change. Although most sailors hadn't previously trained much outside of the harbor, the fleet adapted well to sailing in the new areas and conditions. After training solely inside the protected harbor, most of the boardsailors welcomed the chance to see the big outside world of Weymouth Bay. The race committee did a good job of keeping the boards on the closer courses, as they recognized the disadvantages boardsailors have when being towed by a coach boat, or having to sail long distances to get to a course. Altogether, the boards used three different courses: the Weymouth Bay West Course, the usual Portland Harbor Course, and the stadium-like Nothe Course.

The Weymouth Bay West Course differed the most from the harbor. Big cliffs on one side of the course make it extremely puffy and shifty, and the encroaching big Atlantic swell enters the bay perpendicular to the wind, making planing upwind and working the waves more challenging. It's a course that needs a bit of extra time to get rigging and technique dialed into the conditions. Like the harbor, there was a strong coast effect near the cliff walls on the right side of the course, making that side favored for most of the racing. The course was about an hour's sail downwind from the launch at WPNSA, making pre-race preparation more critical - especially when it came to packing food, water, and warm clothing for the long sail or ride back. After sailing in a civilized fashion in the harbor for so long, this course seemed much bigger and wilder, but I had prepared well in San Francisco by sailing in the cold ocean swells outside the Golden Gate Bridge.

The most challenging racing was found on the Nothe Course, which is also the course where the medal races are held. This course is similar to sailing in a stadium - the course is enclosed between the outside wall of the Portland Harbor and the headlands of the Nothe Fort, a Victorian-era military structure atop a big, grassy hill. For spectators, the course offers a supreme and almost bird's-eye view of the racing; for the competitors, it means an incredibly gusty, shifty and challenging day. I tend to enjoy this kind of racing because it requires a lot of thinking and deciding where to go. Sailors can gain or lose a lot of ground by virtue of one decision, and when you're behind, there is always an opportunity to make up distance.

Altogether, the course changes didn't affect the outcome of the racing too much. Successful Olympic-class sailors need to sail strongly in all conditions, and the RS:X women's fleet leaders weren't affected by the unusual conditions found on the new courses. Over the course of the last year, the fleet leaders have been working on the weaknesses in their sailing, and the leaderboard is finally beginning to shuffle around a bit. Most noticeable is the sailing of Zofia Klepacka, the eventual gold medalist in the event. Coming to her full strength after the birth of her son over a year and a half ago, she has an incredible, relaxed attitude. Her performance in light wind has improved drastically, and as she has always dominated in a breeze, her event was about as close to perfect as it comes. The new conditions suited her entirely. Zofia awed the crowd watching the RS:X medal race when she took an early lead after the first leg, which kept growing, reaching almost three quarters of a leg in front of the rest of the fleet at the slalom finish. She finished 16 points ahead of Marina Alabau of Spain, the silver medalist. Taking the bronze medal was Bryony Shaw of Great Britain.

Zofia celebrates after winning the medal race and regatta

In the men's fleet, Dorian van Rijsselberge of the Netherlands fought it out with Nick Dempsey of Great Britain the entire regatta, swapping places every day in an impressive battle of fitness and tactics. Dorian eventually took the gold with a one-point lead over Nick. Powerhouse Polish sailor Przemek Miarczynski inched into bronze with a one-point lead over New Zealand sailor JP Tobin, who won the medal race.

With the fleet leaders so close in points, it is difficult to predict the actual order of the medal count. However the order, the outcome of the actual Olympic Games will be similar. No matter the condition or course, the fleet leaders are sailing consistently well, and their level will only advance as their countries single out resources for them in the upcoming Olympic year.

Although I'm not leading the regatta, I was extremely satisfied with my performance. Competition is really tough throughout the middle and even rear of the fleet, and many technical problems I was experiencing in the beginning of the season have been ironed out. I'm going faster and I've got a whole new set of items to work on. I'm pleased my coaching program has worked out well this year, and I'm making a new plan for the fall and winter. Everyone is looking forward to the Europeans in Bulgaria, the next event on the schedule, which will be very competitive.

Pre-Olympics Begin in Weymouth, UK

2011-08-04T14:17:00.007-04:00

Coach Britt Viehman and I are ready to race

This is my fifth regatta at the site of the 2012 Olympic Games, and along with many other competitors, I'm very familiar with the venue and how to get around. However, this time it's not just racing as usual here in Weymouth, UK. The Pre-Olympics are run exactly as the Olympics are meant to be, and many changes are evident, both on the racecourse and the organization of the event.

I had two weeks of training in Weymouth before the Pre-Olympics, and the build-up to the event was vastly different. The organizers completely shut down the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy for a week to prepare the facility for the competition, which left a few sailors like myself, out of a place to train. One week of training, organized with a French coach, Christophe Boutet, and a training partner, ended up a little confused. Because we weren't given exact instructions what to do, and were under the instructions that one ramp at the Academy was still open, we sailed from there until we were kicked out. We finished the week with our gear stored in the coach boat every day, rigging wherever we could!

After the Academy was re-opened, we received credentials and, finally, a big tent to store equipment, complete with sweet rubber matting to rig on. All the boats at the Academy had been moved out for the event, including the community kayak and windsurfing programs. Although there are many international teams competing here, with only one team per country and an offset racing schedule, the venue is strangely quiet.

Setup for the boards

The US Sailing Team has been preparing for this event as well and our storage facility is recently redone with new rooms, a TV, X-Box, PT room, drying room, gym equipment, and a giant vinyl USA national flag on the wall. The USSTAG PR team is here along with our team leaders, weather guy, trainers, and best of all, a chef! We now have optimal external conditions, and although I am still financing housing, food, and coaching myself, the structure here makes it easier to focus on training and racing.

Britt and I get interviewed by USSTAG's PR guru Dana Paxton

Not only are changes are evident to infrastructure, but the racing has changed drastically for the boards as well. For the past three years I've raced here, the boards have raced solely in the harbor area. Now, the organizers are switching the courses daily for all the classes, so the womens' RS:X fleet is racing outside the "kiddie pool" of the harbor the entire week. It's a whole new world outside the fast, flat water and walls of the harbor, and yesterday we were racing in the big swell, chop, and big gusts of Weymouth Bay. The courses are far from the harbor for boards, and sailors without a coach boat are left with the potential for more than an hour's sail out to the starting area. The change was a big surprise to the entire fleet; everyone trained for months before the event in the harbor only. We're all in the same situation, but apart from the long distances from the harbor, the new courses are a good change to the racing.

Racing has begun already and we've had one day of good planing conditions in big swell. I'm doing a lot of things right, but my speed upwind still needs a lot of work. However, I was pleased with my performance yesterday during starts and choosing strategies. I really enjoyed the interesting conditions and am looking forward to sailing on another new course today.

Check out the USSTAG's new website where you can find updates from the racing, results, and a report from yesterday. At the bottom of the interview, there are links to the USSTAG's Facebook page and Twitter. Check out this video interview as well! If it's not the current video, you can find it by scrolling down on the sidebar.

San Francisco Classic / UltraNectar Challenge

2011-07-11T17:33:00.006-04:00

I've had a great few weeks training in San Francisco working on heavy air board handling and technique. The time has been really productive in developing more confidence in big breeze and getting valuable water time applying techniques to improve consistency of speed and control over chop.

The weeks culminated in a local regatta that is one of the most unique events I've ever participated in. Held at the St. Francis Yacht Club, the San Francisco Classic / UltraNectar Challenge is a distance race that spans the San Francisco Bay west to east from the Golden Gate Bridge to Berkeley. Sailors have to get all the way down to Berkeley after racing a two-lap triangle, and they have to do it via a giant slalom that spans the entire width of the bay. This is the "San Francisco Classic" portion of the race.

Course map (slalom course is black line)

After the downwind giant slalom, the objective of the second half of the race (the UltraNectar Challenge) is to get back upwind to a finish line at the St. Francis Yacht Club.

San Francisco rolled out some classic conditions for the distance race. The wind was about 15-25 and we began the race in foggy, cold weather. Since the tide was flooding, the chop wasn't too bad and getting downwind was really fast. I really enjoyed the aggressive reaches across the bay and was able to hang with some of the kiters going downwind. Being on the RS:X required a bit more patience, as I was a good deal slower than the Formula boards. It was a good thing the sky was full of brightly-colored kites to mark the way around the somewhat complicated course!

Going back upwind was a bit more difficult against the relatively strong current, which maxed at about 3 .2 knots that day. I planned a route in advance by looking at the tide charts and tacked up the side of Angel Island on the north side of the bay. I managed to stay with the same group of kiters; however, I got too enthusiastic about staying out of the current and sailed into a hole on the west side of the island, losing a few of the kites.

Sunday's racing was normal course racing, normal except that during the last two races the committee combined the windsurfers' start with the kites. Local Formula sailor Seth Besse's advice about the start was to just ignore the kites and start as usual. It's a little concerning when you as a windsurfer can't see the kite lines, but the kite sailors have good visibility and spatial awareness of their equipment.

I really enjoyed racing with the kiteboards and seeing their abilities and tactics. The St. Francis Yacht Club made yet another progressive decision when beginning the kiteboard series and combining it with the windsurfing events. I've never seen a closer and more understanding relationship between kiters and windsurfers than in San Francisco. The forward-thinking attitude towards pushing new improvements and working together in both sports has created a fun and unique community, which is the way both watersports should ideally interact. I am excited to return to San Francisco in September to reinforce some techniques and board handling before the Pan Am Games in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, this October.

I am now en route to Weymouth, UK, where I will be training prior to the Pre-Olympic Test Event, beginning in early August. I'm looking forward to getting some good time on the water with quality training partners and continuing my adventures on the road to the 2012 Olympics.

Techno Training Camp Video

2011-07-11T17:25:00.003-04:00

Check out some of the action from the Bic Techno training camp in San Francisco. I'm not the best creator of videos, but this captures some good moments.

USA Bic Techno Fleet gets ready for the 2011 Techno Worlds!

2011-07-03T18:28:00.004-04:00

On July 17-24, more than 200 kids from 30 countries and 5 continents will descend on San Francisco Bay for the 2011 Bic Techno one-design World Championships, held at the St. Francis Yacht Club near the Golden Gate Bridge. The regatta is a big moment for the USA's windsurfing program, as it will provide a boost to our fledgling junior development program. The windy and rough conditions and dramatic scenery of San Francisco Bay will be an unparalleled experience for most sailors attending, including some of the USA's youth sailors from the East Coast.

Under the leadership of youth coach Britt Viehman, I assisted in coaching a Bic Techno clinic last week for American kids competing at the Worlds. Nine kids showed up, from both San Francisco and Florida. We had abilities ranging from fairly advanced to beginner, which is a typical skill range for American youth sailors. Each group of youth learned something new by participating in the training camp.

Sailors from Florida were wide-eyed after the first day of training in San Francisco. For many of them, it was the coldest and windiest conditions they had ever experienced. These sailors focused on planing technique up and downwind, tacks, jibes, and planing starts. A major factor contributing to the success of their training was developing confidence in the rough conditions. A few sailors spent time learning to make confident, fast runs upwind and downwind in a straight line, and develop sail handling techniques in windy conditions.

The local kids already had a good grip on the usual conditions, but what they didn't initially understand was the concept of sailing teamwork. For a few, it was the first time experiencing coaching on a schedule, two sessions a day, with a debrief after sailing. By the end of the camp, they were better about being on the water on time and keeping together in a group for drills to learn from each other. All the kids tuned up their equipment in the breeze, and learned more about San Francisco's famous currents - how to start in big current, and which side of the course would be favored by observing the action of the current in various stages of ebb and flood tides.

The only major flaw in the training camp is that it was too short as time and funding are limited at this point. The kids really needed a few weeks at this venue to further develop skills and confidence. However, the stoke was high as everyone is looking forward to returning to the City by the Bay and the Bic Techno Worlds.

(I wish I had more pictures for this blog, but we were really busy! Video coming soon.)

Weymouth: Culmination of a Season

2011-06-15T08:54:00.005-04:00

The US Sailing Team is breathing a collective sigh of relief at the end of an incredibly tough week of regatta in Weymouth, UK. Sail for Gold, the sixth event on the World Cup regatta circuit, was also the first qualifier for the Olympic team (one of two events) and also a qualifier for the sole berth to compete in the Pre-Olympic Regatta, an Olympic test event held the first two weeks of August. I'm happy to say that my event went well and I finished as the top American RS:X woman and will compete in the Pre-Olympics.

Although I placed 19th in the Silver fleet, qualified for the Pre-Olympics and felt that in general, I sailed to the best of my ability, I am looking forward to better results in the future. A few factors affected my results, including technique in the windy, planing conditions that persisted throughout the week, and the high level of the fleet. With the exception of the first day, we had planing conditions for the remainder of the regatta in winds of 15-25+ knots! Although I had many days practicing in planing conditions and was able to sort out my technique, I still need more practice to apply the proper technique during racing. During an event, recently learned techniques are difficult to apply consistently, as I and other sailors often revert to the muscle memories we are most familiar with. Before the regatta, the wind was light for almost the entire week, as it was for most of my training in France. In France, I made major improvements to my sailing in marginal and non-planing conditions, which we saw almost none of during Sail for Gold. However, during the last few days of the event, I made improvements to my planing technique.

The overall level of the fleet was extremely high, as many countries are using Sail for Gold as an Olympic qualifier and peak event of the season. The windy conditions meant that the results were more mixed up than is usual, and many sailors had a truly difficult event. In the women's fleet, several teams as a whole had a better performance and a few had worse. This was exemplified by the New Zealand team, who had a few members in the Gold fleet, more than they usually have; and the Italian, British, Chinese, and Netherlands teams, who had less than average performances. The usual strong European competitors, the French and Polish teams, dominated the fleet.

Many US sailors had a tough time in Weymouth last week, and most of it was due to the windy conditions, the high level of the international fleets, and the focus on beating other team members in the first Olympic qualifier event. Closest home to my event in the RS:X men's fleet, Ben Barger placed behind Bob Willis, who has strong finishes in planing conditions. Both boys had a challenging time in the competitive fleet. Many US team members placed slightly lower than where they normally finish, including men's 470, Laser and Laser Radial. Although results may have been slightly "off," performances by the US team reflected their best efforts in the crazy conditions and top-level fleets. Achieving decent results despite our team's shortcomings is a great accomplishment for sailors as individuals. The "arms race" against fully-funded teams is difficult, and US sailors have many more issues to deal with than most of the top international sailors, all of which have an impact on our team's results. We all fight hard to sort out our funding, logistics, and other personal problems to do our best to prepare physically and mentally for competition. In the end, we are working with a management system that structurally is unable to support team goals as a whole, and too-new and unstable programs.

Fixing a gasket and fin before the event

Although we all have a challenging road ahead to stay abreast of the international fleet, we are all very positive and excited to improve and move forward. As the Olympics approach in one year's time, I'm really anxious to improve upon my training program even more. I'm happy with the progress I've made and am looking forward to getting the water time and coaching that I need. Next week I'm spending some time in San Francisco to get time in the extreme breeze, chop, and cold water, which I'm certain will advance me in Weymouth conditions. I'm really stoked about going to the Pre-Olympics and can't wait to get back to Weymouth to train.

Click here for results; click on a tab to view full results for each Olympic class boat or board.

French Training; Taking Care of Business

2011-05-31T07:06:00.004-04:00

The pace of training and logistics accelerated during the past few weeks as I finished up a successful training camp in Brest, France, and shipped my rig back across the English Channel to Weymouth in preparation for Sail for Gold, our first Olympic Trials regatta. Training in Brest was highly productive and with the help of a very good French coach, filled in a number of gaps in my knowledge and gave me insight into another very successful sailing program.

The French have one of the most advanced sailing programs on the planet. In Brest, sailing is taught to most residents at a young age, and is integral to the culture, which could go as far back to over hundreds of years. On top of that, they are completely nuts about windsurfing, more so than any other country I've experienced. On any given windy day, you can see 50 recreational windsurfers bombing around, in Brest and its surrounding small villages. From this base, sailing is developed further at the club and national level under some very smart program directors and coaches (all with successful competitive careers). There are a good number of national training facilities, one of which is newly built in Brest. It's very difficult to rise to a level high enough to compete on the French National Team, and sailors competing at this level are extremely talented. Seeing the technically advanced level of their youth sailors gave me a very clear picture of the excellence of their training and coaching. The French have an advantage over almost every other country in the sport of sailing, and just keep pouring more resources into their program.

Bad picture of the Brest harbor stolen from the internet - I've lost my camera!

For all the advantages of the French system, they keep their methods and training guarded. Usually, outside sailors have to be careful not to overstep boundaries when training with their teams. We were not allowed to use their facility, and kept our equipment in our coach's shop. Training with the youth was acceptable as long as we didn't become too many, but I expect that it would be very difficult to secure an invitation to train with their national team. Other than those few rules, the sailors and coaches were happy to see us. It contrasted with my experience with the Polish, who are much more open about their training. However, as the Polish team becomes more prominent and professional with the addition of better resources, they are experiencing some growing pains and may become more closed. Both the French and Polish teams compete at a high level, and while I found the French may be better on a technical level, the Polish have a closer-knit team and support system, which is equally as important.

After sailing in Brest, I was ready for a short break before starting the final taper into the Weymouth Sail for Gold regatta. As with all breaks, time is filled with logistics and trying to accomplish all the things that need to be done off the water in a short time. The journey began with a ferry ride to Portsmouth, where my coach, Britt, and I stayed with a friend. We washed, unloaded and re-loaded equipment, and dropped the boat at the dealer's shop for a servicing. We inventoried items and went shopping, and tried to get some needed sleep. After a stop-and-go commute to Weymouth, (bank holidays!), we were ready to move in and get the equipment sorted.

All the time before Sail for Gold will be spent training lightly and acclimatizing to the conditions in Weymouth. So far we have seen a very windy week - almost 25 knots for days at a time. The weather is changing now, and we're not sure what will be in store for the regatta. I'm looking forward to the event, which should have a really tough fleet. Sail for Gold is the international peak event this season!

Acquiring Building Blocks: Coaching after Palma and the French Olympic Week

2011-05-04T16:54:00.002-04:00

After my event in Palma turned out poorly, I finished up a little frustrated. However, one of the keys to getting quickly past frustration is analysis, checking over all the aspects of the regatta to figure out where the weaknesses are.

As I mentioned in the previous post, the major factor that affected my Palma event was recovery. After a really tough training camp in Cadiz, I didn’t get any physical therapy and remained pretty stressed for a few days afterwards with driving, ferries, and getting adjusted to routine in Palma. I didn’t want to go into the event tired, but I was distracted enough to affect my rest, and thus my focus was a little impaired. With this in mind, I set out to create a better training plan for myself, with speedy skill acquisition in mind.

As a science person, I find analysis to be an entertaining challenge. The trick is applying physical skills to meaningful data. My coach and I identified the skills that are most critical to having a good race, and assigned a numerical value to them representing my comparison to the skills of the fleet’s top sailors. We graphed the data simply to visually identify the skills I need to improve upon the most, in a few different conditions. I then created a table depicting every day I worked on each skill in each condition, starting upon my arrival in Hyeres, France, for the French Olympic Week. At the end of the season, I’ll know relatively how long it’s taking to develop a skill, or the number of days I was able to work on a particular item. All in all, a relatively simple way to keep track of learning.

Having a consistent checklist improved the quality of my training before the French Olympic Week. I made significant headway on a number of items in about a week of training before the event. Any new skill is a building block for each race, and the proper assembly of these blocks is what creates a good race and overall event. I can’t say that I put together a great result, but I certainly performed well for a definite number of skills, and sailed much better in this event than Palma.

The French Olympic Week saw mostly light and marginal conditions. We had only one fully-planing race on the first day. The committee did a good job of getting all the races in, and made some good calls on scheduling. Every day had a different start according to how the committee felt the wind would develop that day. In the qualifying series, we had three races on the day with better breeze, and one race on the lightest day. I found that I’m able to put together marginal-planing races together a bit better than light wind races, thanks to a lot of time training in Miami this winter.

In addition to the challenging conditions, the women’s fleet here was very big – 75 boards total, making two fleets. Many teams use this event as an Olympic qualifier, and it’s also a good venue for developmental sailors to compete. In short, this event had the best fleet quality of almost the entire 2012 quadrennium thus far (maybe with the exception of the 2010 Worlds in Denmark). The growing difficulty of the sport makes rapid learning a necessity, and my attempts to organize different systems for training will hopefully create a method that works well for me, and facilitates rapid assembly of skills critical for racing.

I’m now in Brest, France, beginning a training camp with local French sailors and youth men, and two sailor friends from Canada and Hungary. I’m confident that this will be a good week for learning. Afterwards, I go to Weymouth to begin training for the Sail for Gold Regatta, our first Olympic qualifier.

Trofeo Princesa Sofia 2011

2011-04-18T15:05:00.007-04:00

Palma can be a difficult venue for most North American sailors, and some of the regatta results of the US Sailing Team Alphagraphics reflected this. Our team leader asked us for some factors that would have improved results, and for me there were three deciding factors.

The conditions at Palma are quite different from Florida, where most of us train in the winter and early spring months. Most, if not all, of the top finishers in Palma trained during the winter at the venue. If US sailors were to arrive for a three-week training block before the event, we wouldn’t be coming into the first European event “cold” and adjusting to being in Europe again.

In addition to earlier training, it is difficult this year to find training partners to tune up with. Having more support for the boards to find partners would effect this; our Olympic qualifying year makes it a more difficult time to try and fit into other teams’ schedules. This year, I need to spend more time at the Weymouth venue, taking time away from my usual training with the Polish youth team.

Finally, after an intense training camp in Cadiz, I didn’t recover in time for racing. Although I know and utilized a lot of endurance-athlete recovery tricks, the element missing was physical therapy. Not having therapy can interrupt my entire training schedule, as too much time is spent trying to recover instead of working out in the gym or on the water. Without physical recovery, mental recovery is more difficult as well. Recovery was the major factor that affected my results in Palma. As a high-level endurance sport, it’s silly not to have trainers here for boardsailors, and the entire team would benefit from adding physical therapy to more events.

The regatta was a great learning experience in that it was a lesson in what improper physical and mental preparation, and not enough time at the venue, can lead to. At this level of sailing, especially with the fleet’s ability growing stronger and stronger, smaller details become more important. In the results, lack of minor details was apparent in the performances of a few top sailors, who weren’t quite up to speed. As more resources are being applied to windsurfing, sailors are gaining more experience in the second quadrennium using the RS:X, and teams are gaining depth with growing youth programs, competition is at its pinnacle.

Apart from the sailing, I finally got to see some of Mallorca. Having the minivan enabled me to get away from the venue and touristy beaches. Tourism in Mallorca makes up about 60% of the GDP and drives most of business on the island. In the past 50 years, tourism has chiefly consisted of North Europeans coming down to get drunk and sunburned, and beach towns have aptly been described as “tourist ghettoes.” However, tourism marketing has shifted focus and the island is attracting crowds of cyclists and other types of “ecotourists.”

Non-beach tourism is focused around some picturesque mountain villages on the north side of the island, one of which we were able to visit on a free day. We cruised uphill in the van to Valldemosa, following packs of cyclists around hairpin turns at a snail’s pace. We also toured a monastery and enjoyed lunch at a port town. In short, we were perfect tourists for a day, stealing a rare moment away from the regatta venue.

I’m now in Hyeres, France, after a ferry trip and drive from Barcelona and have spent the week tuning up. I always enjoy the French Olympic Week and am looking forward to a fun event, starting this Easter Sunday.

Princess Sofia Trophy, Palma de Mallorca, Spain

2011-04-03T08:35:00.007-04:00

Polish youth coach Maciek Dziemanczuk and team

After a two-week training camp with the Polish team in El Puerto de Santa Maria, Spain (Cadiz area), I'm about to begin the World Cup event Princess Sofia Trophy in Mallorca, Spain.

Training in Cadiz and here in Mallorca before the event led to a new list of skills to develop. In the wavy conditions of the Mediterranean and before that, Bay of Cadiz, the skills I learned in Miami need to be refined and new ones learned.

Oftentimes in these older maritime regions, strong winds have character and are named. In South France, the 30-40 + knot offshore wind is famously known as "le Mistral," and in Cadiz a strong prevailing southwesterly is named "Levante." Levante made a showing for almost an entire week, and we trained in 30-knot breeze after a week of light wind. Although it wore out all the sailors, Levante created a great opportunity to find areas to strengthen for December's regatta in Perth, Australia, another notably windy venue. It was also a good warm-up for the Princess Sofia Trophy.

Fixing a broken batten

Team meeting

After just under a week's worth of training here in Palma, where I am being coached by Britt Viehman, it's evident that the conditions require techniques that are newer for me. We've developed a specific plan for each condition and the event will be a great training opportunity. This year before the Olympics, competition is at its best and toughest, and the large attendance of many top sailors will make the event challenging and exciting.

Palma cathedral, early morning by ferry

Sailor Profile: Farrah Hall, Olympic Class Windsurfer

2011-03-26T01:21:00.000-04:00

This video is an excerpt from Sperry Top-Sider's "Passion for the Sea" series, narrated by Gary Jobson. It was uploaded to YouTube by the new National Sailing Center and Hall of Fame in Annapolis, Maryland. The National Sailing Hall of Fame is honoring its first class of inductees on October 23, 2011.

Going fast downwind in 25 knots, Cadiz, Spain

2011-03-19T16:38:00.005-04:00

At a training camp with the Polish youth team from Sopot. We've seen almost every kind of condition this week, from this windy extreme to very light wind and sunny weather.

Time zones, logistics, budgets, and Garmin GPS

2011-03-13T16:30:00.008-04:00

Life would be a lot easier if someone took over the responsibility of planning my campaign, and all I had to worry about was training and racing. However, like the majority of Olympic hopefuls who don't have a team of support personnel, planning, logistics, and budget management falls squarely onto my shoulders.

Without missing a beat, the day after the Rolex Miami OCR, I attended a USSTAG meeting to learn about what they had planned for us regarding training camps, logistics, and coaching. As is the norm, the boards are the least-funded Olympic class, and only $10,000 is allocated for our coaching budget, a total of two regattas for both men and women RS:X sailors. (All the other boat classes have coaches for most of the World Cup events.) With this shortcoming in mind, I set to work raising money for my own program.

Most Olympic-class sailors are well-aware that full-time coaching is an absolute necessity. Without constant feedback, analysis, and support on the water, jumping into Olympic-level training and competition is frustrating and difficult. All the top teams have a fully-planned schedule with a national coach, and most sailors wouldn't think of heading out to a serious training session without this support. In order to compete with the best, my resources must be at the same level, or better, in an innovative way. Both coaching and the logistics of including a coach are expensive and time-consuming, and I can't say that I've exactly found the most innovative solution for myself, but that the resources have come slowly together over the past few years and I'm now in a position to have a coaching program for the spring World Cup regattas.

After the Miami OCR, I spent the entire month of February pushing single-mindedly to get funding. I've applied for a few more grants, and spent a lot of time following up with prospective donors. In some ways, I'm "counting chickens before they're hatched" in that I don't have my full budget, but I'm expecting my efforts to pay off, and put me in the best position possible to make good results for the USA at the early World Cup events, our first Olympic Trials event, and score the boards more funding for the 2016 quadrennium.

Apart from fund raising, my next challenge was organizing a coach boat, transport, housing, and other necessities for three months in Europe. Appraising my budget, the first glaring expense was coach boat charters - almost $30,000 a year to charter a boat at each event, plus a major hassle sourcing these boats. Through creative financing / deficit spending, I've been able to acquire a coach boat for this season. Given the fact that a boat costs much less than $30,000, and finding boats can be stressful, buying a boat was almost a no-brainer, although very difficult, decision. Being a frugal person by nature, I'm tortured by expensive decisions!

I was very pressed for time in February from all the fund raising, some training in St. Petersburg with our youth team, and getting very sick for a week. This made it necessary to acquire the boat sight-unseen in the UK, and prepare my van, also in the UK, from afar. This required some acrobatics. Luckily, a very generous friend from Hayling Island, UK, picked up my van from Weymouth, had the oil changed, and installed a tow bar. The friend also inspected a boat I found online, approved it, delivered it, and found a really nice trailer and covers for it. I'm really excited about my boat, which is a Solent RIB, made by a local company for the south coast of the UK. Not to mention, it has a nice, efficient engine, and very pretty colors!

Very happy about the new boat

After picking up the boat and running around for a few days at Hayling Island to insure and register it, I was ready for the road. One ferry ride and 1,500 miles later, van, boat, and I were safely at our next destination in Cadiz, Spain, where I will be training for the next two weeks with a few teams from Poland. Driving 1,500 miles in the US is relatively easy on our interstate system, but over here, the same distance takes almost twice as long. Slower speeds, toll highways, winding roads and massive hills make driving much more difficult (and expensive!). Luckily, I was still adjusting to the time difference, so it was easier to stay awake at night. Adding to the ordeal was my GPS, which took me on a few boondoggles, and had me in hysterics with its arrogant directives and mispronunciations of place names. A few lessons my dad taught me about vehicles came to good use on this trip: drive slowly and gently, check the oil and fluids at every stop, and check over the rig carefully. Although I was obsessively careful, my hard-working, 14-year-old minivan suffered; the transmission is definitely on its way out and it's riding pretty rough. With a little TLC it should at least live through the season. It's survived multiple trips across, up, and down both coasts of the USA, and laps around North Europe...it can't quit on me now!

Van and boat, on a bigger boat

"Roll on, eighteen-wheeler..."

Bridges through the Pyrenees

Although I had a rough drive, the Polish drove almost twice as far and arrived in Cadiz, in the middle of the night, like the walking dead. During that night, a huge party (for Carnaval) raged through the marina and a few drunken revelers decided it would be a good idea to take bikes from their trailer and ride them around. Luckily, the police were on hand to apprehend the thieves and the bicycles!

I'm really excited to be here in a very beautiful town with an impressive sailing facility, training with an excellent team. I'm working with one of the coaches from the Sopot Sailing Club, and some fast younger sailors. Joining us will be some of the women on the Polish National Team and their coach. I'm looking forward to some pretty intense on-the-water sessions and being around a great group of people I consider to be my teammates.

A hard-earned result for the Miami OCR

2011-01-28T18:52:00.006-05:00

The Miami Olympic Classes Regatta is the most important regatta annually for American Olympic aspirants. It is one of the first World Cup ranking regattas on the circuit, and it is also a chance for teams and individual sailors to get a spot on the US Sailing Team. Not only did I again earn my #1 spot on the team, but I also had the best regatta of my life.

Pre-race: chilly weather calls for layers of clothing (Event photo)

Miami is never a predictable place for racing. For the past two years, it has been a light-wind venue, but this year we had more wind than normal and even one day of planing races. The week saw a full, fairly classic frontal rotation of the wind from east to northwest, with a different direction every day. The one constant of Miami racing is that the wind will always be shifty and puffy, and there will always be weeds (shedding Florida seagrass and algae) to drag around the course on your fin.

The first few days of racing passed easily, as the wind direction was easterly, giving us cleaner and stronger wind. The second day of racing saw planing conditions in a southeast 15 knot breeze. We easily managed two races in warm, cloudy, fast conditions. I had good starts and since my pointing is a lot better, I had some good finishes. However, the third day proved to be the toughest of the regatta. Any easterly direction pushes a lot of weeds onto the course, so that by the third day, the weeds were floating around in huge lines, ready to trap sailors. The wind was a shifty, very gusty southwest as cloud lines marking the beginning of a front rolled through. These conditions are very difficult because sailors must be very good at transitions, tactics, and making minute adjustments to technique in every gust or lull. My first race was the best of the series, but my second race was the worst. As the breeze died, the weeds and general Miami debris became more and more of a menace to being able to plane. Every sailor had to clear weeds several times during the racing. My Canadian friend, Dominique Vallee, had a piece of cardboard get stuck in her daggerboard well; she had to stop to physically jump in and pull it out so she could put the board up. I tacked going downwind rather than jibing - it was still faster than dragging weeds! I've never sailed anywhere else in the world that has as many obstacles in the water.

Racing in marginal conditions (Event photo)

The wind failed to materialize on the fourth day, and after a long wait on the water, we went in without racing. The front finally filled in for the fifth and last day of racing. We again had two races in puffy, dying northwest frontal breeze coming down from the cityfront. Racing was a little tougher for me today as I was nervous going into the first start, fouled someone, and fell trying to do my penalty turn. I played catch-up for the rest of the race, and was actually pleased with the finish. The long courses and dying breeze of the regatta's final days made for some really long and difficult racing.

I'm really excited about what a 12th place finish in a fairly competitive fleet means. I know the results have come from finally developing the techniques that have frustrated me for years, with the help of consistent coaching from Britt Viehman for the past month. I have been really aggressive about learning skills step by step, and creating lists of short goals. I now have a new list of skills to develop, and am looking forward to February's plan, and March's training and racing in Europe. It will once again be a tough fight to get the resources together to make a comprehensive plan. However, I've already proven that I have unlimited quantities of willpower and fight for the final push to the Olympic qualifier regattas, and much more.

I want to thank my sponsor, Compass Marketing, for making this effort achievable. Compass has shown unwavering support of my Olympic campaign since 2008.

Miami OCR 2011: Day 1

2011-01-24T18:21:00.007-05:00

Already the biggest regatta of the winter season is upon us. Today was the first day of the Miami Olympic Classes Regatta, the qualifier for the 2011 US Sailing Team. There are 29 girls registered in the RS:X fleet, the biggest in three years. In attendance are some of the best sailors from Spain (Marina Alabau and Blanca Manchon; both have European and World titles), Great Britain (Bryony Shaw, 2008 Silver medalist), and the French national team. Also competing are some excellent sailors from Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina.

Britt Viehman is again coaching me. Over the past month, I've made a detailed, day-by-day plan that has included some of his youth team training camps, several days of private coaching, and lots of video. The coaching has helped immensely, especially the video, and this winter's endeavors are beginning to pay off.

Ready to catch a tuning session on video

My focus for this regatta is to incorporate the new techniques I've learned in an actual World Cup regatta, and emphasize executing each component of a race. Execution met with success today in a fine opening day's 12-14 knots of breeze. The first race exemplified my day. I had a clean start, but got rolled by a couple fast girls going low. I had to tack out, but got out into clear air, good pressure and hit the port-tack layline railing fast. I rounded in 10th and maintained the position until the last downwind, when I got passed by one sailor. I finished 11th, one of my best finishes ever in a fleet this size.

Results

Alex Caviglia Bluewater Classic

2011-01-18T20:42:00.006-05:00

The Alex Caviglia Bluewater Classic is a regatta held annually at Shake-A-Leg Miami, a well-known and organized facility focused on providing access to sailing and the water to disabled folks and less-advantaged community members. The proceeds benefit the Caviglia Bluewater Foundation, which assists the families of victims of traumatic brain injury using sailing as a medium. The Caviglia regatta is attended annually by international RS:X sailors training for the Miami OCR. For the past two years, I sailed Formula at this regatta, but in preparation for the critical 2011 season, I used the regatta as a test to see how well my newly acquired light wind technique held up against some of the world's best women's RS:X sailors, including the British silver medalist and Spanish world champion.

Caviglia Foundation mission, printed on the regatta T-shirt

The focus of the regatta was reinforcing the skills I learned over the past month in a competitive setting. My goal was to break down each race and apply the new pumping and pointing techniques as much as possible and treat the regatta as a training camp. We had light and marginal wind for all three days of the event, conditions normally seen also at the OCR. I was really pleased at the way I am now keeping up better with the faster sailors in the lighter conditions. I'm definitely more in the game than I've ever been, and I'm happy with the results of the hard work I've put in over the last months. With only about seven or eight days of coaching, I've been able to correct things that have frustrated me for years, and I'm looking forward to applying my new experience at the OCR.

Winter Update and the Clever Pig Sailing Team

2011-01-11T11:37:00.004-05:00

I'm really pleased to announce that I'm now a part of the "Clever Pig Sailing Team," a group of sailors who have been awarded grants by the Southport Sailing Foundation (SSF). The SSF is an enthusiastic and active non-profit organization dedicated to helping youth and young adult sailors achieve their competitive sailing goals. They also aim to help these sailors put together more professional campaigns through their website, into which they have put considerable effort.

The Clever Pig Sailing Team includes Rachel Bryer (Laser Radial), Jennifer French and Jean-Paul Creignou (SKUD), Kyle Larsen (Laser 4.7); Sarah Lihan, a Laser Radial sailor on the US Sailing Team, and myself. I am very happy to be the recipient of the SSF's grant. I feel that the foundation has genuine and passionate members who are eager to do what they can to promote competitive sailing. Their quick response and readiness to give advice, help, and promotion to interested sailors signifies commitment to their cause and a true team approach, which is very refreshing. I am proud to represent this wholesome group and will endeavor to do my best to be an ideal ambassador.

Miami training session

Life is progressing fairly smoothly here in south Florida, and I've been doing my best to create a good training schedule. I decided to stay local once again to conserve money for the spring European season, which means my resources are now going to new equipment and coaching in preparation for the Miami Olympic Classes Regatta (OCR). This important regatta determines 2011 US Sailing Team rankings and is the focus of all my resources this month.

My goal this month is to obtain as much focused training as possible, with coaching and video. I am accomplishing this by working with the developmental group of windsurfers as much as possible, under the guidance of Britt Viehman, their coach and friend of mine from St. Petersburg, FL. I attended two of the development camps in Miami and Cocoa Beach, FL, and am also working with Britt individually in Miami leading up to the OCR.

Having focused goals means that I selected just a few aspects of my sailing to improve. In this case, using Britt means I can work on the most "developmental" and basic part of my sailing: pointing upwind in light wind. This seems very basic, but for me, because of too many variations in instruction or having no instruction at all, I have always struggled with light wind concepts. "Pointing upwind" also includes work on pumping, acceleration, steering, and other more minute details. We are making good progress, and slowly eliminating one of the weakest areas of my sailing. I am happy that I can finally begin to put my fitness to good use, and I'm looking forward to finally out-pumping my competitors at the Miami OCR.

Repairing equipment

Long Road to Miami

2010-12-09T20:12:00.004-05:00

After bouncing around Florida for a few weeks, I've finally found an apartment and am settled in Miami for training. This winter (blame it on the economy), short-term housing has been really difficult to find. Most places are either extremely expensive, unfurnished, or in the "hood." In Coconut Grove, which contains most of Miami's sailing scene, wealthy neighborhoods border lower-income areas by the width of a city back yard....and I've looked at housing in both. I've lived at various friends' places in Miami, Stuart, and St Petersburg, while keeping the car packed and training at the same time. The past month has been a familiar, wearisome adventure that has lasted a bit longer than I wanted it to.

The hassle of finding housing in Miami is a familiar one to many sailors, and our main concern is getting our belongings out of the car and into a safe place. Although we have a free place to store gear and train at the US Sailing Center here, the parking lot has been targeted by thieves for many years. It's tempting to leave your life locked in the car, but the car is the most unsafe place for computers, wallets, and sailing gear. On Sunday, before I moved into my new place, thieves broke two windows of my van and stole a gym bag with wallet, cash, toiletries and clothes. It cost $750 to replace the windows, four hours to clean all the glass out of the car and door interiors, and as a result, my life was disrupted for an additional few days. The money is almost easier to sacrifice then the time lost and stress.

Although my car was the target (along with two other vehicles) this week, my feelings were validated by some experiences related to me by one of the women's 470 teams, who had their vehicles broken into three times. In one incident, their entire car was stolen, dragged away with their tools and a brand-new set of sails inside. The theft was a devastating setback to their campaign. The team has also experienced some difficulties finding housing, and one sailor is cycling daily from Miami Beach, 10 miles away. Miami is a difficult place for everyone, and removing theft and crime, locals and visitors still have to deal with frustrating traffic and angry drivers, poor urban planning and ugly, soulless sprawl, sky-high taxes, and the general insanity created by people of every desperate race and culture crushed together in too small a space. From the outside, Miami is an incredibly beautiful place to live, but on the inside, it is glaringly ugly and superficial, identities crushed together to breed a war for money and materialism. The city is a true paradise wasted, and one of the most troubled, confused, chaotic places I've ever traveled to.

Although the city in general disgusts me, the water is entirely another world. On Biscayne Bay or the ocean, sailors can escape the demented crush of humanity and re-orient to their true purpose for being here. Miami is a fantastic place to sail, and there is plenty of sailing to do. Training so far is going well. Over Thanksgiving, I did a US Sailing Development Team (USSDT) clinic with Britt Viehman's youth team. It is great to see how well all the sailors are progressing. The girls in particular are taking windsurfing very seriously, and are learning new things very quickly. For me it was a good chance to revisit the basic things I never learned as a beginner...like pointing upwind. I made some big strides forward with Britt's help (and some video) and now have a few techniques to work on daily.

I must be describing something in Britt's video

It is great to see the windsurfers included in the USSDT camp, although it was not without a fight that they were able to get in. Britt's persuasion was a major influence, and windsurfing has an inside advocate, Leandro Spina, a salaried US Sailing Team skiff coach who also trains some Bic Techno sailors at the Miami Yacht Club. Leandro has been pushing hard for windsurfing's inclusion, which is something sorely needed inside US Sailing. If not for Britt and Leandro, windsurfing would never have a chance for success under the current US Sailing Team leadership.

The beginning of the winter sailing season has brought lots to fight for. It's a good thing I have an endless reserve of determination and the ability to fight, both on the water and on dry land.

Thanks again to my sponsor, Compass Marketing, and for so much community support of my Olympic campaign.

Fund Raiser Dinner a Success

2010-11-11T19:49:00.006-05:00

Planning a fund raiser is a big job, and my mom and I had three weeks in which to do it. We pulled together a great silent auction, raffle prizes, advertising, decoration, and the best spaghetti we could possibly make. We held the event at the Cape St. Claire Clubhouse, near the Magothy River.

The Cape Clubhouse

My mom's buffet setup

Guests came from all over Annapolis and surrounding counties, including members of the Severn Sailing Association, Baltimore Area Boardsailing Association, and community members from Cape St. Claire. Altogether, about 50 guests attended. Many families showed up, and kids had fun running around the clubhouse and making shadow puppets in front of the slide show. After guests were seated and eating dinner, I presented some pictures and information about my campaign, youth windsurfing, how to get started in windsurfing, and a video about the history of the Sopot Sailing Club in Poland, where I train in the summer. After dinner, my mom announced the raffle and silent auction prizes. We had a lot of incredible donations from many local businesses, including lots of restaurant gift certificates, choice retail items, and a car care package with Navy football tickets from Annapolis Jaguar, a supporter of many local sailing events.

Contributors included:

Compass Marketing

Jaguar of Annapolis

USNA Athletic Department

Alan's Factory Outlet

Zachary's Jewelry

East of Maui

Delmarva BoardSport Adventures

Harley Davidson Annapolis

Hudson & Fouquet

Eastern Mountain Sports

Helly Hansen

Bow Tie Cinemas

Brios Restaurant

Mills Fine Wine and Spirits

Cadillac Ranch Restaurant

Hell Point Restaurant

McCormick and Schmick's Seafood Restaurant

Red, Hot, and Blue Restaurant

Austin Grill

Best Buy Annapolis

Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen

Stoney River Steakhouse

Starbucks City Dock

Bertucci's Italian Restaurant

Bay Ridge Wine and Liquors

Carrol's Creek Cafe

Breeze Restaurant at Loews Hotel

Kilwins

Chevy's Fresh Mex

Fados Irish Pub

Bin 201 Wine Sellers

Menchies.

Guests check out the silent auction

A good time was had by all guests, and the fund raiser was a success. We raised over $3,500, which will be used for new equipment and coaching this winter. This particular winter season is a critical time for me, as I will be building a training base for the Olympic qualifying series this summer. It is great to know that I will be able to accomplish my goals for the winter, and the proceeds from this fund raiser is playing a significant role in that. I really appreciate all the help I've been given from the community! I feel very lucky to have so much support, and I'm ready to make some big strides forward this season.

Fund raiser - I need your help!

2010-10-15T20:20:00.004-04:00

I'm putting together a fund raiser on Friday, November 5 to support my 2012 Olympic campaign. I am trying to make it community-centric, so it will be held in Cape St. Claire, the Annapolis community where I grew up (and still live). If you're interested in attending and learning more about Olympic and youth windsurfing, read on.

The fund raiser will be held at the Cape St. Claire community clubhouse at 1223 River Bay Rd, Annapolis, MD 21409. It will be a spaghetti dinner with a silent auction, raffle, and presentation. We are also going to have lots of cool stuff in the silent auction, with a couple big prizes for the raffle. My presentation will focus on shedding light on Olympic windsurfing, adventures on the campaign trail, and youth windsurfing in the USA.

Donations are tax-deductible and go to support campaign expenditures, with a focus on my coaching program to bring it up to par with the fully-funded programs of my international competitors. Good, consistent coaching is critical for success in the highly competitive international arena.

Hope to see you there!

Colorado Springs Training Camp

2010-10-08T14:13:00.004-04:00

Over the weekend, the US Sailing Team was in Colorado Springs at the US Olympic Training Center. It was a little funny to have a training camp where there is nowhere to sail, but the focus was on our physical training programs. The team had a demanding plan for us, and we went through some rigorous testing to determine where we are physically. Chris Herrera, the team's trainer, took all the data and also gave us some workouts. On top of the testing and workouts, our team leader divided us into groups and designed some competitions to facilitate "team building." It was a physically demanding weekend with a really packed schedule.

Finishing up a pull-up test

For me, the most important part of the weekend was meeting with Chris to discuss my program. We set a few peak regattas and built a new training program around that. Because it's the end of the season, I am a bit too thin, tired, and my strength isn't at its maximum. For the next few weeks my program will significantly reduce cardio and focus on building strength and adding weight with complete exercises in the gym. Chris and his partner, Lee, also did some presentations for us, which were really motivational. I'm really looking forward to getting back in the gym, and back to the grind, which I love.

Genny Tulloch (women's match racing) and Alice Manard help teammate Jen Chamberlain through a weighted isometric hold test while Chris looks on

The best change to the US Sailing Team is its team-based fitness program, managed by Chris Herrera. However, the real program, which has been highly publicized and touted, is still about "the rich getting richer." There is little interest in developmental funding or in classes which currently have low medal potential. Most of team budget that isn't US Olympic Committee money goes towards paying management, logistics, and team dinners and functions. In addition, developmental classes like windsurfing are ignored or left behind. In short, changes to the US Sailing Team program are surface-level only.

Although I am part of a new team structure, I still feel very much on the outside. At this camp, I was able to show that I am very fit, work hard, and can form friendships with teammates. However, there is little understanding, and no attempt to understand, what a developmental and completely self-funded sailor like me must go through in order to make a real campaign, let alone a result for the USA. There is little interest in windsurfing, and little interest in me on a personal level, from our team management. Sailors must comply with specific rules and stay in the "team system," even though they receive no support, whether it is financial or simply kindness. As a result, I must rely completely on my own drive, ability to work hard, and self-motivation, which are my only real talents. Without getting great results internationally, it is extremely difficult to feel rewarded for my efforts without the support of team leaders, or being taken seriously by them. The rewards of my own Olympic campaign are the experiences of travel, high-level competition, my work with the Polish team, and the friendships and alliances formed along the way. It is difficult to comply with, or care about, a political, surface-based system that excludes sailors because it is deliberately blind to their value.

This is not to say that I don't appreciate what the team's leadership is trying to do with the overall Olympic program. I believe they genuinely want to make the team better, and I want very much to be a part of a team system. However, old attitudes need to be removed and the team built from a development level, from the bottom up rather than the top down. If not, there is little chance for the program to show real success, and it will always be surface-based.

RS:X Worlds: Qualifying series concludes

2010-09-01T05:16:00.004-04:00

Racing in Monday's breeze: mixing it up through the leeward gate

Yesterday two races were held for the women in light, shifty offshore northwest wind, a direction we've seen most here in Kerteminde. I learned a few valuable lessons about transitions from pointing and pumping conditions to daggerboard down railing conditions in the shifty breeze. The wind was mainly light but bigger puffs were coming through, and when the wind was lighter it was a better tactic to sail up the center of the course and play the shifts. However, when it the breeze came up, it was better to pick a side of the course and keep blasting as fast as possible with the blade down. It's hard to keep this board moving due to its weight and size, so in railing conditions it pays off to stay in the most pressure you can find and keep the board moving as fast as possible.

My first race was one of the better races of my career. I hit all the shifts correctly and worked extremely hard pumping. The committee shortened the course, as the wind dropped significantly, and we finished on the reach. During the second race, the wind picked up. Unfortunately I tried the same tactics, which put me pretty deep in the fleet, but definitely taught me a new skill. Today is our rest day and the end of the qualifying series, after which the two fleets are split into gold and blue according to finish. I'm in the blue fleet, which will be the easier fleet, which means good racing and education too.

In the top 10 women, the first place sailor is my Polish teammate, Maja Dziarnowska. This is her first full year on the Polish National Team, and she has learned to work very hard with excellent coaching, and has improved by leaps and bounds. This is her best result by far at a Worlds, and very promising for her career especially since she is only 20 years old. The next Polish sailor is 2007 World Champion Zofia Klepacka, in 8th place. The Chinese are also having a notable event, with 2 sailors so far in the top 10 (3rd and 4th) and a huge team of 16 sailors here. Veterans Alessandra Sensini (ITA) and Jessica Crisp (AUS) are in 5th and 7th places respectively. All the teams have been working extremely hard, and the windy conditions backed with yesterday's shifty breeze means that the leaderboard is a good representative of the fleet's talent.

Tomorrow we begin the final round. The forecast is showing marginal to light wind for the remainder of the event, which should mix up the results!

Bob and Ben on the coach boat with Gebi

Three races for women on Day 2 of RS:X Worlds

2010-08-30T15:23:00.002-04:00

Conditions sprang to life on the second day of the RS:X World Championships. The wind filled in from the northeast to 20+ knots, the sun came out, and the women were scheduled for 3 races.

The women started at 11 am, and we knocked out two races quickly. I am working on starts and speed in the choppy conditions. Racing wasn't too complicated today in the planing conditions. It was "Nascar" racing - all speed, starts are everything, round and round the course racing. I've been having some good moments even though I'm not making results. I had one of the best starts in the fleet during the third race, and my board handling is getting better.

Meanwhile, my mom is here living the good life as a registered photographer for the event. She has her big camera and has been going out on the media boat. She's making some new friends, is enjoying watching the racing, and having hot coffee and lemon cheesecake on the boat. She also made us dinner tonight!

More tomorrow with some of Mom's pictures!

RS:X Worlds: No action for women on Day 1

2010-08-29T15:32:00.002-04:00

The day started promising for sailors on the first day of the RS:X Worlds in Kerteminde, Denmark. The offshore wind was light but gusts were coming through as clouds passed overhead. However, as rain cells cycled through, the wind became too unstable to race, and the men's fleets were sent back to the beach and held.

Men leave the beach

The women's start was scheduled for 1 pm, but was pushed back. We hung out in the competitors' tents all day, until the men were sent back out. The wind had clocked around to the opposite direction, and filled in but remained very light. After a period of waiting, the men finally got their races in, but it was too late for us.

Women's boards ready on the beach

The forecast for tomorrow shows breezy conditions with the ever present rain, so we should be able to get in three races.

Kerteminde, Denmark

2010-08-23T08:46:00.004-04:00

Peaceful Danish environment

Last week many sailors landed in Kerteminde, Denmark, where the 2010 RS:X World Championships will begin on August 29. Kerteminde is a small town east of Copenhagen, on the next peninsula across a long bridge. I drove in from the airport with Bob Willis, and we were shocked at the price of the bridge toll: 225 Danish kroner, which is $40. Sometimes it's nice to get a reminder that the price of US highway infrastructure is minimal compared to what Europeans have to pay!

Kerteminde is situated on an inlet in the Baltic Sea. We are surrounded by farmland and water, which is great for cycling and getting away from the scene at the Kerteminde Sailing Club. It is a relaxed atmosphere which definitely agrees with me. The weather been cloudy the entire week and extremely rainy. After coming from the UK, I'm quite anxious to see the sun again. Despite the rain, we have had excellent windy days and in general great sailing conditions.

A break in the clouds: light wind training

Training leading up to the event has been going really well. Although the Americans don't have coaching until the regatta starts, I'm refining my planing technique by tuning with other girls. I have noticed an improvement in speed, and upwind pointing is coming along. The international coaches run daily races, which most sailors take part in. I'm also working on breaking in a new sail and mast. I have the mast strung up in some marina storage racks with pressure on it so it is bent similar to how it will load up rigged. I will keep it there for four or five days until it is broken down a little more, then I'll rig it again and see if there is some change. For now I'm using my most ancient mast, which is a good mast but I'm a little concerned that it might not last through the regatta.

Mast bending system

Apart from sailing, the weather has allowed me to get some grant writing done and get organized in general. My mom is coming to visit me during the regatta, and we're looking forward to a little sightseeing, something I almost never do by myself! I'm also reunited with my minivan, which the Polish team drove to Denmark from Sopot. I will feel more at home here with both my van and my mom!

2010-08-14T05:48:00.002-04:00

Racing ended for us yesterday with two crazy, shifty, funny races. The girls were supposed to race last after the two men's fleets. However, the constantly changing weather prevented the men's gold fleet from efficiently getting their races off, and the blue fleet's racing was cancelled in order to get our races in at the very end of the day. Rain cells moved through the course areas constantly, and every time a dark cloud passed, the wind shifted to move with it. The wind oscillated left and right, and big gusts and lulls anywhere from 5-17 knots touched down on the course. We raced starting around 4 pm, and made it back to the beach around 6:45.

I tried a few things that were different in order to break myself out of my usual race mode. The first was to try planing starts before the other girls went daggerboard up. I also started on port once (near the boat) and footed underneath the entire fleet. I was going really fast and got out into open air, but the wind shifted at that moment and I committed myself to the wrong side of the course! My plan was to hit that side because it looked better, but I ended up quite surprised. I learned a lot of lessons during this regatta, and now have a long list of new things to work on. It was great being able to identify weaknesses and try new things during this regatta, all made possible by our coach Mike Gebhardt.

The US Sailing Team overall had a good regatta and all logistics and coaching efforts were well worth it. Read the press release for more details.

I'm moving on to Kerteminde, Denmark to compete in the World Championships. I will get to be a tourist for a few days as the regatta doesn't start until the 29th. Thanks to the Polish windsurfing team who drove my minivan over from Sopot. Also a big thanks to my sponsor, Compass Marketing, for making all my Olympic efforts possible.

Weymouth, Days 3 and 4

2010-08-12T12:40:00.002-04:00

Scheduling for racing is a bit tight. Since there are two courses in the harbor, the race committee is running a windward - leeward slalom course rather than the usual trapezoid. This means that the fleets of boards are raced individually and called out one at a time.

We raced last yesterday, and started after 3 pm. Conditions yesterday were classic sea breeze, and the sun made an appearance. I worked on getting good starts, which I accomplished, and marginal planing daggerboard-down technique. The wind died before the start of the second race, and the committee shortened the course. Pumping in light wind was not a bad change after the 25 knots of the previous day.

Today, the wind was from an unusual direction, northerly right from the Weymouth land mass. Clouds formed over the land, and the wind went right throughout the morning. Because of the shifting wind, we had several general recalls and the committee reset the course once. The key tactic of the day was to hit the right side of the course and then play the shifts up the remainder of the beat. The gusts and lulls were very significant and often we had to switch gears from planing to daggerboard down. I am getting a lot better at switching gears, and one of the best aspects of my racing today was making independent decisions about when to switch. I also had several good starts and was one of the first girls to attempt planing starts in the gusts. In my best race I rounded the top mark in 15th after the start.

Tomorrow will be my last day of racing and after that one training day, the day of the medal race.

Weymouth shows racers its classic conditions on Day 2 of Sail for Gold Regatta

2010-08-11T06:12:00.003-04:00

Weymouth showed its true colors yesterday with the rough conditions it is well-known for. After an hour's delay for very light wind, misty clouds moved in, rain began to fall, the temperature dropped, and the breeze picked up.

The women had the first start, and we left the beach in very marginal conditions. After a few minutes, the wind built to planing conditions, and we had one general recall before the first race. I didn't have a very good race because although I have decent board speed and tactical skills, I had a second-row start, and once the fleet is ahead, it is impossible to catch up. Starts are difficult here as the line is fairly short and the fleet is very aggressive.

After the first race, the wind shifted right significantly and picked up to 20-25 knots, and rain squalls cycled through. The committee had to move the course and experienced a lot of difficulty with keeping the marks and the boat anchored. The process took about two hours and in the meantime, we were all freezing, wet, and getting tired sailing around in big breeze. Not only were the girls out, but the mens' fleets were called out too early as well. They waited with us as the course was reset.

The second race I pulled off a better start, and sailed better overall. I went course right, while most of the fleet went left. Even though this can be a dangerous tactic, I wanted to try it because the water on the right side was much flatter than the left, which was crazy from boat traffic, wind, and seawall backwash. It ended up working out, and I had a 2/3 fleet finish, which is more normal for me.

This is a difficult regatta for me as it is a peak regatta for the entire fleet, along with the RS:X Worlds in a couple of weeks. All the younger sailors on European teams have improved a lot this season with full time coaching and training camps, and the experienced sailors are extremely tuned up. However, I am making some improvements and learning a lot with Mike Gebhardt coaching me, and results will come in the future. The US Sailing Team is making steady improvement with its support of the sailors, and we will have more help in the next two seasons.

Team USA dinner - we have a big group here!

Back to Weymouth

2010-08-08T14:00:00.005-04:00

For the past week the US Sailing Team Alphagraphics has been training in Weymouth, UK, sailing venue of the 2012 Olympic Games. An impressive number of USST members are here, including sailors on the boat development teams. Our team leader, Kenneth Andreasen, is doing a great job of organizing meetings and bringing us together in our team "compound," a big storage facility a quarter mile from the Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy.

The US team hired Mike Gebhardt to coach Ben Barger and I, which was the deciding factor in my attendance at this regatta. It is really expensive because I have to charter equipment, but equipment is less than the cost of good coaching. We have had four days of coaching in wind anywhere from 8-25 knots in mostly chilly, rainy, and cloudy conditions. We are focusing on tuning and technique, and I have been developing my speed and pointing in breeze, and we have created different strategies for various conditions. We are continuing this focus through the regatta, and using the racing for further tuning and working on tactics.

Today was our first day of racing, and in addition to the tuning, we worked on developing tactics specific to Weymouth. In the breeze, tactics aren't excessively complicated. The left side of the course is usually favored and speed and a good start are imperative for getting to the left side right from the starting line. Although I didn't make any glaring tactical errors, I am having trouble pointing and I'm basically getting creamed by the fleet for that reason. A major factor impacting my pointing ability is my charter equipment, which is new and very stiff. It is great to be on new gear, but it still needs to be broken in and I have been keeping my sail fully rigged in a main hall to break it down faster. It doesn't look like I'll have a fantastic result at this regatta, but I'm making a lot of progress with technique and learning a lot more about the equipment. Mike Gebhardt is really pushing my ability and effort, and it will pay off at future regattas.

Lessons Learned: Life and sport come together at the RS:X European Championships

2010-07-11T05:06:00.004-04:00

Sometimes, I think windsurfing has made me grow up a lot faster than any of the other years of my life. The sport has forced me to learn a lot about discipline, organization, culture, and has compelled me to tame emotional issues and accept my person and life as I create it. Of course, there are always life lessons to be taken from windsurfing competition. The first is to truly be happy even when your racing is awful and it’s too easy to judge yourself by your results. The second is that racing is dangerous, and following the rules is extremely important. In the end, it’s only sport, and sport comes second to lives at stake.

The Europeans didn’t go very well for me. Not only did I struggle in the light wind, on the windier fourth and fifth days I wasn't able to race well. On the fourth day of racing, I crashed on the starting line with Agata Brygola, one of the top Polish women sailors, who was unable to finish well in the race. The collision was three-way with a board in the middle heading me up, and when I was unable to get my equipment stable enough to do so, catching a mast on my clew to take all of us out. In this situation I was in the wrong, the fall was an accident, and I took a penalty turn. The result of the collision was a redress hearing, something I’m quite familiar with! Agata was awarded redress of average points for the affected race in a competent hearing. This was great news for Agata and being in front of the jury was a good experience for her. Although I initially felt bad about the incident, accidents in sport happen often and I felt good about my conduct at the hearing. I finished the day still feeling positive. The next incident, however, didn’t have such a good conclusion.

Lots of boards coming off the line

On the fifth day of racing, the breeze filled in to Sopot’s best conditions. 13-15 knots out of the northwest means clean wind, nice swell, and planing conditions. I was looking forward to racing as the conditions favored me, and for the first race of the day had a clean start (OCS as I would later find out) and went daggerboard down until I was on top of the fleet. I finished the first upwind planing and planed quickly downwind to the leeward mark. I dropped the daggerboard again as it was quite crowded and I wanted to get up into cleaner air. As I was rounding the mark, a competitor from Israel, Lee Korzits, who races really well and is fast in the breeze, rounded inside of me, a legal maneuver. I had left enough space around the mark, so we both completed the rounding. However, Lee was planing quickly and didn’t have a good angle yet, so she came to the inside of me quite close, couldn’t sail up higher, and it was difficult for me to bear off with my daggerboard down. Lee would have passed me unscathed, but her boom caught on my jersey and ripped it, catapulting her off her board and bringing both sets of equipment down on top of her. Lee tried to swim to the surface underneath the two sets of equipment and couldn’t escape. She panicked and screamed underneath the tangle of boards and sails. I jumped off and tried to separate the gear, but a quick-thinking French windsurfing coach sped up to the collision and dragged Lee out of the water. By then Lee had swallowed water and passed out, and they dragged her over the side of the boat as dead weight. The French coach revived her and brought her to shore with her equipment.

The incident terrified me. I dropped out of the race, sailed in to make sure Lee was all right, and wasn’t able to sail the rest of the day. In all sports, incidents such as this happen frequently, and remind us of the importance of the rules, but also of being conscientious and respectful of other competitors no matter your position, because human lives are precious. In the first incident, I was in the wrong and realized it but was unable to do anything about it, thus resulting in a collision and a penalty turn. In the collision with Lee, she was theoretically in the wrong, but because of the differing angles of planing and non-planing boards, was unable to sail higher. More conscientiousness on everyone’s part may have prevented both incidents, and the racing rules are made to create conscientiousness at any sailing event.

On our racecourse, with a large, extremely competitive fleet, a short starting line, and a tight slalom finish, infractions of the rules were happening left and right. Often girls were taking penalty turns, but just as often, they weren’t. At this regatta in general, it was difficult for the girls to respect space and minimize contact between boards, making it extremely dangerous racing. In the future, to reduce the danger at important regattas, regatta juries need to watch the racing closely and disqualify more boards. Also, the female competitors overall need to take initiative and protest people who foul them without taking a penalty turn. I saw this happen at least three or four times during the regatta, and each time the fouled board didn’t make sure the offender completed a turn. By letting boards get away with ridiculous fouls without a protest hearing, bad habits and unsafe situations are created throughout the entire fleet! Respect of other boards should be made a priority in windsurf racing.

A port-starboard incident about to happen just after the start

Lee was unhurt and thankful to be alive. At the awards ceremony, she presented the French coach with a gift thanking him for his quick and heroic action. The story had a happy ending, but the impact of the lesson was severe for me: awareness and respect are critical in racing. Without it, human lives are endangered. I am able to remain optimistic about my progress in windsurfing, and the incidents at this regatta will make me a better and more conscientious racer in the future.

RS:X European Championships: Day 3

2010-07-05T11:26:00.003-04:00

Racing began on time today as the wind filled to about 6-7 knots in from the northeast, a usually very steady direction for Sopot. The committee had no problem setting a course and quickly getting us on the water.

I had a pretty bad first race, but the wind built a little for the second, and I had a better finish. During the first race, I was passed in the slalom by a number of boards because I missed a mark once and fell another time. The media boat conveniently caught the plunge into the water on camera. My starts are still good, but I just feel really awkward pumping on the board and can't find the "feel" in the very light wind. I believe it will come, but it will be a lot of effort and time.

Fatal plunge

Results

Pictures

RS:X European Championships: Day 2

2010-07-05T03:12:00.003-04:00

Once again, the weather is proving most excellent for the tourists, rather than the sailors. After another shorter wait, the wind filled in about 2 knots more than the first day of racing. The committee is quick to race us, having learned these conditions over the past week and a half.

I am unfortunately still struggling and as long as the light wind conditions persist, won't have a chance to do well at this regatta. However it is a good lesson in patience, perseverance, and focus on technique. I am still doing well on the starts, although the race committee isn't extremely strict about calling sailors over early, so it is funny to watch most of the fleet jump the gun to be OCS by one or two seconds. Of course I am doing this too, as being late ensures a poor finish.

Battling it out downwind

Rory Ramsden, class secretary from the UK, summarized yesterday in classic and dramatic style:

"We had a quiet Sunday morning lingering over our coffees and taking
it easy. Just as you may have been doing at home. However, the wind
gods decided to answer our prayers a little earlier than yesterday
so the men were called to the starting area at 1345hrs with the first
race of the day for the yellow group being launched onto the course
at 1415hrs.

Shahar Zubari [ISR] carried on where he left off yesterday posting
a bullet in the first race but he slipped in the second. That is if
you consider a 4th a slip. It was good enough to hold his position
at the top of the leader board but he now has to share the top step
with Piotr Myszka [POL] who posted a 1st and a 2nd . The other guy
who was firing on all cylinders was Byron Kokkalanis [GRE] who
posted a 2 and a 1.

There is a three way fight therefore for the lead. Then a another
struggle for supremacy 8 points back with 6 or 7 boards in contention.
The remarkable news though is that all four men's starts went off
first time with just 3 boards called OCS.

Whereas over in the women's fleet something very unusual was being
played out. Their first start of the day was 'generalled' and
launched again under a black flag with one sailor being 'BFDed' -
disqualified for being over the start line early - Then the second
race was black flagged with no fewer than 7 being disqualified.

For the technical experts among you, the women's fleet is one third
bigger than each of the two men's groups and was started on the same
line - no change in length.

Normally the women are very well behaved and start first time under
a 'P' flag so black flags on successive starts is almost unheard of.
So far it's the men who are behaving well. Call me old fashioned,
but this is not normal

Anyway, back to the racing...

Eugenie Ricard [FRA] must have been upset by all the shenanigans in
the starting area. She posted a 9th in the first race but regained
her composure to take first place in the second. She now sits in
second place because of the 'poor' result in the first just two
points behind Malgorzata Bialecka [POL]. These two light wind
specialists have been handed an amazing 14 point advantage after
just two days racing!

No doubt the discard that comes into play tomorrow will shuffle the
pack but before I go, I have one more remarkable fact to reveal and
it's this

Alessandra Sensini [ITA] who has won four medals in consecutive
Olympic Games went out and snatched first place in the race of the
day and please note that was done in the light air. We are still two
years away from the Games in London so a lot could still happen but
this surely is a warning to anyone who dares suggest that she cannot
medal again in Weymouth.

More light wind tomorrow. Then 15knots is predicted for he lay day.
Nothing unusual in having a nice breeze on the rest day whilst we
are confined to the shore but it does not make it any easier for
the racers to bare (sic)...

Rory"

It is interesting to see the performance of the light wind specialists as they take the early lead. However, a few sailors with great all-around performance are also near the top, most notably top Polish sailor Piotr Myszka in the men's fleet. The third day's racing should bring some additional surprises. The weather is looking a bit different, so hopefully we will see some pressure early.

Results

Picture gallery

RS:X European Championships Begin in Sopot, Poland

2010-07-04T05:36:00.003-04:00

This year, the Sopot Sailing Club in Poland is the host of both the RS:X Open European Championships and the RS:X Youth European Championships. The events are a big happening in this summer resort town, and are adding a little excitement to the normal happenings like classical concerts, rock and pop music festivals, and crazy parties.

The Sopot Sailing Club is packed with sailors. Club staff brought in rows of board racks for competitors' storage; tons of gear is stacked everywhere and sailors both young and experienced are here. I have been looking forward to the Europeans all summer as Sopot is my home venue after training here for a few years.

Although there has been a lot of fuss, the wind hasn't been cooperative. On one hand, the weather is unusually warm and sunny and has been for almost 1.5 weeks, great for all the Polish vacationers. However, for us, it means a lot of waiting and extremely light conditions of 3-5 knots with oscillating shifts.

Committee boats wait for wind near the Sopot beach

These conditions are my nemesis (and it seems like all the World Cup and other regattas have been plagued with these conditions all spring and summer) and I must have a perfect race tactically in order to place 2/3 of the way back in the fleet. I have a lot of trouble with pumping technique, and to make matters worse I have big circulation problems in my arms owing to tight shoulder and pectoral muscles (often a symptom of swimmers - a sport which I have been doing most of my life). It is almost impossible for my arms to recover well after a big day of pumping and I lack strength to really work the rig, which is ironic since I am surely one of the fittest sailors in the fleet. All I can do in these conditions is hang on, get good starts, and try to learn more about the technique.

Under Polish coach Roman Budziniski, I am getting help this regatta with a few of my Polish teammates. Yesterday after waiting for about five hours, we finally sailed two races in about 3-5 knots of wind. I had one 2/3 finish and another rear fleet finish after an OCS. In the second race, the start basically killed me (not counting the OCS) as I was on the wrong side of the line to where I wanted to go. However I am working hard on the pumping and trying to figure out the best way for me to recover, and this regatta, which isn't like I hoped it would be, will simply be a good opportunity to train, learn, and get better.

Top Polish sailor Przemek "Pont" Miarczynski gets an interview

Waiting for breeze in the hangars

2010-06-26T11:19:00.007-04:00

Home of the Week: For local athlete, home sweet home is a minivan

By WENDI WINTERS, For The Capital

Published 06/26/10

"Home is where the heart is," according to the classic aphorism ascribed to Pliny the Elder, the ancient Roman philosopher. If Pliny is correct, Farrah Hall's home is anywhere the water and wind are in perfect alignment.

Joshua McKerrow — The Capital

For several years, Farrah Hall’s physical “home” has been a spruce green 1997 Plymouth Voyager minivan. Farrah is the No. 1 female windsurfer in the United States, according to US Sailing rankings.

For several years, Farrah's physical "home" has been a spruce green 1997 Plymouth Voyager minivan. In early May, when Farrah and her home were photographed for The Capital, she and the van had just traveled up Interstate 95 from St. Petersburg, Fla., to her parents' Cape St. Claire home.

A day later, the Voyager was driven to the Port of Baltimore and loaded on an oceangoing "roll-on, roll-off" ferry. Two weeks later, when the Voyager rolled off the ferry in Amsterdam, Farrah was waiting on the pier to resume their next adventure together.

"It costs $1,200 and I had to prepare a lot of paperwork to ship it this way, but, in the end, it's worth it to have my van in Europe," Farrah said. "I can keep everything in it and sleep in it."

The 28-year-old doesn't spend every night in the van. The windsurfing community is a tight-knit group, so she is often a guest in other athletes' homes. When her travels bring her back to Maryland, Farrah usually stays with her parents, William and Linda Hall.

Farrah, a 1999 graduate of Broadneck High School, is the No. 1 female windsurfer in the United States, according to US Sailing rankings. The past seven years, Farrah has been on a sometimes lonely odyssey to represent the United States in the Olympics - the pinnacle for any athlete.

She was on track to represent the United States in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. However, during the windsurfing Olympic trials in the fall of 2007, racing officials gave the spot to a competitor after deciding that windsurfer's race was adversely affected by a tear in her sail. The flawed ruling was eventually overturned - after the Olympics had ended.

It was a bittersweet victory for Farrah, who decided to continue her training for a chance to participate in the 2012 Summer Olympics in Great Britain. The games will be held in London and the sailing events are planned for Weymouth, situated on a sheltered bay 109 miles away.

"Ever since I started windsurfing in earnest, all my friends had camper vans outfitted for surfing," Farrah said. "I lived in St. Petersburg and had a station wagon. When I decided to pursue windsurfing full time, I immediately had to pick up a van."

The Plymouth Voyager, manufactured from 1984 to 2000, was once one of America's best-selling vehicles. The Voyager was on Car and Driver magazine's Ten Best List for 1996 and 1997, when it retailed for $17,225 to $20,750. Farrah purchased hers in 2005, five years after the last Voyager rolled off the assembly line. It has nearly 180,000 miles on its odometer.

The vehicle has roughly 168.5 cubic feet of space inside, about as much as a small powder room.

Immediately after she purchased the minivan, her father, a retired Westinghouse electronics engineer, pulled out his tools.

"Dad is good with van repairs," Farrah bragged. "He does 90 percent of my maintenance. He did a brake job on the minivan and replaced its radiator. He also replaced the cloth headliner inside. It had gotten old and was sagging."

"This American minivan is fuel-efficient," Farrah added. "Because there are so many of them, I can park it in most places and it is inconspicuous. It houses my equipment and is a place for me to sleep."

Farrah flipped up the back door of the Voyager. Its contents were inelegant but efficiently organized.

Showing off her bed, she said, "This was made by a windsurfing friend, Kent Heighton of Hood River, Ore. He made it from scrap lumber." The sturdy bed, essentially a long box with open ends, had a bed pad, blanket and pillow on top. The box itself is a storage area for the sails, masts and booms of Farrah's two windsurfing boards. One is her RS-X Olympic-class regulation board, which measures 9 feet 3 inches in length. Next to it lay a Formula windsurfing board.

The sails, removed from their cloth tube and unrolled, are longer and wider than the Voyager. Unlike the solid canvas materials of just a few years ago, the sail for Farrah's RS-X board is made of a tough, clear monofilm produced by KA Sails of Australia. Out on the water, it looks like the shimmering wing of a giant dragonfly.

"This is Olympic equipment," she explained. "Everyone has the same equipment. Yet, there are some variations. The top sailors test new equipment to find out what works the best."

The logo of Compass Marketing, an Eastport firm, is printed on the sail. "They're a generous corporate sponsor," Farrah said. "I'm probably the only windsurfer in the world that has a corporate sponsor. Usually windsurfers are sponsored by the sailing industry or local efforts."

Windsurfer Scott Steele, a 1984 Olympic silver medalist and Annapolis resident, coaches Farrah when their schedules align.

A typical week entails 12 to 36 hours on the water and 20 hours of aerobic exercise. She'll also network to raise funds for her quest, since training does not allow her to work full time.

Van-tastic

With a flick of her wrist, Farrah slid open the rear right passenger door. Stacked neatly inside were covered boxes containing her collection of wet suits, tools and additional equipment.

A clothesline dangled overhead. Hanging on it were several visors, hangers and a roll of paper towels.

Smaller items were stashed inside the car's console.

"The more organized I keep the van, the better chance I have to avoid losing things," she said with a laugh.

The van will remain in Europe for two years, though Farrah will shuttle between Europe and the United States several times.

While the van served as her home on this side of the Atlantic, Farrah developed a routine. "Basically, I have gym memberships with two national chains, Gold's and 24 Hour Fitness. I go online to see which one is nearby when I'm on the road. I stop, shower and get some rest. National Parks also have nice shower facilities.

"I've driven straight through for four days without showering. I do not feel as well when I arrive in that condition," she noted wryly.

During the next two years, she plans to travel to six to eight annual international windsurfing regattas on the Olympic Class circuit in Spain, France, Germany and the Netherlands.

She also will participate in Formula Class races on the continent, plus myriad other regattas to continue building her skills.

"I started windsurfing using a boyfriend's equipment when I was 15," she recalled, standing on the community beach in Cape St. Claire. "I windsurfed on the Magothy River. I had so much fun with his stuff I asked my dad for equipment. For a long time, I did it recreationally here in this park."

Eventually, the interview completed, the photographer and I headed to our cars to leave. It was a perfect day. As we looked back, Farrah was on her board, skimming over the waves on the Magothy. The sail glinted in the sun as Farrah dipped it up and down over the water.

She looked entirely at home.

Kiel Week 2010: Short and sweet

2010-06-23T15:12:00.006-04:00

Kiel Week is finally over and during the past few days, North Germany has been giving us some incredibly pleasant weather. Unfortunately, when the weather is beautiful, there usually isn't much wind!

The third day of racing turned into a lay day as the wind changed directions multiple times. We were called out to wait on the course for a couple hours, but the wind never reached a race-able strength.

Getting a ride in with Solvig Sayre and John Bertrand; Bob Willis gets a tow surf!

Cowabunga dudes!!!

Conditions were fairly similar for the fourth and last day of racing. Offshore drainage in the morning turned into a very weak sea breeze in the afternoon. Clouds hung over the land, suppressing the thermal effect of the breeze. As everyone was quite impatient to race after so much delay from light wind, the committee started the men immediately. However, after the men's starts, the wind dropped again and the women were delayed. The wind shifted 30 degrees a few times, and finally a round of sailable pressure came in. As I'm still working on technique in the ultra-light stuff, I sailed a tactically solid race but just didn't have speed to escape into clean air.

The second start was delayed again, and after waiting an hour and one general recall, the committee started the women after the last fleet of youth. The decision to start us last was met with catcalls and boos from the women sailors, as we had less races completed than the men and it seemed we were low priority. We raced in the last dying gasps of the sea breeze, and it was one of those events where you just hope you won't spin in circles trying to get upwind. It took almost an hour to get around the course pumping the entire time.

I feel pretty good about this regatta as the conditions were difficult every day we sailed. We raced mainly in conditions that aren't my forte and in which my technique is still very developmental. The pumping technique is getting better, however, and it was good to see I could manage a couple of 15th places on the last day. Without consistent coaching, it is difficult to make rapid improvements in technique. Although I can always watch and mimic fast sailors, without analysis minute but important details are hard to discover on my own. It is a testament to fitness and now 4 years of trial-and-error hard work, plus a few sessions of coaching last year, that I can hang with the fleet.

My next regatta will be the European Championships at my home venue of Sopot, Poland. I'm very much looking forward to racing a big event in Poland.

Results here.

Kiel Week 2010: Day 2

2010-06-20T11:49:00.002-04:00

First, apologies to all who want to see some pictures: without a boat, it's almost impossible for me to take pictures of the racing, and the organizers don't have any shots up yet.

Racing got interesting today as the wind backed off a lot from yesterday's conditions. It takes almost an hour to sail out to the course when the wind is light, and a number of us got there just a few minutes before the first start. The wind was extremely shifty and light, and clouds covered all horizons, leaving an open window of sunlight above all the race courses. The girls only completed one race today, while both fleets of men completed two.

For our race, it was obvious that the right would be favored. I managed to tack out in some clear air to get over there. The wind continually dropped before the start and during the race, and it was tough pumping conditions the entire race, and sometimes an effort just not to spin in circles. The wind kept clocking right, and soon our downwind leg turned into a reach, and the reach to the finish line turned into an extra upwind leg. However, the committee didn't call off the race. I'm working hard on my pumping and I don't quite have the technique a lot of the girls do, but I sometimes can make up ground just by sheer effort. This can be frustrating as it seems like I am working harder than anyone around me but not going faster. I managed to stick with the fleet and finish 16th. We actually have 23 boards in the fleet, not 17 (I was a little confused with the numbering on the results yesterday).

After sitting around while the committee reset the course, the boys raced again and the committee tried to start us, but the wind died during the start. The boys finished their racing in almost glassy conditions. There are a few fights going on between both my American and Polish teammates. On the American side, Bob and Ben are having at it. Bob sailed really well yesterday in the breeze, gaining a lead on Ben. Bob is also holding his own today, but Ben is quick in light air and is closing the gap. The Polish have three sailors solidly in the top 10. There are quite a few guys this year vying for a place on the Polish Olympic team, and a huge fight is taking place with two guys always finishing within a point of each other and a third winning all the races in the light air, his favored condition, to win points back from yesterday.

Tomorrow may be light again, but we won't know for sure until we arrive at the venue tomorrow morning. As we are one race down, most likely the girls will start first tomorrow. Check out results here.

Kiel Week 2010

2010-06-19T13:57:00.002-04:00

Kiel Week is truly an epic event. It combines the best of all sailing into week-long demonstrations and regattas, and in downtown Kiel there is dry-land festival that can get pretty rowdy. On the water, in addition to all the Olympic-class action, tall ships cruise the harbor, cargo ships motor in and out, the occasional military boat comes through, pleasure boats abound, and the star of the show is a giant hydrofoil trimaran called L’Hydroptere, which was created by a bunch of crazy Frenchmen and recently broke the sailing speed record (51 knots). It’s pretty eye-opening when the massive trimaran accelerates, lifts up, and speeds through all the harbor traffic. There has been plenty of action in the harbor all week, and the first day of racing was fast and furious.

Today, for the start of Kiel Week, we were hit with the most classic weather this venue is famous for. Clouds and rain showers rolled through most of the day and the offshore wind started around 12-15 knots in the morning and built to 20 knots by the end of the day. The boards have a challenging course 2 miles from the venue, which is near a point of land that causes massive wind shifts. In the middle of the course, which is the closest to the point, the wind can be light and fluky with the occasional big puff coming down, and big shifts. Puffs can drop in full strength or can just barely come down to the surface, meaning the pressure is really inconsistent and I’m constantly adjusting technique and trim to stay on a plane or to work a big gust. The most challenging aspect of the venue, however, is the crazy chop that has no pattern whatsoever. The chop is largely a function of the boat traffic on the course, with a smaller current / wind influence. Huge wooden ships cruise right through the middle of the course; spectator, press, and coach boats are also an influence. It is tough to maintain speed in these conditions. It is also very cold: today the high was in the low 50s and rainy.

After about an hour and a half delay (waiting in the chilly rain) the committee called us out to the course. The efficient committee ran four fleets of boards on one course and we knocked out three races with no further delay. I was a little jittery coming into the day, and had some issues with where to put my backpack as the wind and chop made it really difficult to hand anything to the race committee (Sailors without coaches must put water and food in a backpack and bring it out to the course). However, I settled in and raced the best I could, and ended the day with three 11^th places in the 17-boat fleet. I have some difficulty with speed when there is crazy chop, which is something I am working on.

My teammates Ben Barger, Bob Willis, and Solvig Sayre are also racing, so it makes four Americans at one regatta…unusual! It will be a good experience for all of us. Check out results here.

Delta Lloyd Regatta: Late Nights on the Ijsselmeer

2010-06-09T15:27:00.004-04:00

I’ve been without internet for a few weeks so I haven’t updated, but plenty is happening. After leaving Hyeres, I drove back to Barcelona and flew from there to Amsterdam for the Delta Lloyd regatta in Medemblik, Netherlands.

Medemblik is a small town situated on the Ijsselmeer, a fresh water lake artificially created by the numerous dikes surrounding the area. A dike about 20 km in length keeps out the sea. The water is very cold, as is the weather generally, with clouds, rain and frontal wind.

Although the weather isn’t perfect, the Netherlands is probably the most civilized country I’ve ever visited. There is an order to everything, and citizens abide by that order. The historic houses are all in perfect, almost new-seeming condition. Cars cruise slowly down smooth roads and stop for pedestrians and bicycles in the crosswalk (note: in Holland, everyone rides the same kind of bicycle). In the green parks, pens of rabbits, goats, donkeys, and sheep are there for kids to enjoy. In the springtime, flotillas of young waterfowl paddle around the canals. Riverboats also cruise up and down the canal network, picnicking families aboard. To add to the picturesque scene, young children are often seen fishing from the canalsides. This small-town euro-Rockwellian paradise was what we walked through every day on the way to the regatta center. Stepping into the venue and racing was quite a departure from the idyllic scenery.

Tiny and cute town!

As the last two World Cup regattas had no wind, all the competitors were hoping for some breeze for Delta Lloyd. We ended up with a few days of wind and a few days of waiting until the last minute for wind. The boards raced on the same course as the 49ers, and sharing the course meant that we were pushed back late in the day. Oftentimes we got off the water around 8 pm, making for some rushed nights. Overall, I sailed quite well. I am rediscovering my strength in the breeze, and had some successful front-third of the fleet finishes, and 2/3 fleet finishes in light wind. It was a great start to the season and overall probably the best conditions this year at a World Cup regatta.

Windmills close to the course

A start in breezy conditions

After the regatta, I took the train to Amsterdam to collect my minivan, which arrived in the port during the regatta. It was suspiciously easy to retrieve it from the port and drive it away. Immediately we loaded it with gear and people, and off we went on an overnight drive to Poland, where I’m currently training with the youth team at an academic / sport facility in Gdansk.

Reunited with my best friend in Amsterdam

Hyeres, Round 2

2010-05-20T15:56:00.003-04:00

After the volcano madness, I didn't expect to be going back to Hyeres, France. However, at the last minute, the Polish Olympic Team changed the location of a training camp from Kerteminde, Denmark (the venue for the 2010 RS:X World Championships) to Hyeres. The change resulted from the chilly early spring weather in Denmark.

Flights to France were still in slight disarray from the volcano (mostly just too expensive), so I ended up flying nonstop to Barcelona from Newark, New Jersey, and renting a car to drive 600 km to Hyeres, France, a drive which takes about 6+ hours and 40 euros cost for toll each way. I arrived exhausted but just in time to sail the next day.

A Hyeres practice start - I'm a little late?

The Polish team sailed two organized sessions on the water every day in windy, sunny, almost hot weather. After working hard on technique all winter, I experienced a few breakthroughs in speed while training with the Polish girls. I also found that my tactics were becoming more solid. I was extremely pleased with how I was sailing. The Polish are also getting faster, most noticeably my teammate Maja (from the youth team), who just made the Olympic team last year. She is going incredibly fast in the breeze! It is nice to see that everyone is improving so fast, but it just means the level keeps getting higher and higher - I'm getting faster, but so is everyone else, making it just as difficult to place higher in the fleet during regattas.

Maja showing some good attitude for the camera

I just arrived in Medemblik, Netherlands, where the Delta Lloyd World Cup regatta begins in five days (May 25). My gear isn't here yet, but I'm really anxious to get on the water as soon as I can. It will be interesting to see if the improvements I've made will be noticeable in the results of this regatta.

Thanks to my great sponsors, Compass Marketing and KA Sails, for making this training and regatta possible!

The Kashy Fins Windsurfing Festival: Doing it Right

2010-05-20T13:59:00.007-04:00

I am always envious when I know friends are going to have a good time windsurfing without me. Therefore, I was a little sad at the prospect of missing Dave Kashy’s windsurfing regatta and party, held right at his waterfront home in Virginia, although I was going to the French Olympic Week. However, due to the volcano-related chaos that cancelled my flight to France, I could squeeze a fun weekend in between moving out of my apartment in Miami, driving home, arranging logistics to ship my van to Europe, and doing all the logistics (and sorting out the associated financial conundrum) for a training camp in France and the Delta Lloyd regatta in Medemblik, Netherlands.

I arrived home from Florida to some warm and breezy bright green mid-spring weather, and after unpacking my entire life from the van and re-packing the Formula gear, drove down to Yorktown in tidewater Virginia to a truly epic long weekend of sailing at Dave’s house. Everything that could possibly happen at a windsurfing event did: great competition and training, fun free sailing, camaraderie, and even a few mishaps.

The expanse of water in Dave's front yard

Baltimore Area Boardsailing Association race director “Commodore” Tom Sargent summed up the regatta weekend perfectly:

"Dave Kashy is living right. How else could you explain the raging  success of his recent windsurfing festival? It's one thing to plan an event, pick the days, arrange all the logistics which included charter  boards for those who wanted to experience formula windsurfing without  investing thousands of dollars in gear, accommodations for all the out-of-town competitors from all over the country and world, personalized  meals delivered to the event site, evening forays to interesting restaurants who kindly overlooked some rowdy exuberance from amped up  sailors, imported talent for the race committee (editor’s note: Darren Rogers from the Gorge!) and a killer site (his  home) on a point surrounded on three sides with water. That's the  easy part. The fact that we had sunny skies and perfect wind FOUR  DAYS IN A ROW is something one can't arrange. But it happened for Dave. It was such a great time that we'll forgive Dave a few oversights, one which caused the committee boat to be boarded by the Coast Guard brandishing automatic weapons, demanding who was  responsible for this sudden influx of reckless sailing craft zipping  around, markers and buoys where none had ever been before, apparently testing the rules knowledge and boat handling skills of the local rednecks who dropped the dime on us. Fortunately, Captain George was prepared and in compliance, passing the intense stem to stern  inspection by the authorities. Dave, instead of being taken prisoner  under the terrorist act, was given a cursory slap on the wrist and we  were tentatively allowed to continue, but this time with the "escort"  of several coast guard vessels working hard to herd the afternoon  motorboat traffic around our course. It all proved to be too much for them as our sailing angles took up much more than a square mile  testing even the ability of the Coast Guard to keep track of what was  going on. Formal racing was curtailed for the day but there was a  longboard race with a Lemans start and finish from the beach. No foul  there. Dave'll get a permit next time for an on the water event. My  hat is off to you Dave. You've raised the bar for what a windsurfing  event should be. I had a most excellent time, thanks."

Darren Rogers poses with his orange friends

Alan tries for a muscle

The “Coast Guard incident” caused a little confusion and annoyance among all the sailors (it seemed the CG rules are prejudiced toward Virginia redneck powerboaters), but we got enough racing in to be more than happy. I had a fantastic time racing in the classic Chesapeake gusty, shifty conditions, against my favorite competitors like Ron Kern from Ft. Lauderdale, Steve Sylvester from San Francisco, training partner Eric Rahnenfuehrer from Ohio, and all the local characters like Tom Sargent, Alan Bernau, a bunch of BABA guys, and Dave himself. It was fun watching the out-of-town guys experience racing on the Chesapeake, and equally great feeling confident in my home waters and in my ability to race well in the classic Bay conditions. I finished fourth out of 12 guys, behind Steve, Ron, and Dave. Thanks Dave for an incredible regatta, and long live the Tidewater!

Results

Photos from Ron and Sue Kern!

Skunked! No flights to French Olympic Week

2010-04-20T19:28:00.003-04:00

"I got skunked" is a typical way (at least in Maryland) to describe a session of windsurfing that didn't happen. Usually this is due to lack of wind, but sometimes you can be skunked for other reasons. In this case, I'm missing an entire regatta because last week, a giant cloud of volcanic ash descended on Europe.

Map of the spread of the ash cloud (New York Times)

Europe is a complete mess as people unable to get home are fleeing like rats to southern airports, which are the only ones currently still open. Currently, a few more airports are open, but people are making some epic journeys to get home again.

As for me, my flight wasn't cancelled until the morning of my departure date. I ended up going to the Miami airport twice to find another flight. MIA reminded me of the Moscow airport - long, slow lines to the ticketing area with sad-eyed Europeans crushed up against the counters, all waiting for a sign of hope that they would get back home. I waited for a few hours to find the next flight to France (with a variety of carriers) but nothing good was available. The best flight would get me to Hyeres the night before the racing begins. With a high chance of losing my equipment in the travel confusion and a too-short jet lag recovery time, it wasn't worth it for me to push on to the regatta. I revised my plan and will now compete in Medemblik, Netherlands, at the end of May instead of beginning the season with the French regatta.

Here are a few links to articles about the ash cloud:

Airport closures

BBC ash cloud live blog

Stranded British travelers

Wind and Surfers Challenge 2010

2010-04-15T08:48:00.007-04:00

The Miami Wind and Surfers Challenge, held last weekend (April 9-11) saw some great conditions and racing by the local Formula fleet. The event doubled as the Formula Experience North American Championships, and although the kids' fleet has died out in the USA in favor of the Bic Techno one-design class, a couple talented kids from Brazil and Peru showed up to race.

Formula Experience sailors work on their start

Three local sailors participated in the Kona one-design fleet, making for some entertaining and close racing.
"Kona Man" Mike Rayl and Miami SailLaser manager Roberto Porter cross tacks

Conditions were fantastic for all three days of racing. Wind averaged around 15 knots on Friday and Saturday, dying off a bit for Sunday as rain moved in. Our event organizer, Alex Morales, in classic fashion, ran the races "PR-style." This meant he modified the course to provide the best photo opportunities possible. The short, windward-leeward courses provided fantastic practice for starts and laylines. Alex positioned the committee boat in the middle of the course and required the fleet to sail through the start/finish line on every leg. This made the boards sail close to the boat, making us find two or even three laylines each leg instead of the usual one (and created excellent pictures of the racing for Alex's website).

Leading a start

The short course made having a good start very critical. On the first day, I tried to start from a different place on the line each race, and on the following days I tried to start to win the first layline. This was a difficult task competing against the fastest local guys, Ron Kern and Fernando Martinez. I got off the line well for the most part, but they usually rolled me within the first minute or two. Ron and Fernando match-raced after the start, with Fernando having a slight edge on speed, but Ron pulling off some really good tactics to stay close. I was well matched with a Cuban National Team sailor, Raul Elosequi, and we battled it out a number of times. I had an edge with a better upwind angle, but if I made a tactical mistake or he had a better start, the fight began.

Ron and Fernando dueling

Alex made the start a greater challenge when he decided that he was tired of all the boards starting on port (we were trying to avoid tacking twice to reach the layline). He moved the boat end of the line so far upwind that we couldn't get above it on port tack. Despite general eye-rolling, everyone started on starboard. With the steep starboard angle, it was more difficult to nail the best place on the line while keeping the other boards in mind, but a great exercise in timing.

An exciting start on port tack (I'm about to get pitched in the water)

I finished third, a nice follow-up to the Formula Worlds.

(left to right): me (3rd), Fernando (1st), and Ron (2nd)

The event was well organized and really fun thanks to Alex Morales and Simona Madan. Also a big thanks to my great sponsors, Compass Marketing, and KA Sails, for making all my events exceptional.

On Sunday, I leave for the French Olympic Week, my first major RS:X World Cup event of the season. As I've made some real improvements this winter, I'm really looking forward to starting the Olympic Class events.

Home Again: Windsurfers Conquer Martian Lakes

2010-03-29T22:30:00.005-04:00

The Formula Worlds ended Saturday, with frustration for some and elation for others. The difficult logistics and earliness in the season set a few pro sailors back, as they were working with unfamiliar new equipment or older sails, but those who came tuned up fully experienced the epic sailing conditions of Lake Potrerillos. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the extraordinary venue: racing on a clear lake in powerful gusts of wind, red-brown mountains towering above the racecourse, and the dry, strange, incredibly vast land.

Red mountains, dry land

Lake Potrerillos (lower right) from our mountainside cabin

After a few years’ absence from the Formula circuit to focus on slalom, Frenchman Antoine Albeau dominated the men’s fleet with seven bullets out of fifteen races. From his attitude, it seemed he was having incredible fun the entire regatta. Top pro sailors Paulo Dos Reis from Brazil and Ross Williams from the UK followed, with scores numbering twice that of Antoine’s. My Polish teammates performed masterfully as well. Sopot sailor Pawel Hlavaty finished fifth, and three-time Olympian Przemek “Pont” Miarczynski finished seventh in the 62-boat fleet. Longtime pro sailor Wojtek Brzozowski finished eleventh. All three sailors have spent time on the Polish Olympic Team. Another extremely fast Olympian from the Netherlands, Casper Bouman, finished fourth. The advanced level of Olympic windsurfing allows the sailors to easily cross over to be successful among the professionals in the Formula fleet.

Pont, Pawel, Wojtek, and I on the way to the venue

I took another third place in the last race of the regatta, further ensuring my place on the podium. Marta Hlavaty once again reigns as third-time World Champion. Her combination of excellent sailing skills, good equipment, and great attitude well earned her the spot. Morane Demont, a young and skilled French sailor from Martinique, finished second.

On the podium (yes, that is a big check!)

I finished up, according to my Slovak friend Patrik, as the “vice vice world champion.” It was somewhat emotional for me, as I’ve never had tangible evidence of my progress in sailing. The organizers gave us each a cup weighing at least 15 pounds – pretty heavy evidence (in the airport, I dropped it on my big toe, and my toenail is bloody and turning blue). I fully enjoyed the moment of celebrating how hard I’ve worked at sailing Formula. Backing my finish is five extremely difficult years of fighting for small improvements, learning from mistakes, stress, and sheer survival as a full-time sailor (you still can’t beat the lifestyle). I feel that Formula is something I completely own. It’s individual enough that I don’t feel constrained and difficult enough to really challenge my sailing and equipment tuning skills. Plus, it’s incredibly fun racing and adds depth to my Olympic-class sailing.

Although I’m experiencing some breakthroughs in skill, for me there is still an incredibly long way to go. I still have the Olympic-class racing to think about, and will leave for the French Olympic Week in just two weeks. I am excited about beginning the season as it means new opportunities for improving my sailing, and of course, new adventures.

Thanks to my great sponsors, Compass Marketing and KA Sails, for contributing so much to my Formula and Olympic campaigns.

Formula Worlds Day 5: Podium Finish Secure

2010-03-27T00:33:00.004-04:00

Lake Potrerillos is a pretty cool place to sail. Every day, the wind fills in around the same time, but in a slightly different way. Today, the wind was shiftier than normal and sometimes port tack was favored more from the starting line.

Although there are big shifts, there is a pattern to the lake and after five days of regatta, I've got it figured out. Since the gusts come down from the center of the course and fan out over the lake, the edges of the course are lifted. The left side of the course is much windier than the right, so it pays to stay as left as possible, even making an extra tack or two. At the top left side of the course, a rocky outcrop creates two big lifts on each tack. Therefore, you can sail right underneath it and be lifted on starboard tack, and after you tack and reach the other side of the outcrop, you get lifted on port tack. This is pretty helpful when the wind is light and gusty, because it gets you up to the top of the course where the gusts are stronger. After the big port lift, you get headed again in the middle but it's enough to get you to the windward mark again, where there will be another lift. There is always the potential to get screwed near the cliffs at the top of the course, but there are usually enough gusts to get you around the mark. Lakes are definitely interesting. In some ways this venue reminds me of racing at the Event Site in Hood River, Oregon, where the wind also fills in a certain way and there are patterns to how you race there.

I sailed a couple of good races today. I'm noticeably slower than the top two girls and comparable with the fourth-place girl, but if I sail a smart race, I can maintain the third position. This means I have to start a certain way and stay in the clear air so I can get up to the top of the course faster. Maintaining angle is most important for me, as a distance of just 20 meters lower on the course can put me in a less windy spot on the lake.

Tomorrow we will sail only one race, with awards to follow. I'm firmly in third place now, and it will be my first real championship on the podium. I'm really excited about my finishes, and also about how much I learned this regatta. I have a long way to go to. Become really fast, but I've greatly expanded my concept of Formula Windsurfing.

Formula Worlds Day 4: Living on a Foreign Planet With a Familiar Country

2010-03-26T01:21:00.006-04:00

Living with the Polish is funny, and a little predictable. One can always count on the guys to be up to some mischief, but their normal habits are a familiar reminder of the country I've apent so much time in. Breakfast is typical East European: open-face sandwiches on rolls or sliced bread with tomatoes, cheese, and ham. We arrive at the venue at the last minute, rig and de-rig efficiently, and are among the first to leave. We make dinner as soon as we get home, and the boys expect the girls to take care of them by making the food. Since there are no supermarkets on Mars, we stocked up on pasta and veggies in Mendoza before the regatta. Marta makes the pasta, and I make the salad. We set the table and the boys come to eat. Afterwards, there is some debate over who is responsible for the dirty dishes. In the evening, we rest or sit around the table with some beer or vodka. The guys are relaxed, but take the racing seriously.

the men lining up to start

The men's team includes a few guys from Sopot, including the top Polish RS:X sailor, and two other really good Formula sailors. Another longtime professional sailor from Warsaw rounds out the group. I am competing and rooming with Marta Hlavaty, the 2009 Formula World Champion and Polish Olympic Team member. All the sailors are enjoying the regatta to the max.

a good view of the venue

We sailed three races today; two in very windy conditions and one in the gusty, dying late afternoon winds. The wind tends to die quite fast, abd once it starts to go down, it is sometimes too late to change equipment. I had two solid races in the breeze, but I really needed the big gusts to keep the 9.8 powered up during the last race. I switched my fin right before the last start to the 75-5 XXXS (my most powerful fin), which helped a lot. I posted a 3-3-4 today and with three races to go, am pretty solidly in third place. Tomorrow two races are scheduled, and on Saturday, one race. Sailors are looking forward to the conclusion of the regatta.

Marta and me (light blue sail) winning the start at the committee boat

Formula Worlds Day 3: Martians Come Out Of Hiding

2010-03-24T20:15:00.007-04:00

Mornings are pleasant on Lake Potrerillos. The water is glassy, and it’s sunny but not too hot yet. The dust is settled, and sailors can rig in peace. It’s a long walk from the parking lot to the venue, and there are plenty of opportunities to take pictures. The only dilemma is because there is no wind, it’s a guessing game as to what sail to rig.

Before the racing, I rigged the 9.0 and 9.8. However, the wind filled in quite light and I de-rigged the 9.0 to rig the 10.7. It ended up being a good choice, as I needed it for the last race of the day (and should have taken it for the second race as well).

The committee held three races today, and I finished the day with a 3-4-3. I am finding out that if the wind is light, my 9.8 doesn’t compete well with the other girls’ 10.0 sails. The 2009 KA sails are easy to manage and light, but they “rig small” and my 10.7 is more comparable to sails slightly less in size. This means I’ll have to use it as much as possible so I can power through the lulls.

The last race of the day was particularly interesting because the wind dropped and I decided to go with my biggest gear possible. This turned out to be the right choice, for although I was overpowered in some gusts, the wind gets so shifty and full of holes at the end of the day that it’s important to use the big gear to maintain speed and angle. During that race, Marta and I were pretty close and ended up fighting it out on the last downwind, which was fun. She got me at the finish though, because I could barely hold onto my boom. It was slick from all the dust although I wash it constantly.

When we arrived on shore, we were surprised. Hundreds of locals showed up to watch the racing and check out the venue. Big groups of friends and families walked up and down the road and packed into the upper level of the venue. Only a small orange plastic fence separated the crowd from the racers, and people called out questions to us in Spanish and took pictures. As we drove home, the rows of cars parked on the side of the road shocked us. Of course, the bikini party on schedule for today drew a lot of folks, but it seemed like everyone enjoyed the racing too.

Tomorrow’s schedule is for three races again. I’ve got a better idea of what to expect from this venue, so racing will be a little smoother.

Day 2, Formula World Championships - Foreign Planets Are Friendly Today

2010-03-23T22:13:00.005-04:00

Conditions came back down to earth and back to normal today, a lovely 12-17 knots, flat water, and big gusts. Today we completed four races and I didn't even have to change a sail.

I organized my equipment better today, and staged my sails from the competitors' tent. This meant competing for space in the tent and rigging on top of others' gear, but I didn't have to drag everything up and down the hill. As yesterdays' crazy conditions were fresh in my mind, I rigged the 9.0 and 9.8, leaving the 10.7 a third of the way staged across my bags.

photo by Gabriel Palmioli - windsurfargentino.com

The wind fills in quickly on the lake, and when it comes, a line of whitecaps contrast sharply with the glassy morning water. The race committee immediately sprung into action and whistled for us to get off the beach. I am finding that my speed is decent, but I'm not as fast as the top girls. I'll keep tuning my gear to try and find a little more speed. My starts are good and tactics solid, and I posted a 2-3-3-3 today.

photo by Gabriel Palmioli - windsurfargentino.com

The trick of the lake is to get as high as possible off the start line and close to the cliff walls on the first tack. If you don't get up high, you'll get stuck in a hole in the middle of the course. The wind funnels down a big valley, and the upper middle of the course is usually pretty gusty. Big gusts hit the beach every so often and send dust flying. The safest place to be is on the water, away from the flying debris and occasionally equipment. Between races we come back to the beach for water and equipment tuning. The committee boat is close to the beach, so it's easy to watch the men's start and see their tactics

Over the last two days, we completed six races out of fifteen. With four days of racing left, the most likely schedule will be 3, 3, 2, and one race on the last day.

Mars Attacks! Day 1 of the Formula World Championship on Lake Potrerillos, Argentina

2010-03-22T20:56:00.006-04:00

The past two days were an assault on sailors and equipment. The weather unexpectedly turned unstable, bringing lengthy periods of clouds and sun. Inevitably, the crazed wind was all over the place.

Yesterday, before the regatta started, it blew 30 knots, and those few who braved the wind returned to the beach with broken battens, holed boards, or a good story. Most sailors stayed on the beach and worked on their equipment. We all hoped the conditions would be back to normal for the racing.

the beach where the sailors launch

The first day of racing, everyone got organized with a skippers meeting and dragged their gear down to the beach. Rigging is difficult at this venue, because the dirt chokes everything and spots on the Astroturf are hard to get. We waited for the glassy conditions to change, and soon enough, they did. We all rigged our biggest sails, and the men headed out on the water. Unfortunately, in the next five minutes, the wind went from 12-15 knots to 25 knots, and the men got slammed left and right on their 12.0 sails. Soon, an exodus from the water onto the land began, and the guys frantically re-rigged in the dust storm. I went from my 10.7 to rigging a 9.8, and then had to race around derigging the 10.7 and rigging the 9.0. This took so long I was late for the start, but made it with 3 minutes to go.

Astroturf staging area

My first upwind was stellar. I had tuned the gear perfectly, was going really fast, and rounded in second behind Marta. However, on the downwind, the wind began to die. I was exhausted from speed-rigging three sails and inhaling dust, and dropped the sail on my second jibe. After that, it was a struggle to plane around the final lap, but I finished third.

I rigged the 9.8 again for the second race, but as soon as I left the beach (and I was late again for the start from the rigging time and dashing back and forth to the tent) the downhaul line broke and I had to return to the beach after the start.

After all this, I had to de-rig the three sails and drag everything back up the hill. I was really worn out from the rigging rather than the racing, and hadn't eaten anything for being short on time. The dirt had blown everywhere; all the competitors' equipment was coated and our ears, eyes, noses, hair and lungs were completely full of dust. It was probably the most challenging day of my windsurfing career, and I only sailed one race. I rigged and de-rigged five times, sailed in 25 knots and 8 knots within a half hour, and ran intervals up and down a gravel hill in a dust storm. Hopefully tomorrow will bring more reasonable conditions and better gear organization on my part.

not Lake Potrerillos but just saying...

Sailing on Mars: Getting Ready for the Formula Worlds in Mendoza, Argentina

2010-03-19T20:16:00.004-04:00

Sailing on Mars: Getting Ready for the Formula Worlds in Mendoza, Argentina

My first international Formula event is shaping up to be really interesting. Like all events in remote locations, only the more dedicated professionals show up. Logistical complications, funding, and the timing of getting new equipment are all a detriment to travelling sailors who don’t windsurf for a living, no matter how good they are. The challenging aspects of this venue aren’t in fact the sailing itself, but how to get around, where to live, and the crazy journey it is to fly here.

It seems everyone has had some flight drama. My flight stopped for 12 hours overnight in Buenos Aires, and I had to switch to another airport and re-check my gear. This was accomplished by taking the gear to a hotel overnight, and getting a ride to the next airport in the wee hours of the morning. However, this was not the worst flight by far. A few Polish sailors were stuck in Rome for 37 hours, and Marta, the 2009 Formula World Champion from Poland, had to circle Santiago, Chile in the air for three hours while the country experienced a second minor earthquake! Flights are not the only complication, as the regatta venue, Lake Potrerillos, is in a very remote mountain location 50 km from Mendoza, the nearest city. If you want food, you had better have a car, or commute 100 km round trip to the lake every day by bus. Luckily, I found a place with the Polish sailors in a cabin on the mountain 10 km from the lake (and we have a car!). We don't have internet, so updates may be sporadic, with no pictures.

Apart from the logistics, Lake Potrerillos is incredible. The lake sits at an altitude of over 1,000 meters and it is 1,800 meters deep (no need to worry about hitting a fin on a sandbar here). It is surrounded by the Andes Mountains, which are incredibly dry and reddish. It is almost like sailing in a desert, with absolutely nothing around you but mountains and blowing red dust. It blows a gusty 12-17 knots every day with extremely flat water, water so clean you can fill your water bottle straight from the lake.

The other interesting and challenging aspect of the venue is the dust. The dust from the fluffy dirt beach and cliffs blows everywhere, and it is really tough on the equipment. Competitors keep the equipment in a big tent, which is quite far from the launch so that you have to prep everything on the beach and be really organized. Flying dirt covers everything, and it is a lot of work to keep the gear mostly clean.

Aside from the peculiarity of the venue, sailors are training as normal and really having fun in the optimal conditons. At this regatta, the fleet size is smaller than a normal world championship, but the level is very high as most of the pros are attending. Only a few girls are racing here (4), but they are all talented sailors from Europe (however, only 4 girls means no prize money!). The organizers may race our fleet with the men, which will be difficult but good training. I am getting faster in the flat conditions and am feeling pretty confident about my sailing. To most of the international sailors, I have unusual equipment. I’ve already fielded lots of questions about my Mike’s Lab custom board and KA Sails.

The Formula Worlds will be an interesting regatta, and all the sailors are happy about racing in this unique venue from another planet. I’m looking forward to testing my gear against the fastest and most experienced sailors in the world.

Calema Midwinters - Serious About Formula

2010-03-08T12:48:00.005-05:00

This is my 6th, almost-consecutive time competing at the Calema Midwinters Regatta. Every year, I've been doing something a little differently. From 2004 when I was sailing on IMCO, 2005 on borrowed Formula gear, to 2007 on RS:X, I've finally found my niche and have taken Midwinters Formula racing seriously ever since.

I've always had the goal of winning this regatta. Many times the womens' fleets aren't extremely deep, but a few talented women are always present, and it can be a challenging fight with them. In earlier years, I was competing against men in the longboard fleet, and learning how to race on the RS:X. After building a history at this venue of learning the game of racing and ironing out the kinks in my Formula sailing, I was really ready for a win here.

After tuning up for the regatta, I felt I had my gear really organized well. I've been on the same equipment for a year now (KA sails, Kashy fins, and Mike's Lab L7 board) and everything is feeling really comfortable. The comfort factor was huge for me, as the fleet that showed up was deep with talent, including a good number of pros tuning up for the Formula World Championships in two weeks, and all the local hotshots.

Sanding my board while Eric Rahnenfuehrer supervises

In all the fleets, the regatta had an exceptionally big turnout of kids. Younger sailors from the US Windsurfing youth team (and lots of other international sailors) were competing in the one-design Bic Techno class. It was an important regatta for them as it was their North American Championships, and simultaneously, a qualifier for the Youth Olympics. The Kona longboard fleet was also having its North American Championships, and young local windsurfers competed in this, along with a few in the Formula fleet. The usual suspects and shady characters of the local race scene put forth a good showing as well - my friends and training partners came down from the freezing northeast for some winter action. I spent some time tuning up with them and checking out the latest fins in the Kashy collection.

For the racing, Florida delivered the cold standard of this winter: northerly, frontal winds. It was difficult to determine which sail to take out, as sometimes it was extremely gusty. I ended up listening to Florida racer Ron Kern's advice: it's never a bad idea to use your biggest sail at this venue.

Switching and tuning a sail during racing

Each day of the regatta, the racing was classic cold front conditions. Decreasing, shifty wind started out in the morning from the northwest and gradually clocked northeast. This meant that the Formula fleet always had a small window of time where the wind was good enough to get a few planing races in. Luckily, Darren Rogers from the Gorge was there to head up the race committee, so the timing of the racing, even with six fleets to race, was just about as perfect as it could get.

The Formula fleet completed seven races over the course of three days. During this time, I had a few revelations about my racing and equipment tuning, which took a few good races, and a few bad races, to figure out. On the first day, we sailed two races back-to-back, during which I used my largest KA sail, a 10.7. As the wind built to 15+ knots, I realized that the big sail was controllable and actually appropriate to use (normally I use a 9.8 in these conditions). I needed the power to get through the gusts, out from under people, and to pull off a decent start in choppy, crowded conditions. However, I didn't realize this until the second day, when I took out the 9.8 in similar conditions. Although I normally have good starts, pulling off a decent one was difficult in the talented fleet. Putting oneself in a favorable position on the line meant starting in a group of really, really fast professional men. Starting above them worked well, but it meant that other talented sailors could roll over me. Timing and finding a lane was also really tricky. With the 9.8, I was unable to pull off a really good start as I simply didn't have the power or speed to hold my lane. I had a few good starts on port, but ultimately I lost distance as the lower left side of the course generally had a bit more pressure than the lower right (the upper quadrants of the course saw the opposite situation). In the pressure, the 9.8 did its job, but I was always around so many other sailors that it was hard to finesse the smaller sail in the disturbed air and water. It was a good experiment in finding the wind range and crossover points of the two sails, even though it meant I lost a few places in the racing.

In addition to sails, I was also able to test a few new Kashy fins, and found one that worked well in the marginal conditions (68 double-extra soft). I used my favorite fin, a 75-5 triple-extra soft, in extremely light wind, and plane around the course in 6 knots of breeze. I was successful on the last day of racing in that I chose the right equipment confidently, pulled off solid starts, and stayed with the fleet around the course. My better races usually put me around 20th place in the 35-board fleet, which are solid finishes in a fleet of really fast men. I feel I can improve upon my finishes by further examining my speed, but this will take some time and lots of equipment testing. I'm extremely happy about the way I raced (and that I won the women's fleet!). Congratulations to all the racers and event organizers for a really successful regatta.

Thanks also to Compass Marketing and KA Sails, my incredible sponsors who make my sailing goals a reality.

Passed-out regatta champion: pro sailor Paulo dos Reis from Brazil (first place overall in Formula)

Karen Marriott (2nd), Monica Arche (3rd), and I receive our trophies.

Rolex Yachting Awards: Adventures in New York City

2010-02-28T17:22:00.008-05:00

I was fortunate enough this year to be invited to the US Sailing Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year award luncheon in New York City. The Rolex award is given annually to a male and female sailor who are deemed to have the most outstanding individual achievements on the water within the calendar year (2009). The ceremony is held at the New York Yacht Club, which is a beautiful venue. The NYYC is probably the only sailing club in the United States whose main clubhouse, over 100 years old, is not on the water, but is instead situated in the middle of Manhattan (44th St). Much of the yacht racing and sailing history of the United States involves this club, starting with the yacht America, the vessel the America's Cup is named after, and many, many America's Cup campaigns.

Since the NYYC is so historic, and the Rolex awards an important event, I didn't want to miss it. However, the craziness of this winter still has a hold on the northeastern United States, and my mom and I drove up from Annapolis in flurries of snow. As we got closer and closer to the city, the snow came down hard.

The next morning, we had to dig the car out of the parking lot of our hotel in Jersey City. The plows had been working all night, but much of the city was still buried under a foot and a half of snow. On the way to the ceremony, we drove around cars and delivery trucks spinning their wheels in attempts to un-stick themselves from the snow.

When I walked into the club, I was escorted up the stairs into a room that made my jaw drop. Every inch of the walls were covered by half-hull models of boats. The first thing I did was walk a lap and stare at all the boats.

Sizeable display cases held to-scale models of all the America's cup challengers and defenders. The BMW Oracle trimaran and Alinghi catamaran should make interesting additions, as they will take up twice the space of the monohull models.

Ornate wood carvings and a massive mantlepiece completed the room. We also got to take a look at the extensive and stately library (the shelves and layout of which looked virtually unchanged since the 1900s) and trophy rooms, including the room where America's Cup trophy was historically kept.

This year's recipients of the Rolex award were Anna Tunnicliffe and Bora Gulari, who each received a beautiful watch. Gary Jobson, President of US Sailing, gave a speech and whimsical video presentation showing childhood photos of the two sailors. Dean Brenner, Chairman of the Olympic Sailing Committee, and Charlie Leighton, the Executive Director, presented the awards.

Rolex Watch president and CEO Alan Brill, Anna, Bora, and Gary Jobson smile for the cameras. (credit: Dan Nerney/ Rolex; from www.nyyc.org)

It was fun seeing the high-profile NYYC members, sailors, and US Sailing officials enjoy the afternoon. Congratulations to Bora and Anna!

Afterwards, my mom and I had fun walking the city at night. The snow was still falling a little, creating an in-the-moment atmosphere. To top off the evening, we caught a performance of Wicked, a musical set in Oz depicting the life of the Wicked Witch of the West before she was melted by Dorothy. It was quite a New York experience.

Altogether, our trip was successful and an interesting vacation. It's good to be the occasional tourist.

Florida is Cold...but windsurfers still have fun racing

2010-02-15T19:03:00.006-05:00

As the northeast United States gets buried with snow, Florida is experiencing relentless cold fronts. If you're coming down to get warm, forget it. The most you can expect is not to have to wear your snow boots....just your thickest wetsuit, and so we all did for Mike Rayl's Frostbite Series regatta in Melbourne.

Dressed for the occasion

Mike is a local guy who sails and promotes the popular Exocet Kona one-design longboard, driving around to events in a rusty 1980s VW van stacked with Kona gear. The Kona is a fun class, and Mike is a fun guy. His regatta day is very informal and relaxed, a gathering of friends to partake in a small weekend adventure. The venue is a bar titled "Squid Lips," which happens to have a little beach and some sweet heat lamps on the deck.

Temperatures were in the low 40s as the windsurfing vans slowly trickled into the parking lot. The wind was classic cold front conditions, northwest with big gusts anywhere from 8-20 knots. As we didn't have a boat or marks, we used channel markers with Mike running a rabbit start for the six Formula racers who showed. The Konas raced after us.

Heading out to check the course

The starting area, next to the SR 518 causeway, was extremely choppy. Waves were going every direction possible as the wind-driven chop reflected off the seawall. Not only was the chop bouncing everywhere, so was the wind, as it was forced to lift over the rise of the bridge and causeway. Therefore, the starting area and the leeward mark (a big, square minimum wake zone marker) had less wind and big wave action, making it a difficult place to maintain speed and control. The course was overall very challenging. Near each shore was a big lift, but the left (west) shore was the moneymaker. However, to get over there, we had to sail through the backwash and a couple big headers.

I had a good start on top of the rest of the fleet and gained some height in a few big puffs. Initially, Peter Ifju was ahead, but tacked out to the right too soon to gain the major advantage from the left side. I went in as far as I could to the shore without getting into the wind shadow and rode a few nice gusts up to the windward mark. Frenchman (living in Jacksonville) Vincent Barre used the same strategy and we rounded the windward mark together. I started to lose him on the downwind to his superior angle and speed. Although we were still in contact when we rounded the leeward mark, Vincent was able to navigate the difficult chop better and I lost him early in the second upwind. The wind had started to die and many sailors were having difficulty in the huge holes. I held on to my lead and finished second.

After the race, the Formula sailors decided to have a big training session. We were a little frozen, but the sun started to peek through the clouds, inspiring us to go back out. I worked with Peter a little, and was a gauge for him for tuning up his new Mike's Lab board. It was his first time sailing it, and some of his speed issues were related to the unfamiliar board. After a couple hours, Peter had his gear going faster and I was feeling really dialed in to the puffs and lulls.

Alex Morales showing some attitude

It was a chilly but fun and productive day for Formula and Kona sailors alike, and a great success for the race series. I'm hoping for another chance to compete at a Frostbite regatta.

Rolex Miami OCR Wrap-up

2010-02-01T08:52:00.008-05:00

A breakthrough regatta isn't necessarily about seeing yourself jump up in the results, but rather know and feel that overall you've been racing really well. For me, the Miami OCR was this regatta. After a few months not sailing RS:X and focusing on Formula (and some rest too!) it was good to come back to the board and realize that I had made some big gains last year during all the training and regattas. As the fleet overall gets better, it's sometimes hard to see that you're getting better too, until you realize that you're actually racing and not just "following the leaders."

Overall I had a pretty solid regatta. My speed is getting better and I'm improving a few things at a time in that respect. If I had a bad upwind, I made up ground on the reach, which is a technical ability I've never had before. Improving reaching made racing through the slalom section a lot easier (also, my jibes are a lot better from Formula training). This was the first regatta where I actually felt competitive in the slalom, and in a few instances overtook a few sailors around the turns. The most interesting aspect of speed is that it completely rules boardsailing. Although being fast with bad tactics won't improve anyone's standings, the simple truth is that speed is what separates the front of the fleet with the back. Sailors who are fast can get out of bad situations a lot easier than the slower sailors. Also, faster sailors have an easier time executing a tactical plan. They are able to get off the starting line faster and get to the side of the racecourse where they already planned to go. For example, I can create a good plan for a race and perform a good start, but if lots of faster boards get ahead of me before I can execute my plan, I may have to bail out just to get clean air. In many instances, I have seen fast sailors have bad upwind legs, but make up ground so quickly on downwind legs that they completely save their race. My focus for the season is to make more technical improvements so my speed gets much better. This will come with very organized training and coaching, and one of my goals for this week is to put together a very good training plan. Of course, that includes working on the dreaded budget, weighing the value of new equipment versus travel, coaching, and training, and trying to manage debt.

Coming through the slalom course

I'm ranked first again for women's windsurfing on the US Sailing Team Alphagraphics (that's the team's Gold-level sponsor). It's good to be back and I'm very encouraged not only by my own performance at this regatta, but also the way the team is shaping up. The team is smaller than ever this year, but in that way we will be able to focus our resources more efficiently. Once again the boards will have a coaching budget, so we will have some coaching at a few regattas, which is extremely helpful. Our team leader is enthusiastic and excited about our plan this year, and is very happy with how the team is performing overall, especially with the OCR performances of some of the developmental sailors. Later, we will also be suited up in some new gear from our clothing sponsor Atlantis so that we all look unified.

The new team culture is very positive, but what the boards are really lacking is a US Sailing-run developmental program like the boats have. As more juniors come through the US Windsurfing programs, there will soon be a need for it (I'm thinking in the next 2 years). Hopefully, as the US Sailing Team's overall results improve and the PR program matures, there will be funding for such a project. Boards are the easiest class to develop, as proved by the Polish team, whose youth team makes good results with not very much money.

Coach Mike Gebhardt helps teammate Lisa Kremer tune her rig.

I'm looking forward (as always) to making some big improvements this year. Thanks to my great sponsors, Compass Marketing and KA Sails, for helping me achieve my sailing goals.

Miami OCR: Nothing new on Day 4

2010-01-28T18:53:00.005-05:00

Today I commented to another sailor, "We have the same conditions every day, just from a different direction." As the wind clocked around, we experienced some marginal breeze from the northeast. Some really big shifts came throughout the afternoon, and it was as gusty as usual.

The committee held two races today, and were thinking about having a third, but the wind didn't pick up enough to have a planing race. I'm working on managing my energy and efficiency in the marginal conditions, and today went really well in that respect. I am getting the hang of working the rig in the harness. Also, we've been working on improving my pumping efficiency (especially downwind) so I don't crunch up my body and use my arms too much. The basic rule is to extend your body so you have more leverage over the rig and use your legs and hips to pump the sail. Extending your body and being light on your feet also helps you get planing faster as it powers up the sail quickly.

We are expecting more marginal conditions tomorrow out of the southeast. Hopefully, there will be some planing races so the committee can get in three, making up for the missed races on Monday. It will be nice and warm and we're looking forward to being out on the water tomorrow and concluding the regatta.

With coach Mike Gebhardt, who has a stash of coconuts in his van (coconut water is great for recovery!)

Miami OCR: Light wind on Day 3

2010-01-27T20:10:00.002-05:00

Some really nice racing occurred today in light to marginal conditions. We waited on the water about an hour for the wind to fill in, giving us ample time to joke around and relax a little.

Our race committee is experienced and as soon as the wind stabilized, racing was underway. Once again, the priority was staying in the pressure. There were some really big left shifts every once and a while, and the trick was to stay with them. The right side of the course sometimes didn't have much pressure at all.

My focus for today's racing was basically the same as yesterday. I am working on staying in the pressure, being aware of what's going on around me, and working the rig as much as possible to go faster. I'm trying to spread my effort through the entire racecourse and applying it to smaller situations where I can gain advantage, rather than going hard for the entire race. This allows me to make better decisions, to think more about what the other sailors are doing, and to conserve strength for when I really need it.

The discrepancy between the front and back of the RS:X fleet seems huge. However, there is no real secret other than the sailors have been doing the sport long enough (usually 8+ years) where tactics, technique, and fitness are all automatic. The very best sailors have the fastest boardspeed and are able to pull themselves out of bad situations by being fast. In the middle of the fleet, where sailors are all about the same speed, different situations can make or break a race, and tactics in these shifty conditions are more important. I can feel that I'm on the verge of being able to actually "race" (meaning the three elements are coming together).

The wind should be marginal for the remaining two days of the regatta (sigh) so there will be plenty of opportunity to build the "racing" experience. We are looking forward to being out in the Florida sunshine and warm wind again tomorrow.

Miami OCR: Marginal conditions on Day 2

2010-01-26T20:37:00.003-05:00

After a lay day yesterday, the fleet was ready to race in today's sunny, marginal northwest wind. Miami is famous for this kind of wind, and it makes for some really tough conditions. It's all frontal, and flows over the land and tall buildings, so it ends up being really shifty and gusty. During racing, the wind slowly veered right, slowly making the right side of the course favored.

The priority of the day was to stay in good pressure at all times. The RS:X is an "all or nothing" kind of board (due to its hefty size and weight), which means that you can either be going fast in good pressure, or barely moving in the holes. This was made difficult by the shifting breeze.

The pin end of the starting line was favored (that's the left side looking up a course) and the right side of the course was favored. A basic rule of starting is that you should start on the side of the line closest to the direction you want to sail (if you want to go right, start on the right or boat end of the line). However, since the left end (pin) was favored, I hung around down there and ended up having some really great starts.

After you've had a good start on the favored end of the line, but have to go the other way to the favored side of the course, what do you do next? The answer is to tack out and try to remain in the "control" position on top of the fleet. This was made difficult by a big hole in the middle of the course, created by the wind shadow of some tall condominiums and the downtown Miami high-rise buildings. As the breeze came in from the right, the goal was to ride the best pressure up the course and not be lured into sailing too far right on a big header.

Another aspect of racing that I was concerned with today was being in "attack" mode and recognizing advantageous situations so that I could act on them. As I like to go into endurance athlete mode and hammer away at pumping the rig, it's more difficult for me to go into a 60-70% effort mode and work the rig in the harness in order to see where wind shifts and other sailors are on the racecourse. I managed to accomplish this the second race, and practicing this more will help bring together all the elements of racing boards.

The forecast for tomorrow is for lighter winds out of the northeast, which means more marginal conditions. I'd like a few days of really light air or big breeze, but around here this is the prevalent condition. However, it gives me a chance to work on racing well in my least favorite condition and improving my game.

My camera is still gone (stolen) so I most likely won't be able to post pictures from the coach boat and racing. You can see some pictures of the racing for the boat fleets here.

Miami OCR: Day 1

2010-01-25T19:07:00.003-05:00

After a week of training, the Miami OCR is finally upon us. I'm working with coach Mike Gebhardt, the other American girls (Lisa Kremer and Solvig Sayre) and Carolina, my Brazilian training partner from last summer. We have spent the last few days getting our gear ready, registering for the event, finding a coach boat, and other last-minute logistics.

The first day of racing for the RS:X fleet (and a few other boat classes too) was a washout. The committee delayed us for a line of weather coming through. Rumors of waterspouts around Key Largo made the committee decide to abandon racing for the day. Although it rained heavily for a short time, we never got to see a waterspout, which was slightly disappointing after all the hype.

Tomorrow three races are on the schedule to make up for the two missed today. We're all pretty well-rested at this point. I did some maintenance lifting in the gym today just so I wouldn't feel undertrained going into the day tomorrow. The rest is probably good for me as I usually charge full-on into a regatta without much of a taper.

I may have difficulty posting pictures, as I somehow lost track of my camera today and someone picked it up (I'll never see it again). Meanwhile, you can enjoy regatta pictures and results at the Miami OCR website.

Alex Caviglia Bluewater Classic: Tough conditions for Formula

2010-01-19T15:54:00.006-05:00

The Alex Caviglia Bluewater Classic, held at the Shake-a-Leg sailing center in Coconut Grove, is usually a good draw to get Formula sailors to Miami for a few days to enjoy the warmer weather and practice for bigger events. It's a treat for the local sailors to train with a lot of good guys, and see the latest and greatest in Formula equipment upgrades. On Friday at the causeway (our normal sailing spot) everyone had a productive afternoon testing gear and tuning up against each other in big lineups. Formula testing is a lot of fun and very technical, and it's easy to see which guys have the best equipment combination or who has the gear most tuned up. Afterwards, we have big discussions on the beach.

Sailors changing equipment at the causeway training session

Dave Kashy and Alan Bernau, part of my team from Maryland, showed up after driving all night. Dave brought some new fins, which a few riders tested. Of particular note was an "85-15," which is a fin made to be 85 cm long, then cut down to 70 cm as per Formula class rules. The big fin, tested by a Brazilian pro rider, showed some impressive light wind performance in the lineups. It sent the pro sailor upwind like a rocket, gaining in every gust.

Alan has black Sharpie hands after stenciling his sail numbers

The training session took place in light wind, which was very different from the conditions we experienced on the first day of the regatta. In the morning, we had 20-25 knots of breeze from the southeast. Many Olympic-class boats were out racing, and the bay was cluttered with their courses and other powerboat traffic cutting through. The committee ran a windward-leeward course, simple enough, with a far upwind mark near Key Biscayne. They had to move the course once, while we waited. Finally, they ran one race. The race was a good experience and challenging dealing with tidal current, gusts, the ever-present weeds, and big San Francisco-type chop throughout the upwind half of the course. I kept everything under control and finished 9th.

Just after a leeward mark rounding in the breeze (you can't really see the 20 knots)

After lunch, we went out again only to find that the wind had dropped dramatically. Everyone was on their small gear with no time to change sails or fins. The Shake-a-Leg launch is notoriously difficult as we have to tack up and down a narrow channel without a centerboard, and the course is too far from the launch to have time to do this. After one race in very light wind (barely planing, and fighting weeds), our third race of the day was abandoned and everyone drifted back to the beach.

Conditions on the second day proved equally frustrating. The wind was a beautiful southerly when we went out, but a big storm system moved in and at the last minute of our start, the wind shifted southwest and it began to rain torrentially in that tropical way. We sailed in and waited a few hours, then went back out to light wind. We had one race in the type of conditions I enjoy, light wind planing with big shifts and gusts. This makes for interesting, challenging racing which you have to strategize for before the start. However, the wind died at the beginning of the day's second race, and we drifted around the course.

The forecast for the third day wasn't looking good for the Formula fleet either, and after waiting for wind in the morning, we went out to have the wind die shortly before our start. We started anyway, and ended up slogging around two laps of the course. I got on the wrong side of a few shifts and had a frustrating first upwind (imagine sailing this board and huge, stiff sail, tacking like a boat would sail a race), but had a good second upwind.

I placed mid-fleet overall, which is a good result sailing against a lot of these fast guys, and am pleased with the way I am racing in the Formula fleet. I was a little frustrated by how the race committee handled the conditions. Formula is a planing class, and races where 90% of the fleet can't plane should be abandoned. On the first day, instead of sending the Formula fleet back in for lunch, two more races could have been accomplished for the day while the breeze lasted. Also, on the second day, if the fleet had waited on the water for the wind to switch, two or three planing races could have been accomplished. It is impossible to run races for Formula as if planing boards were sailboats.

I feel happy about the way I'm sailing against some of the fast Florida guys, and I can see myself creeping up closer to them in training and results. I'm looking forward to my new 2010 KA sail quiver and making even more improvements in Formula speed and technique.

Next week the Miami Olympic Classes Regatta begins and I'm looking forward to another few days of RS:X training. Thanks to my sponsors, Compass Marketing, and KA Sails, for helping me realize these sailing goals.

Preparing for the Rolex Miami Olympic Classes Regatta

2010-01-13T22:18:00.006-05:00

Living in Miami for the winter is really helpful as it gives me a home base to operate from and a feeling of being settled and more grounded. It's allowed me to take care of finances, sell old and buy new sailing equipment, establish my goals for the year, and otherwise get life back in order. Physical training has ramped up and on the water I've been focusing on Formula. However, the Rolex Miami Olympic Classes Regatta (OCR) is just around the corner and I'm now back on the RS:X. The OCR is the women windsurfers' team qualifier, so it is a very important event for us.

Lining up with a group of international sailors in light wind

Many international sailors choose to make the OCR part of their winter training regimen, and I have been sailing with a few girls from Finland, Canada, and Denmark, and their coach. Transitioning back to the RS:X can be difficult as it takes a few sessions to get all the "feel" back. It's also always a small shock to go from sailing something fun, fast, and responsive, to something slow and heavy, but on the other hand, using huge Formula rigs makes the RS:X sail feel tiny and light in comparison.

Working on pumping technique downwind

This week we will continue training, and then many of the international sailors, including myself, are participating in the North American Championship (Alex Caviglia Bluewater Classic) regatta held at the Shake-a-Leg Sailing Center in Coconut Grove, Miami. This is a good training regatta and warm-up for the OCR.

The forecast for the weekend is big breeze from the south, so we expect some interesting racing. It will definitely be warm (in the 80s F), which will be a welcome change from the record lows we have been experiencing. It isn't supposed to be 35 degrees F during the middle of the day in Miami, is it? We are all looking forward to a good weekend of getting back to racing!

Inlet to Inlet Distance Race: Ft Lauderdale, FL

2009-12-07T21:07:00.006-05:00

The Inlet to Inlet race, otherwise known as the "i-to-i," is a long distance race held in the Atlantic Ocean. It is run by local Formula hotshot Ron Kern, and sailors race from the Port Everglades inlet to the Hillsborough Inlet and back. We sailors can always expect two things: some really challenging conditions, and a big adventure. This year was no exception.

13 sailors showed up to race; most on Formula gear (9) but a good longboard turnout as well. The wind was from the southwest, and Ron put the pressure on us to get to the beach really early so we could make the best of the day. As usual, everyone rolled in a half hour to the start and thus we started at 9:40 instead of 9:00.

Racers pose before the start (photo: Sue Kern).

The side-offshore wind is always really gusty in Ft. Lauderdale, with big puffs and even bigger lulls. I was pretty sure the wind was going to increase with an incoming rainstorm, so I rigged on the small side (mistake), a KA 9.0 with my mid-sized 66cm Kashy fin. We started by sailing about 2 miles on a close reach to the Port Everglades channel mark.

I was close by the boys as we rounded the channel mark, but took a spill when I hit a piece of chop and a big gust came at the same time. The ocean chop was challenging as on one tack downwind you were directly sailing up and down steep waves, and to keep going you had to sail in a zigzag fashion to keep from going uphill too much. On my way down, I passed Alex Morales, who was chilling out, sailing in slow motion downwind, and watching the action. He, along with most of the Formula fleet, had decided that the wind was too light, and sailed a short course in to the beach immediately. The rest of the Formula fleet, which by then consisted of Ron, Fernando, and myself, went all the way down to the Hillsborough Inlet channel mark. The wind was getting lighter and lighter, and on the way back up I was unable to plane in the lulls. The two boys on their bigger rigs started to get far ahead of me, it started to rain, and then the wind decided to die. By this time, I had already gotten halfway back to the launch, but still had about 4-5 miles to sail upwind. I had also sent some fishermen into a hissy fit by sailing into one of their lines (who knew that they were so close to the surface 100 meters behind the boat?). Comically enough the fishhook caught my fin and the boat actually dragged me 20 feet as it came to a stop. When the line slacked I unhooked myself and escaped the frying pan yet one more day.

The last gasp of wind got me in about a half mile from shore, where it took another exciting hour to tack in. Luckily I pulled the gear onto the beach in front of a nice derigging area: a tall, white, classic 1970s-era condo with a big deck and a hose to rinse all the gear. In my wetsuit, I hopped the fence to the road, much to the annoyance of the security guard. I asked him nicely to call a taxi for me, after which I was honored with a lecture about the evils of hopping fences and the meaning of private property. The taxi took me back to the launch site, and I gave the driver an extra tip due to the big puddle of salty water in the back seat.

At the launch, most of the Formula sailors were chowing down on French fries in the local restaurant. Ron and Fernando were the only two Formula sailors to finish, a great accomplishment given the light and tricky conditions. Alex was on scouting duty, and was finding the longboard sailors one by one. The longboards really took the day as Beth Winkler and Daniel Borsutzky finished the huge distance in about 5.5 hours!

I took the van back to the condo to get my gear (and listen to another lecture), and the racers adjourned to Ron's house for a party and awards. It was a big day, but at least I didn't break a mast and destroy my cell phone like last year. Check out Ron's race report and results. Thanks to all the great race sponsors, Liquid Surf and Sail, Adventure Sports and Sandy Point Progressive Sports, for some really great prizes; and thanks to Ron and Sue Kern for making the i-to-i a really nice event.

Miami Pro-Am: No wind, but good fun

2009-11-22T17:32:00.006-05:00

Windy conditions at a Florida regatta isn't always a certainty. Although Miami usually has good wind, this weekend didn't have the conditions we would have liked to see. The wind was from the east and averaged about 5 knots.

Although this meant that the Formula fleet didn't race, we did get to hang out on the water and go to some good parties. The race organizer, Alex Morales from Windsurfing Tour Miami, made sure we were well fed and entertained. There was lots of opportunity to discuss fins, new sails, and the new production boards.

Working the board to make it plane

New production boards from Starboard, Exocet, and Patrik Diethelm (formerly at F2)

On the other hand, the Kona fleet sailed 7 races in the light wind. There was much cheering and heckling from the idle Formula sailors as the boards raced. Close racing was had by the top 3 men, and after a protest, former world champion Bruce Matlack was upset by Mike Rayl for second place. Steve Gottlieb from Sandy Point Progressive Sports took first. In the junior fleet, developed by Britt Viehman, Kevin Hendrickson, Chris Waldo, and Margot Samson took first, second, and third.

Competitors at the Pro-Am

Getting Ready for a New Season

2009-11-19T23:15:00.004-05:00

I've been back in the USA for over a month now, and have spent the time getting ready for the winter season, and making longer-term plans for next year's campaign. It takes some time to get organized and ready for the next session of training, and I also needed a little down time to relax and get re-acquainted with family and friends. Of course, the work is endless, and I've been putting a lot of office time in, as well as cleaning out all my old stuff from my parents' house!

I just made it to Miami, where I'm getting organized once again for the winter. My RS:X gear arrived safely from Weymouth in the US team container, and was waiting for me at the US Sailing Center. I am also getting my Formula equipment sorted out and the new KA Sails prototypes are looking great.

Tomorrow is the first Formula regatta of the season, the Miami Pro-Am. The local scene will be here, so it will be competitive and fun, and a great warm-up for the bigger regattas. I am looking forward to a lot of Formula sailing this winter!

Thanks to my sponsors, Compass Marketing and KA Sails, who will make this season exceptionally great.

A little Florida winter weather - the morning before a great day of sailing

Sail for Gold Wrapup

2009-09-20T16:39:00.003-04:00

The last few days of Sail for Gold saw many American sailors stepping up the game and moving to the front of the fleet. Two bronze medals were won by Zach Railey in the Finn class and by Anna Tunnicliffe, Molly O'Brien-Vandemoer, and Alice Manard in women's match racing. US sailors swept the Paralympic division, with two gold medals in the Skud - 18 (Scott Whitman / Julia Dorsett) and Sonar (Hugh Freund / Maureen McKinnon-Tucker) classes. My teammate Ben Barger had one of his best performances ever, with 9th overall in the RS:X men's fleet.

The final days of the regatta saw all the changeable conditions possible in Weymouth. The third day many classes had a break as the wind was too strong on the outside courses (which I've written about in the previous entry).

All fleets postponed for winds gusting over 30 knots.

Although it was really nuking for the first few days, the wind dropped a lot for the last two days of the final series. We experienced a few days of Indian summer and four races in winds of 5-10 knots.

Running through the starting line in light wind

The last day of the regatta was going to be a treat as I would get to watch my teammate Ben in the RS:X medal race. However, hot, hazy summer decided to descend on Weymouth, and conditions were pretty glassy all day. Even though there was no wind, the committee decided to call the men out anyway. After about 15 minutes of everyone hanging out on their coach boats, they decided to abandon the race. Many fleets had their medal races cancelled, which was a disappointment for the huge British media presence.

On board the coach boat: Race committee member tries to hold up the "A" flag

I had a lot of frustration these last days as being tired and sick was starting to catch up with me. The wind was very shifty and light, making for a difficult transition back to pumping conditions. My focus every day was on recovery, and some new stretches I learned facilitated that. Although I didn't sail as well as I expected I could for this regatta, it was still a great experience to be at the Olympic venue for such an extended period of time, learn all the possible conditions, and be well-prepared for each coming year.

I would like to thank my sponsor, Compass Marketing, for making these important events possible for me to compete in.

Farrah

Days 2 and 3: Sail for Gold

2009-09-16T16:32:00.002-04:00

Patience is the thing I strive for the most in this sport. I'm used to being able to do most sports well simply because I'm an athletic person. However, in sailing, small gains come slowly and can be invisible in the results. I'm out of my comfort zone in the really big breeze, and it shows. This is the very reason I went to San Francisco and the Gorge this summer. I'm pushing my wind range up higher and higher, but it's slow progress so far. What I am the most happy about from the past two days is that my tacks and jibes are improving, and my upwind technique is getting much better.

We've had two races each day so far, and all races have been on a windward-leeward course due to the constraints of the harbor. It's actually quite fun going around and around the course like a racecar, as it gives you lots of opportunities to practice maneuvers. Today we were postponed for a few hours in the morning, as the wind was gusting to 35 knots. Later, however, conditions calmed down a bit to around 20+ knots (although there were a few lulls and high gusts) and the committee was able to get our races off in the harbor. The boards and the 49ers were the only fleets to sail today. Although most fleets sailed yesterday, conditions were actually a bit windier. I felt racing was called off a bit prematurely for the rest of the boats, but the committee believed that outside the harbor walls conditions were unsafe. Tomorrow the wind will be lighter, and all fleets should be ready to go.

Sail for Gold, Day 1

2009-09-14T17:11:00.002-04:00

The northeast wind we have been experiencing for the past week is apparently a "summer" condition. Although temperatures have been sometimes chilly, it's been sunny and dry, which is great for drying out wet gear. Northeast conditions are expected throughout the rest of the regatta, but we should have about 20 knots tomorrow. From what I've experienced so far at this venue, this direction doesn't get quite as nuclear as the normal southwest breeze.

Northeast is shifty and gusty, and on the racecourse today we had as much as 15 knots and as little as 6-8. The boards are still inside the harbor walls, but we are sharing the harbor with the paralympic fleets, so the race committee is forgoing the normal trapezoid course in favor of a windward-leeward course to save a bit of space. There are 10 races in the series, so we are on schedule for two a day.

Today I had some good and bad moments. Although I had a good start for the first race, I started with the really fast girls in the fleet. After the start, I got rolled and didn't tack out because I was too focused on my plan for the upwind...rookie mistake that put me towards the rear of the pack. I had a tactically sound second upwind and made up some places, and had some really good jibes through the slalom finish. I had an incredible start during the second race, which turned out to be a little too good as I was over early, adding an OCS to my score.

Overall I wasn't unhappy about my day, as there were many things that I improved greatly. The rest of the American team had a bit of a shaky start to the regatta (except for Ben, who is in 6th place in the RS:X men's fleet) but as everyone is learning the venue, I expect we will bounce back quickly. I'm enjoying the back-to-back regattas as it forces me to relax and focus on the learning process.

Sail For Gold Starts on Monday

2009-09-13T17:41:00.016-04:00

The final 2009 World Cup event, the Sail For Gold Regatta starts Monday at the Portland Sailing Center in Weymouth England, site of the 2012 Olympic sailing regatta. This is the first of three annual pre-Olympic test regattas for the sailors to become familiar with the local winds and currents that will influence our training over the next three years. China's local conditions for the 2008 Olympics were light winds but the Weymouth venue promises to provide more all around conditions with the likely potential for strong winds just as we saw last week at the RSX World Championships.

These pre-Olympic regattas also provide an opportunity for the various countries to ramp up their organization, logistics and support structure to maximize their team's medal winning potential. The US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics officials held a meeting tonight with all the US sailors present at its impressive operation center. The facility is being provided to us for the next four years and is directly across from the Olympic venue. It provides a place for us to meet before and after racing and we can store our equipment and coach boats there year round. We are sure to have multiple training camps here outside of the Sail for Gold Regattas in the coming years.

weather briefing at US Team facility

The weather has been great during the break as you can see in the picture below that was taken from Weymouth's Chesil Beach of the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy.

Weymouth / Portland Sailing Academy

Not quite the Cote d'Azur but the smooth rocky beach shows the powerful storms that must pound this shore

I've been feeling under the weather since the end of the RSX Worlds ended. I have taken the last three days off from sailing. I'm still trying to shake my cold and other related aliments. The racing starts tomorrow (Monday) and my coach told me not to worry because I sail better when I'm sick. We will see if this holds true.

I'd like to thank Compass Marking Inc. for their support which has allowed me to compete in the RSX circuit this year. Their website http://www.compassmarketinginc.com/

To view the Sail for Gold website go to http://www.sailracer.co.uk/events/18401/

Spain and Great Britain Take the World Championships

2009-09-12T07:08:00.003-04:00

The Worlds have finally concluded yesterday with beautiful weather for the medal racing. Medal races can be high stress, as the weighted results can make or break a sailor's regatta. We saw some seriously good sailing today with impressive finishes. In the women's fleet, Marina Alabau from Spain sailed conservatively without any big mistakes to keep her points lead for the World Champion title. Her teammate, Blanca Manchon, finished fourth, also maintaining her second place. Charline Picon of France upset Agata Brygola (POL) to take third. Agata has had a phenomenal regatta, and after a year of not being on the Polish Olympic team, has completely risen to the top.

In the men's fleet, local British sailor Nick Dempsey impressively won the medal race and the championships, thrilling the British media. The second place finisher, Nimrod Mashiah from Israel, almost lost his regatta in the medal race after he fell at the start. As he went down and the gun went off, there was a collective gasp of horror from all the spectator and coach boats. He recovered quickly, although he was behind the entire fleet. By the first windward mark, he was going so fast that he caught three sailors to finish sixth, keeping his points lead. Dorian van Rijsselberge, a very talented kid from the Netherlands, finished second in the medal race to take third place.

Nick Dempsey (GBR) is sprayed with champagne after winning both the medal race and the World Championships (event photo)

The racing for the silver fleet was cancelled on the final day, much to everyone's disappointment. A container ship was hanging out on the racecourse, making a normal trapezoid course impossible. The committee was running one fleet at a time on a windward/leeward course, and with four fleets to finish, they ran out of time before the medal races. I went sailing anyway and blazed around the slalom course for a while between races, practicing jibes.

We have a few days off and then the Sail for Gold ISAF Grade 1 regatta begins. I seem to have both a small sinus infection and some kind of British disease of the guts, so I'm resting and will do some light recovery running and calisthenics. Sail for Gold will be another great opportunity to learn more about the Olympic venue and we are (tiredly) looking forward to the racing.

Arne and I watching the action before the medal races

Worlds Days 4 and 5

2009-09-09T16:08:00.003-04:00

With one race to go, the RS:X World Championships is almost over. With life focused around racing, the days go quickly.

In the silver fleet, I'm finally finding my groove. My results are a tribute to progress: jumping forward, falling back, but in general putting new knowledge to good use. Yesterday I posted a 14th and a 6th in marginal conditions. I'm quite proud of the 14th, as it came after I saved my own race. I was slow to accelerate off the start, and had to tack out and go to the wrong side to get clear air. I rounded the windward mark almost last. However, I had two really strong downwind legs and caught half the fleet. The next race, I knew where to go. My start was excellent, as I had more space on the line and got out from under the fleet early in clear air. I dedicated my start to my Polish coach, Romek, as it was exactly the way he has taught me. and my speed was good with the daggerboard down. I consistently gained places and had a strong finish through the slalom.

Today my results were really upside down...I posted a 3rd and a 19th. The third was fantastic as it shows what I can do when I race well. Our entire race was light planing conditions, with an unusual north wind. Big gusts were coming down the course, and racing today was all about finding the pressure. Racing well is all about performing each individual portion of a race well, and I managed to piece together a good race. My start was great, and I got out into clear air. My speed was good in the flat water, and I hit the shifts and pressure right on the first two upwind legs. Pretty soon I was ahead of the pack by a long ways....which felt great!

Racing at the front of the fleet seems easy when you've gotten there, but it's really tough to work your way up from the back. The wind was more fluky at the start of the second race, and I wasn't clean off the line. I had tried for a planing start when most of the girls were daggerboard down. I was forced to go daggerboard down for a while, and because there were so many holes, never got out of that mode into planing. I chose the wrong side on the first beat, and was constantly fighting with the others to get ahead. The result is a testament to a bad start and first upwind leg. At least I'm showing improvement. We have one race tomorrow, and then the World Championships end for yet another year.