The RS:X Pre-Worlds Regatta

Beautiful new headquarters of the Andalucian Sailing Federation

For the past two weeks I've been training in El Puerto de Santa Maria (Cadiz), Spain, the site of the 2012 RS:X World Championships. Coach Max is here with me, and together we've been making some big improvements to my sailing (I know saying this makes me sound like a broken record, but it's very true). A big fleet of international sailors are here, from youth to gold medalists all eager to train and race together.

Yesterday, I finished in eighth place at the Carnaval Regatta, a major Spanish event and the pre-Worlds warm-up for most competitors. All the women sailors training here competed, and together with the youth girls and boys, we had a really strong fleet. Light wind was the dominant condition, and we had a good range of directions and wave conditions, from offshore, shifty, and flat, to a clean sea breeze with choppy swell. We've also been lucky to have sunshine every day so far, which is great because it can be pretty rainy and cold in Spain this time of year.

Results from the Carnaval Regatta

I shaped up well against the other girls in the light wind conditions, and with the addition of new speed, the pieces of the racing puzzle started to fit together. My starts were great, and I was making good decisions tactically. The light wind made for a grueling event, but I really enjoy that toughest kind of sailing and putting my endurance to the test.

Competitors heading out in light wind

Another benefit of the Carnaval Regatta was that I had the opportunity to meet a contact from the joint Spanish - US naval base at Rota, Spain, which is just down the road from where we are racing. I'm finalizing plans for a goodwill visit to show my support, and I'm really looking forward to meeting some sailors and officers.


Starting tomorrow, I have 20 days of training until the Worlds. Now that I'm making solid progress in light to moderate conditions, I'm hoping that we will see breezier conditions to bring my planing up to speed. I'd like to thank my sponsors, including Compass Marketing, the St. Francis Yacht Club Foundation, the Annapolis Yacht Club Foundation, the Olympic Sailing Association at New Orleans, and the Southport Sailing Association, for giving me the opportunity to make a great showing for the USA at the Carnaval Regatta, and giving me the best of chances to qualify the USA for an Olympic slot at the RS:X World Championships.

Silver Medal at the Rolex Miami Olympic Classes Regatta

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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