Start Line - I'm about 5 boats from the pin end for this one (you can just see the last 3 digits of my sail number 705).
PHOTO CREDIT: B.Carraway
This past December I travelled to Fort Lauderdale to compete in the Laser District 13 championships. Aside from a few chilly days in Nova Scotia this past fall, this was my first true ocean conditions regatta experience ever. I’ve sailed on east coast of Florida before, but never in conditions like this. It took until the end of the second day for me to get a feel for the waves. I finished in 11th place but I feel I didn’t sail my best. I had finishes of 17, 18, 6, 11, 9, 12, and 6. Again inconsistency hurt me in the standings, but what a good learning experience. I now appreciate how important it is to get lots of training experience prior to important events at the location to fully grasp the local conditions.
Waves made this leeward mark rounding (mark behind boat 204117 on the left of image) a challenge.
PHOTO CREDIT: B.Carraway
My next event is Laser Midwinter Championships at Clearwater Sailing Center February 23-26 2017. This is a very important event for me as it is the sole qualifier for the 2017 ISAF Youth Worlds.