2022 US OPEN SAILING SERIES FT. LAUDERDALE

For me, the first regatta of the calendar year has traditionally been in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Known in the past as the Ft. Lauderdale OCR (Olympic Class Regatta), this event has been recently revamped and is now one of several in a series called the US Open Sailing Series (USOSS). This year, I finished 10th in the three-day event. I finished 17th at the same event last year, so this marks an improvement, although it must be noted that there was a stronger international presence the previous year.

Unfortunately, we were only able to race on two out of the three planned days (Saturday, Sunday, Monday) as a strong front passed through on the second day, and racing had to be called off. Thankfully, no tornadoes touched down on the Atlantic coast, although we were under a warning for most of the day.

The regatta began on Saturday with light winds, and we managed to get two races off later in the day. I got called for rule 42 (pumping) on the final downwind of the first race, costing me a few places.

On Monday, there was more wind, but it was coming directly from the west, which means shifty conditions in Ft. Lauderdale. I got called again for rule 42 (pumping) in the first race, meaning I had to retire.

Although I fell short of my goal of finishing top 6, I am happy with how I battled back from this adversity, and I know that my current results do not reflect my capability.

Following this regatta, I had a couple of weeks to polish up my fitness and a short break at home before I headed to Europe to begin the lead-up to worlds in May. I am now on my way to Portugal, where my next event will be the 4th Portugal Grand Prix Round 2, starting on the 19th of February.

RESULTS

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2021 TRAINING BLOCK AND U.S. OPEN SAILING SERIES

Following a short break over the holidays, two of my Canadian Sailing Development Squad teammates and I safely arranged a productive training block in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, with an international training group. Training needed to continue for us to be ready if the full competition calendar in Europe proceeded this spring, beginning with Palma in March. A reasonable hope given this is the lead-up to the summer Olympics. We spent five weeks strictly maintaining our bubble, wearing masks, social distancing and refraining from entering any public buildings (grocery delivery has been a lifesaver) and getting valuable boat time. 

We had some great training conditions. I’m on the right side of the screen in this video - sail number 215019.

We got the opportunity to compete at the US Open Sailing Series Ft. Lauderdale during our training. Noting the organizer's commitment to safety protocols, I registered for my first taste of semi-international competition in nearly a year. A combination of shifty conditions plus rusty large fleet tactics and strategy skills resulted in a disappointing finish 17th of 42. My thanks to all who worked so hard to organize a safe regatta. 

Throughout this training block, I got the opportunity to experience some new things. Without support for coaching from Sail Canada right now, along with my fellow Canadian Teammates Luke and Fillah, I joined forces with the Argentine Olympic selection Francisco Guaragna and his coach Nico for the duration of the block. It was a great experience to get exposed to some new ideas and ways to approach the sport. Along with this, we got to train every day with three other Olympic selections from the US, Guatemala, and Chile. It was fantastic to show up to sailing each day and line up with guys who sail at the front of the fleet. It certainly gave me a new appreciation for the years of practice for technique accuracy and balance that these guys possess. Still have my work cut out for me, but every little step I feel is moving me towards my goal.

2020 HEMPEL WORLD CUP MIAMI

With the medal race wrapping up just over a week ago, my second Miami World Cup came to a close. Disappointingly, I was in the coach boat watching a number of my teammates instead of in my Laser racing with them. 

After day one I was sitting in 12th place and felt I could move up to secure a spot in the medal race.
Photo Credit: Pedro Martinez/Sailing Energy

Although impressively half of the 10 competitors in the Laser medal race were Canadian, the athlete from Trinidad and Tobago beat out the Canadians to finish 4th and secured a spot at his 3rd Olympics. Sadly this leaves Canada without a place in the Laser fleet at the Tokyo 2020 games. 

Unfortunately, this turn of events will bring some changes to the team. A few athletes will likely retire, meaning that valuable training partners will disappear. While 2020 was never my goal, I had hoped to experience a Canadian Olympic trials process and was looking forward to spending a bit more time with the senior members of our team to better prepare myself for 2024. 

Checking in with Canadian Team coach Larry Lemieux.
Photo Credit: Pedro Martinez/Sailing Energy

While my results for this event could have been better, I feel confident about the training I had going into the event. I am grateful for the reminder of the importance of staying focused on the process. After the first day, I was sitting in 12th place and felt that I could move up into the medal race. Unfortunately, I put extra pressure on myself to achieve this and lost sight of the process, which is what has gotten me to strong results. Over the following days, I fell to 23rd place after some flag trouble (penalties) and poor decision making. While 23rd is a significant improvement from last year, it's essential to acknowledge that the fleet was weaker, with 40 instead of 100 boats and almost no sailors from outside of North and South America. 

Regardless, I'll move forward, grateful for the valuable lesson, and a deep motivation to ensure that our country spot at the 2024 Olympics is qualified before the final regional qualifier, so Canada isn't in this situation again.

RESULTS
VIDEO REPLAY - MEDAL RACE (Laser begins 2:40)

2019 LASER MIDWINTERS EAST

Over Reading Week I continued the longstanding tradition of going down to Clearwater, Florida for the Laser Midwinter East Championships.

Overall I had a really positive event finishing in 11th place, my best finish ever by a significant margin. I improved on my finish of 24th (24/45) last year; however, the fleet was stronger last year. I had great starts all regatta and had the opportunity to duke it out at the front of the pack on numerous occasions. I had multiple top 5 finishes and feel with some better consistency in game planning and speed I could have moved up the tight leaderboard. I leave this regatta with a great motivation to improve my fitness over the next couple of months in the gym and prepare myself for my next event, the Senior European Championships in May.

In the lead coming into the second windward mark - crossing just behind me on port is Chris Barnard (USA 210780) US Sailing Team member and winner of the regatta.

A link to results can be found below, shoutout to my mom for taking some great pics!

RESULTS
PHOTOS

WRAP UP 2018 - WELCOME 2019

WRAPPED 2018 UP WITH ONE LAST REGATTA AND KEY LEARNING

At the beginning of December, I trained and raced leading up to the District-13 championships. Unfortunately, I got sick on the second day and was hampered by a bad cold for the entire camp. This limited the amount of time I was able to function at a high capacity on the water but I made the most of it and had a really productive camp working on starting and boat-on-boat battles. For next time I know I need to be more diligent about protecting my health. Doing a 24-hour straight through drive (with someone still on antibiotics for pneumonia) followed by a hard double session in the gym and then on the bike on the first day took its toll. The racing was held out of St. Petersburg Yacht Club and we had a great steady breeze each day in the 10-14 knot range with no shifts. Strong downwind speed carried me to 3rd place however I definitely feel that I could have been more competitive had I been at full strength.

2018 D13 RESULTS

DISTRICT 13 - On the start line and taking advantage of a mid-line sag. (Sail Number - CAN 206038)

TWO BIG REGATTAS TO KICK OFF 2019
I would like to wish everyone a happy new year and thank everyone for their continued support of me pursuing my dream. 2019 marks a year of opportunity for me and it is beginning this January with the biggest regattas of my sailing career with Lauderdale OCR which serves as the 2019 Pan-Am Games country trial and Sailing World Cup Miami. Later in the year, I will be working towards the U-21 World Championships as this is my last year of eligibility and I hope to make my mark.

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2018 LASER MIDWINTERS EAST REGATTA

I am recently back from a great training session and the Midwinters East Regatta in Florida. While on my reading week I went to work in preparing myself for u21 worlds in Gdynia, Poland this summer. Four days of solid training with a great group of sailors including a couple of Olympians gave me a clear insight into what it takes to be at the top of this fleet. The four days of racing were filled with difficult and puffy conditions that tested even the best sailors.  That combined with a very deep and competitive fleet resulted in more tough racing. I stumbled out of the blocks on the first day posting poor scores of 35 and 34 in the first two races. I followed that up with better and consistent finishes in the 20s and teens. I finished a disappointing 24th out of 42, but it is important to for me to remember that my focus for this regatta was on process goals and not placement goals. I found I struggled with my starts, so I will continue to focus on this more in the coming months. For now, I am back at school finishing up my semester and will be working in the gym continuing to improve my fitness until I can get back on the water again to train.

RESULTS - 2018 LASER MIDWINTERS EAST
PHOTOS - 2018 LASER MIDWINTERS EAST

2018 LAUDERDALE OLYMPIC CLASS REGATTA / ATLANTIC COAST CHAMPIONSHIP

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Mark rounding. 
Photo Credit: Boo Carraway / John Porter

The best fleet I’ve sailed against yet in the full rig and challenging conditions both came at Lauderdale Yacht Club OCR/ACCs last weekend. The three days of racing brought difficult conditions.  A shifty offshore breeze on day one meant my position in each race at any given moment changed drastically.  Day two we had a big breeze and swell that continued to build throughout the day.  Day three with a forecast of wind building to 30 plus knots race management elected to send us out early before things became unsailable.  These conditions were exactly what I was expecting.  

Good sized fleet.  (206038)
Photo Credit: Ken Dool

What I wasn't expecting were those challenges to be compounded by a large, fast and more experienced fleet. With the competition level high, it became a game of precision.  You could be within yards of the top guys, but there would be 20 boats between you.  I made a lot of mistakes and didn’t finish quite as I had hoped but my goals for this regatta were mostly process goals. There is a lot I can take away from this event from a learning perspective, and I will apply these to my next time sailing in the lead up to the Laser Midwinter East Championships in Clearwater, FL. I have a long way to go towards achieving my goals at u21 Worlds in Poland, and this is just part of the process. Thanks to all of those who made this event possible from the event organizers and volunteers to my coach and training partners as well as my parents and supporters.

RESULTS - 2018 LOCR/ACC

2017 DISTRICT 13 LASER CHAMPIONSHIPS

During the first weekend of December, I competed in the D13 Championships in Jensen Beach Florida. I arrived on Thursday and trained for two days with the Ontario Team and a good group of Canadians in excellent conditions.

Pre-Regatta Training.
PHOTO CREDIT: Coach Chris Cowan

Just a few of the Ontario sailors!
Matti Muru, Liam, James Juhasz

Sadly the wind didn’t hold up for the regatta, leaving us to compete for two days in lighter winds. The Race Committee managed four races the first day with winds from the east. Conditions were shifty and puffy with little visible differences on the water as the wind came directly off the Atlantic Ocean over a strip of land and down onto our course located on the Intercoastal Waterway.  I had a series of very poor finishes leaving me in 19th after the first day out of 32. The second day brought wind from the north and more stable conditions. I had finishes of 7 and 3, allowing me to climb the standings to 12th. I’m happy with how the second day went and will take that confidence into my next event in January at the Lauderdale Yacht Club OCR.

RESULTS - 2017 SAIL CANADA YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP
PHOTOS - 2017 SAIL CANADA YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP

2017 LASER MIDWINTERS EAST REGATTA

In February I competed in my third Laser Midwinter East Championships in Clearwater Beach, Florida. After months of intense training this was a very important peak event for me as it was the qualifier for the 2017 ISAF/World Sailing Youth Worlds. I came up well short of my goal after a number of frustrating days in light wind. I learned a lot about how I react to stressful situations and things not going my way. I will take this event as a learning experience as I look towards my next major multi fleet event at the Laser Radial Youth Worlds in August.

2017 LASER MIDWINTERS EAST RESULTS

2016 LASER DISTRICT 13 CHAMPIONSHIPS

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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.

2016 LASER DISTRICT 13 CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS

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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.

ONTARIO SAILING MARCH BREAK TRAINING CAMP

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Just back from Clearwater Sailing Center again where I spent a week training with coaches Chris Hewson, Chris Cowan, the Ontario Sailing Teams (Elite and Development) as well as Aug and the RNSYS team. A great variety of conditions gave us a chance to work at our skills.  All in all a great week working hard and playing hard with this bunch! I may never get the Surf Style jingle out of my head...

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LINK HERE FOR PHOTOS

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GREATLY IMPROVED RESULTS AT MIDWINTERS EAST REGATTA 2016

This February I had the opportunity to sail at the North American Midwinter East Regatta in Clearwater Florida.  

The Ontario Sailing Team arrived a few days prior to the start of the regatta to train and prep for the local conditions.

With 100 boats in the fleet we sailed 6 races to split the fleet and this year I was pleased to meet my goal of qualifying for the gold fleet (the top half of the fleet).  In the final round the gold fleet sailed 4 more races where I finished up 37th overall (100 boats total), with my best race being an 11th place finish.

Overall a great experience and I am very pleased with my progress over last year's placing of 42/59 in Silver Fleet or 101st (118 boats total).

LASER MIDWINTERS EAST REGATTA 2016 RESULTS