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| Results |
This past weekend I competed at the ISAF Youth Worlds Qualifiers with Sam Armington at the Clearwater Sailing Center. On Saturday the wind filled in from the North with a steady 10-15 knots, bringing some nice waves on the race course in the gulf. We began our regatta with bullets in the first two races and a 2nd in the third, putting us in first with a marginal 2 point lead. Sunday brought lighter conditions with some leftover swell from the previous day, but we conquered these challenging conditions by placing 3rd in the first race of the day and winning the next three when the breeze filled again to a consistent 10+ knots. By Monday morning we had a healthy 4 point lead and we decided on maintaining a more conservative game plan, determined to hold our lead through the remaining two races. In the first race of the day we had a bad start and tacked off behind the fleet; fortunately the breeze filled in to our preferred conditions and we worked our way back up into first by the windward mark, but after a few mistakes and a penalty turn we fell back to a 2nd place finish by the end of the three lap race. In the final race of the regatta we were more aggressive at the start and won the pin end, pulling in front of the fleet to leeward and then conservatively covering the fleet for the remainder of the race, finishing with yet another 1st place. We ended the regatta with a total of 10 points, a 6 point lead in front of the next competitor, and bullets in 6 of the 9 races sailed! This regatta shows that all of our hard work and countless hours practicing paid off and will continue to in the future. I'm very excited to represent my country this summer as a member of the US Sailing Development Team at the 2013 ISAF Youth World Championship in Limassol, Cyprus!
