As I sit here on the plane heading back to Boston I have some time to reflect on the sailing I have done over this winter break. After the conclusion of the fall academic semester I packed my bags, picked up my trailer, and began the long drive down to Florida. On the trailer sat both the F18 and Nacra dealer Todd Riccardi’s Carbon 20 FCS, the 20 foot foiling catamaran on which I have the majority of my foiling experience. I arrived on Christmas Eve and during the afternoon of Christmas day headed down to the Sarasota Sailing Squadron to rig up the Nacra 20. I couldn’t wait to get out on this boat as every day on the foils is as exhilarating as last, if not more.
After a week of demo rides and practicing in all conditions, mixing distance and short course racing as well as straight line speed runs, it was time to pack up again and head down to Miami for the first M32 Winter Series event. I raced with team Escape Velocity on which my BU sailing coach is a member. Several days of boat prep and practice led up to the event and we were feeling quite happy with how we were doing in racing, but unfortunately disaster struck near the finish of the second race. A large front had pressed into the area earlier than expected and brought with it a very strong 20+ knot breeze. As we made our final approach to the mark before the last reaching leg a huge gust came down and both our and another team's masts broke. This brought an early end to our weekend, but allowed me to reassemble the Nacra 20 at Miami Yacht Club and head home early. Time on the water practicing is always beneficial and the days leading up to the regatta as well as the racing taught me more about how the M32 sails and how tactics change in this type of fleet.
Photos taken by M32 North America
I spent my last week in Florida coaching a young sailor from my former club, Sarasota Youth Sailing. He is new to the Sarasota multihull program and I took him under my wing for the week, coaching him in the F16. We ended the week by racing in a local multihull regatta, the 1st Annual Bluster on the Bay, and after 3 days of racing he had improved tremendously. It is great seeing how my Alma mater sailing program is continuing to thrive and how the younger generation of multihull sailors loves going fast as much as I do.
Now that I am returning to school my focus will shift back to my studies as I am taking my first classes in the Aerospace concentration. Balancing schoolwork will be tough, but I’m always up for the challenge.
I have made a few updates to my social media.
My biggest focus in sailing right now is raising funds for a MK2 Nacra 17. I intend to sell the Viper F16 and possibly the C2 F18 in order to afford this, but would also like to raise funds through sponsorships and donations.
Stay tuned for more!
