2014 ISAF Youth Worlds Qualifier

My teammate Nico Schultz and I have been officially named to the 2014 ISAF Youth Worlds Team and will be sailing in this event in Tavira, Portugal. This summer Nico and I will travel to Europe, meet up with ten other sailors that will also be representing Team USA, and compete in the most prestigious youth sailing event in the world. Each country that is able to support a team sends sailors to race in different boats including the Laser, I420, 29er, RS:X, and SL16. This will be my second year at the event and I will bring experience as well as a matured perspective that will hopefully be of benefit to all members of Team USA.

In order to qualify to be a member of this selective team, Nico and I competed at two qualifying events over this past year to demonstrate our commitment and skill in the multihull class. The first event, the US Youth Sailing Championship, took place during August in Corpus Christi, TX and presented us with rough sailing conditions and 15-20 knot winds every day. The second event, held during January in Miami, FL, differed from the first as we sailed in a mixed fleet of F16s and Nacra 17s and had more diverse atmospheric conditions. The members of Team USA were then chosen based on the combined results from the two regattas. This two-part qualification system gave sailors a chance to race at two venues and in different weather conditions, truly forcing consistency in racing results.

2013 US Youth Sailing Championship

Training was absolutely essential to our success in these two regattas. We spent our time in the months leading up to both events sailing F16s, F18s, Club and High School 420s, and various keelboats in order to gain experience racing against the level of competition we expect to face in Tavira. Of course it is essential to perfect boathandeling and speed in our specific class; however, we understood the importance of becoming well rounded athletes and did not limit ourselves to only multihulls. In addition to spending time sailing, we performed boat maintenance to make sure our equipment would function properly in use and improved our physical fitness by exercising regularly in the gym. Sailing is a physically demanding sport and as regattas are typically held over several days muscular endurance allows sailors to remain strong throughout an event.

A view of downtown Miami.

Now it is time for us to focus on the path that lies ahead. Nico and I are planning on attending several regattas in the near future, including the F16 World Championship. In late June F16 sailors of all ages from around the world will travel to Newport, RI and race in a five day regatta. The winners will become the new F16 World Champions and the top team from the United States will be named the F16 National Champion and take ownership of the perpetual trophy Sam and I claimed in Racine, WI last summer. Even though we will not be sailing together for this event, Nico and I will be able to use the experience gained from sailing in Newport and apply it to the Youth Worlds. We are both ready to display our hard work and commitment to our sport at upcoming regattas and I am especially excited about having a second opportunity to represent my country in Europe this summer.

To read the full press release on the 2014 ISAF Youth Worlds Team click here.

To read the full press release on the 2014 US Sailing Development Team click here.

Back to Miami Again

It has been a few weeks since my last post but I have been very busy with my sailing and scholastic activities! I spent a large portion of last week in Miami sailing on the Olympic class Nacra 17. This boat has curved centerboards, a carbon mast, and other features from fast cats such as the F16 and F18. I also had the opportunity to train against other American and international sailors with Olympic ambitions which proved highly beneficial both on the water and in our daily debriefs after sailing. The conditions in the Atlantic Ocean were excellent all week with a strong onshore breeze the first two days of training shifting to a stronger offshore breeze during the final day of training. The combination of deep blue water and strong gusty wind created rough conditions and big waves that posed a challenge for even the most experienced sailors. In addition to training among other Nacra 17s, I was able to sail around a few TP52s that were heading to their race course. Unfortunately, these boats were much faster than our small catamarans in the ocean's rough conditions and passed us very easily. By the end of the week I had improved upon several of my boathandling, tactical, and communication skills as well as formulated a training and competition schedule for the upcoming months. Now that I am back on my regular school and sailing schedule I will continue to update this blog at more regular intervals.

US Sailing Team Clinic: Miami

This past weekend I went with my teammate Sam Armington down to Miami to train with the US Sailing Team. This was a fantastic training opportunity because some of the top sailors in the country, including numerous medalists and Olympians, gathered in one convenient location to push each other to higher extremes. Each of the three days that we were there, Friday through Sunday, we listened to several talks on sail shape and characteristics, downwind strategies and tactics, physical fitness training, communication, and medal winning attitudes and mentalities. For the first time multiple high performance classes, namely the 470, 49er and 49er FX, F16 and Nacra 17, all united together to utilize each other's different strengths and focus on each other's weaknesses. F16 youth teams were invited to attend in an effort to incorporate more sailors into the clinic. On the final day, Sam and I sailed a Nacra 17 for the first time and on the water we trained several stadium-style races in an enclosed area. The flat water and puffy breeze presented tricky conditions that challenged even the most experienced sailors. After sailing the Nacra 17, all I can say is that this boat really flies! We only had one major wheelie on the downwind but it was a wild sensation, feeling the boat lift and smoothly exit almost completely out of the water. This clinic was an excellent opportunity to meet more speed-loving sailors and learn from highly renown coaches and competitors. I'm very happy we accepted the offer to sail at this clinic and I'm looking forward to utilizing more of these opportunities in the future!