Finishing Up Freshman Year


These past few months have been jammed full with classes, sailing, and college life. Now that summer has come I have much more free time to continue working on this website. The spring semester began after I returned to Boston from winter break. When I landed I was greeted by fresh layers of snow covering the ground and a frozen Charles River. Little did I now that my first winter in Boston would set records in snowfall and missed class days due to hazardous weather. We had a total of 5 snow days and even though they were a nice break from classes and a totally novel experience for me, I still missed being out on the river! The Boston University Dinghy Sailors (BUDS), myself included, made a few trips South to venues such as the College of Charleston and Jacksonville University for intersectional regattas. We spent our spring break training in Miami and returned to the city with some color in our skin, drawing envy from our northern friends.


We finally broke off the ice and headed out on the river in late March and as the weather warmed up we quickly returned to our regular practice schedule. The spring sailing season was shorter than the fall, but not any less packed with action and excitement. In addition to regular fleet racing style regattas I competed in some team racing events and even one sport boat promo on a J-70. Sailing on this boat and in the different style of racing provided a nice break from the typical college racing format and helped me work on skills that could be used across sailing disciplines.
Light wind practice on the river.
J-70 regatta at Coast Guard Acad.


Shoveling snow off our boat!
The BUDS ended the season at the New England Championship, our conference championship where teams qualified to compete at the National Championship. I had the opportunity to sail in 4 races in the B division and learned a lot during my short time on the water. I experienced what competing with our district's best sailors was like and could clearly see what elements of my own sailing needed the greatest attention. At the end of the regatta we missed qualifying by 3 points, but despite this loss I feel as though we grew stronger as a team. My biggest takeaway from this event was the importance of a team mindset, something I was not accustomed to when I first joined the BUDS. With all the lessons and morals learned this semester we will come back as a much stronger team next season and are ready to race our competition!

Academics have been going well so far. I was named to the Dean's List in the College of Engineering for both semesters and am taking more classes during the summer. The engineering curriculum is exhausting and I am enjoying the challenge. The courses will get progressively more difficult, but I will continue to work hard and am excited to learn much more about the mechanical world around us.

This summer in addition to taking classes at BU I will be racing in the northeast F18 circuit. So far I have sailed in the Madison Regatta and the Wickford Regatta, placing first in both with my regular F18 crew Sam Armington and we are making plans to sail together in the Hyannis Regatta later this summer. The summer weather in New England is perfect for sailing and we want to get as much time on the water up here as we can!

Racing at College of Charleston.
Volvo Ocean Race in Newport, RI.


Nacra F20 Carbon FCS sailing in Miami on Spring Break.



Post season practice with Tufts.


Warm Winter Break


I spent this winter break in the beautiful sunshine state of Florida with my family. This was a much needed break from school and the colder weather and as my break was twice as long as the average school's I had plenty of time to catch up on sleep and sailing. This free time was spent preparing for the Tradewinds Regatta which I sailed at the end of break. Held annually in the Florida Keys, this venue is notable for its beautiful water, sandy beaches, and excellent wind. After sailing Saturday and Sunday in the F18 Sam and I packed up the boat and drove back home as I had to return to school on Monday. We took first at this event which shows how all our hard work and training is continuing to pay off. Now I am back at school and beginning my second semester classes. The workload is quickly growing, but I enjoy this challenge and am looking forward to the Spring sailing season.













First Semester of College

It has been quite some time since I last posted on here, but I have been very busy in school and now as my classes are drawing to an end I have more free time and can publish more content.

Since my last post I have attended three months of school and even though this is a short period of time the transition from high school to college has been quite drastic. Academics have become much more challenging. Even though I am only taking four classes, it is still quite difficult to keep up with the course work and perform well on exams. Sailing while in school adds another level of difficulty to this task and now my time management and efficiency skills are really being put to the test. This first semester has been physically exhausting as well. After attending classes during the day, I spent my afternoons practicing as a member of the BU sailing team on the Charles River. Sailing took up the majority of my free time and on the weekends we were traveling to regattas around New England. Even though this schedule led to several late nights of studying or returning from regattas, this past semester has been very rewarding and I have created priceless memories with the new friends I have made at school.


Sailing on a collegiate team is a very unique experience. Even though I have only competed for one semester, I have still learned a great deal about who I am as a sailor and how to succeed in this type of sailing environment. Throughout this first semester I sailed at numerous venues, including:

Maine Maritime Academy
University of Vermont
University of New Hampshire
Mass Maritime Academy
MIT
Tufts University
Salve Regina University

We spent a few Wednesdays practicing on the Upper Mystic Lake at Tufts leading up to our freshman championship, the Nickerson Trophy, which was also held at Tufts. In addition to these practices, we frequently sailed on the east side of the Mass Ave Bridge with MIT, Harvard, and Northeastern. These practices were sailed in very large fleets and training with these schools provided us with more experience sailing in larger fleets. We practice regularly in the standard FJ, but some of this fall's regattas were held in other boats such as Fireflies, Larks, 420s, and Z420s.

A view from the Charles River.

Now that the fall sailing season has ended, I am using the majority of my free time to stay up to date with my studies and to explore Boston. It's starting to get cold and we've had a few days with snow so I'm hoping my Floridian blood thickens quickly! I'll be returning home for winter break in a few weeks and by that time I'll be in dire need of a break from the cold. It's shocking to think this semester is almost over, but there is still much to come in the few weeks left and I will be making the most of my time in one of the greatest cities in the world.

First regatta at Maine Maritime A.
Regatta win at Mass Maritime A.


Sailing F18s in Rye, NY.
Fireflies at MIT.



Larks at Tufts.



Last regatta of the season and a win at Salve.

The Beginning

As the summer has drawn to a close, big changes have taken place in my life. I have now packed up the catamarans, said goodbye to my friends back home, and moved on to college at Boston University. This change will also bring several new opportunities.

I left Florida for Boston a week before my classes began in order to do some pre-season practicing with the BU Sailing Team, aka the BUDS. During this week we've spent several days on the water and had the opportunity to sail in both open water conditions in Marblehead, MA as well as in protected waters at our home venue of the Charles River. I have learned a lot of new skills and refined some older ones in this short period of time; this is an indicator of how much our team as a whole will progress throughout the year. Our first regatta is in two weeks after the beginning of class.

As a new student to BU and a freshman on the sailing team, I was initially quite intimidated by what I thought were the expectations of the upperclassmen. However, the BUDS have approached all the new freshmen with open arms and have really made us feel at home at BU. This team is going to make sailing at BU one of the most memorable experiences of my life.


2014 ISAF Youth Worlds


This past week I took advantage of a special opportunity to travel abroad. I went to Tavira, Portugal in order to represent the US Sailing Team at the 2014 ISAF Youth World Championship. This is the same regatta that I attended as a US representative last year and this year's edition of the regatta surpassed last year's with even more learning, intense competition, and fun both on and off the water. This trip was the first time I traveled internationally without my family and I learned how to navigate through foreign and domestic customs as well as experienced a diverse culture where the primary language was not English, but Portuguese. After spending 7 days in a row on the water, however, I am happy to have returned home safely and to share my experiences from this event.


As soon as the US Youth Worlds Team arrived in Tavira, we set up our daily itinerary and stuck to it in order to develop a routine for the week. We woke up at 8am every day, left for the regatta venue by 10:30, and spent the remainder of the day preparing our equipment, practicing, and actually racing until we returned back to the host hotel late in the evening. Some days wore on longer than others; during one day of racing we left the boat park at 9pm! And that was before the windsurfing fleet had returned to shore. Despite losing a few hours of precious sleep time as well as competing all day in the sun, the US Team remained strong and consistent throughout the event. When it came time for the closing ceremony two boats from the US Team, the mixed skiff (Quinn Wilson and Riley Gibbs) and the women's singlehanded dinghy (Haddon Hughes), received silver medals. Nico Schultz and I just barely missed earning the bronze medal in our mixed multihull fleet and ended up in fourth place by the end of the regatta.











A flag from each competing nation.
One of the best aspects of the ISAF Youth Worlds experience is having the opportunity to meet new people. The coaches this year, Kevin Hall and Mike Kalin, and the team leader, Leandro Spina, provided us with the tools and guidance required for our success. Without their help it would have been difficult for our team to manage the distractions and remain unified and competitive throughout the week. While we were off the water we had the opportunity to talk with other sailors and make new international friends. These will be the same sailors from my generation that I will be sailing with and against for my entire life.

The ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship is a unique opportunity where education, friendship, competition, and athletic excellence can be found. At the end of the regatta it is not only your finish position but also the lessons learned, connections made, and ideas shared that create a memorable experience. I would highly recommend setting this regatta as a goal for any youth sailors who are still eligible to attend because what is learned through this opportunity is of priceless value.










2014 F16 World Championship

I just recently arrived back home after spending the past week traveling to and sailing in Newport, RI. This week was full of many adventures, experiences, and memories, all of which taught me valuable life lessons. I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Newport and racing in the F16 Worlds; however, after spending a week away from home living with several other sailors and approximately 50 hours towing a trailer I am glad to finally be home and back on my regular training schedule.



The whole trip started on Thursday June 19th when we began the drive. All of Thursday afternoon and Friday was spent in the car taking turns behind the wheel. We didn't hit bad traffic until we reached New York City, where we decided to take a short break from driving to get a nice dinner in order to avoid rush hour traffic while crossing the Hudson River. We arrived at the regatta venue, Sail Newport, on Saturday morning and after rigging the boats, greeting fellow competitors and friends, and moving into our home for the week we were able to get acclimated to the change in scenery and explore Newport. I had already sailed in Newport once before, but since this was several years earlier at an Opti regatta it was still a new experience.












Sunday and Monday were both spent practicing out on the Narragansett Bay where the race course would be placed. This time was quite beneficial to my teammate Sam and I as we had implemented several new systems and upgrades to the boat prior to coming to Newport. This included carbon rod rigging in place of the standard stainless steel wire that holds the mast upright. These carbon rods are much stiffer, lighter, and thinner than the wire, increasing the sensitivity of the boat and platform as well as decreasing the overall weight and windage of the boat. With this new rigging came new boat settings and we used our precious practice time before racing to figure out our optimal mast rake and rig tension settings in all wind conditions.


Racing began Tueday morning and we were fortunate enough to have a consistent breeze of 10-15 knots with occasional sustained gusts in the upper teens. Unfortunately, we had a mechanical issue during the first race of the regatta when our spinnaker halyard cleat pulled out of the mast. Sam and I quickly sailed to our coach Jim Zellmer and repaired the rivets on the water. After missing the first two races of the regatta in our preferred sailing conditions our spirits were beginning to break; however, we knew that this was going to be a long regatta with 15 races on the schedule and we approached the following races with a fresh mind. In order to make up for this loss we worked very hard to win the next two, keeping us in a good position to place well by the end of the week.

Day 2 of racing had similar conditions and wind direction as day 1, but with less velocity and more dispersed wind lines. We were able to maintain our hot streak through the first race of day 2 by placing first and we kept consistent scores for the remainder of the day, all in the top 5. Day 3 brought light wind from a new direction with a forecast of rain and thunderstorms in the afternoon. After a survey by sailors and conversation with the race committee, which was a new way of making decisions at this world championship, racing was postponed on shore until late in the afternoon and then finally canceled for the day. Even though we did not have the opportunity to sail and stay on schedule with races, we were able to see more of the city of Newport. The Etchell World Championship was held during this same week out of the famous New York Yacht Club and it was very interesting to see the list of competitors for this event as it included several former world champions and professional sailors.















Racing resumed the following day and in order to make up for our lost time the race committee ran 5 more races for a grand total of 13. We started out the day strong with several top finishes, but during the third race we had a problem with our spinnaker retrieval line wrapping on the forestay, putting us just two points out of fist place by the end of the regatta. Sam and I finished as the 1st youth, 1st American and 2nd overall team and even though we were slightly disappointed with our performance this is still quite the achievement for us.

Sarasota Youth Sailing was strongly represented at this regatta. Another youth team consisting of a brother and sister, Nico and Sophia Schultz, also came to the event and placed very well despite fighting through some tough situations that were similar to those Sam and I faced. They also missed two races on day 1 of the regatta, but they quickly recovered from this and ended the regatta on a great note by winning the final race.  They placed 7th overall which was still a strong finish in this World Championship. Sarasota Youth Sailing has come a long way with it's youth multihull team and it is great to see how we are benefiting from this program and getting good results at top regattas.










Now came the time to leave Newport and drive back home. The trip back to Florida was quite uneventful and now that I am back home I have some time to reflect and learn from last week's experiences. I learned that it is absolutely essential to be prepared for any boat issue that could arise on the water and that boat prep work is key prior to a big event. I also learned that even though I may face several obstacles and setbacks, it is important to keep the bigger picture in mind and to continue progressing forwards. I am very fortunate to have had the opportunity to travel with my friends and sailing partners and the memories I have created will remain with me for the rest of my life. I must thank my family, coaches, friends, and teammates for their continued support as without their help I would not have been able to make last week a success.

The remainder of my summer will be quite busy leading up to the beginning of my school year in September. Mid July I will be traveling to Portugal with Nico Schultz and competing in the ISAF Youth World Championship. This is the same regatta that I sailed in last year with Sam as a member of the US Sailing Youth Worlds Team. After I return back to the states I will be sailing an F18 in the Hyannis Regatta off the coast of Massachusetts late in July. Near the end of August I am planning on sailing the Nacra 17 National Championship at Oakcliff Sailing in New York. I am not pursuing an Olympic campaign for the 2016 games as my primary focus is my education at Boston University, but, as it is important to stay competitive and learn as much as possible, I am attending as many regattas as I can fit in my schedule. Continue to check this blog in the weeks to come because I will be posting updates about my travel and sailing experiences!






Summer Shenanigans

High school has finally ended! I have graduated from Southeast High School and am patiently waiting for early July to find out if I received my International Baccalaureate diploma. Now that I am officially on summer break I have had a considerably larger amount of free time which has been spent planning my academic courses for next year at Boston University as well as preparing for the F16 World Championship which will be taking place next week in Newport, RI.


Last week I had the opportunity to attend my Boston University freshmen orientation session. After being forced to spend an additional night in Charlotte, NC due to a cancelled fight and finally arriving in Boston a day later than I had planned, I managed to arrive at my orientation activities on time. My three days were spent getting familiar with the city and transportation systems around the school, understanding the course curriculum, registering for class times, and finally meeting other freshmen students. When I departed from Boston on Friday I left having developed a strong passion and excitement for the school as well as several new friendships that will make my college experience quite memorable.
















In preparation for the F16 Worlds I have been fine tuning and upgrading my boat with several smaller tweaks and adjustments. These upgrades include a skipper trapeze system that is run through the hull rather than across the deck, carbon rod rigging rather than the traditional stainless steel wire, and other smaller additions spread around the platform. These changes to the standard boat design were implemented to reduce weight, minimize the possibility of binding and catching while sailing, and increase the performance capabilities of the boat. As the departure date for Newport quickly approaches, I will be loading up the trailer and will begin driving with another Sarasota team comprised of two siblings, Sophia and Nico Schultz. We're all very excited to put our skills to the test against some of the top F16 teams at the Worlds!

Academic Priorities

This is a very busy time of year for a student. As a senior in the International Baccalaureate program, I am currently in the midst of my final exams. These tests are unique in that they are all given on the exact same date to IB students around the world. My scores on these tests will determine several things, including which college credits I receive and whether or not I earn my IB diploma. After working through this program for a total of four years I am happy to say it was worth all the extra time spent studying, completing homework assignments, and performing labs. Now that my time in high school is near a conclusion, I am beginning to reflect upon the memories and friends I have made over the years. It is very interesting to see that the most memorable moments were when I was sailing in different regattas. The next few weeks will primarily be spent studying for these exams and sailing when I have the free time. Southeast High School's graduation will be held on May 31st and I am looking forward to walking along that stage and moving on to the next chapter of my life at Boston University.


Always Sailing Fast at Sailfest


With diverse wind conditions, warm water, and sunny weather, the Sarasota Sailfest is always a great regatta that provides racing opportunities in several classes ranging from the Optimist Dinghy to the newly adopted multihull class. This year's event was as successful as it has been in the past and we were able to get 6 races completed over the course of two days. We were postponed on shore Saturday until noon when the classic Sarasota sea-breeze began to build. This was to my advantage as my crew, Sam Armington, had to take a school exam in the morning and luckily we did not miss any races. Saturday's wind conditions were light and variable, shifting direction drastically several times during racing. We pushed to get four races off and ended up sailing late into the day, coming to shore at about 5:30 pm. On Sunday the breeze filled in much earlier and with substantially more velocity. There was a decent amount of carnage on the multihull course during both of Sunday's races, but thankfully there were no major injuries or damage to equipment. After two long days of racing in both light and heavy wind conditions with varying sea states, Sam and I were able to win all six races of the regatta and capture first place.


The Sarasota Sailfest has always been a major event on my calendar and I love to support my home club and sailing program by participating as a competitor or helping out with running the event. This year 100 Optis, 50 Lasers and 420s, and 9 multihulls attended and I hope this regatta continues to grow.

A link to the full regatta site and results can be found here.