Sometimes arriving just before an event can be risky if you are unprepared. Fortunately for us this is our 8th Worlds together and we know how the show goes. We thought we’d give showing up late a try given the rest of the season has been so packed. We had two really solid days on the water, one in light air and the other in 15+. There are seven reaming spots for countries attempting to qualify for the Games so tensions are high in some areas of the boat park. Best to avoid those.

For the day before the Worlds we were invited by the organizers to an In-Port Race similar in style to the Extreme Sailing Series, AC course, or maybe even the Volvo. We were towed about 30 minutes away into the harbor that sits closest to downtown Barcelona and were greeted by hundreds of spectators, live commentators, and not much wind. The course would be given to us just prior to the start after introductions were made from the commentator. After everything was settled the warning signal sounded!

In-Port Race
Our race course showed that we had skewed legs every which way and that the wind would be a little bit random. We had to round marks in order of starboard, starboard, port, finish. Our first mark was set way to the right which made starting on starboard nearly impossible so the fleet lined up for a tack at go scenario. We found a late hole near the middle and tacked onto port just before go. Because rules were abandoned for the race the fleet began an all out rocking race to the first mark. We were lucky to get our nose out into clean air and found ourselves in 3rd at the first mark behind CRO and ESP. Our return trip after the mark was quite the same but we were able to extend from the boats behind and focus on making a pass in front. At the 2nd mark we elected to go straight for a moment before tacking and found a small enough lane to get our kinetics working for us again. ESP and CRO were battling for 1st which left us an opportunity to make a move. Late on the leg we got a big left shift and pressure that enabled us to get across CRO and lead them to the mark putting us just behind ESP. The final leg was a broad reach to the finish and things were about set in stone. We put in a few solid rocks hoping to make a gain on ESP but didn’t have the time. ESP took the line honors and we followed in 2nd with CRO and bit further behind in 3rd.

At the end of the day the exhibition was a lot of fun to participate in and all 40 sailors (men and women) shared a lot of smile and laughs. The energy of the event was very positive and will surely bring some good feelings into day 1 of the Worlds tomorrow. We feel ready to go and will be trying our very hardest to make sure we get on the podium.

Worlds website

Look for our next project2012 episode on Facebook in the coming weeks that will feature the In-Port Race! Enjoy the pictures from today for now and follow along this week at the World Championships!

With a massive change of pace with the breeze taking a big dip we were postponed ashore until 12pm. We headed out in the early afternoon for 2 races in a light ESE building breeze and knew we had to put in two good races to have a shot at the medal race on Friday.

Race 7
With a line of breeze hanging on the right side we decided to start toward the left end of the line. We got a clean start and had a good lane to continue sailing. A few boats further down the line were able to cross us but we decided we weren’t in the best pressure yet. When we did finally tack we picked a great lane with good pressure. We gained a massive amount and crossed as far as we could. Half way up the beat we began to fade into a right shift and we opted to tack and keep control of the left which we were now winning. Unfortunately the right shift continued to go even further right and we eventually had to sail a header back to the mark. We rounded in the top 15. Downwind we stayed in the same position and rounded to head to the left again on the second upwind. We briefly made a big gain but got a little lost further up the beat to lose one boat. On the final downwind we were able to catch up and pass 3 boats but just before the final finish leg we got out of position and couldn’t quite finish the pass. We were 15th across the line.

Race 8
Knowing we needed a strong race to finish the day we set our sights on the left again. We started near the pin which was very uncrowded and raced out left with only a few boats. Half way up the beat it wasn’t looking good but we were patient and held out for the pressure we saw making its way down. When the pressure finally arrived we tacked and had a straight shot to the top mark. We sailed fast and rounded 1st! On the downwind things got a little confusing and we rounded even at the gate. We split left protecting our side, but again at the top of the beat the wind went a little bit right and were on the left end. We rounded a close 3rd. We made a big split downwind and found ourselves just outside the pressure. We almost lost a few boats but made a big play and reached up in front of them to catch the inside just before the last mark to take 3rd.

At the end of the day we’ve moved up to 11th just a few points out of the Medal Race. Tomorrow is forecasted to be very windy again but from the East, bringing big waves with it. Totally pumped.

Full results HERE

In other news we have been invited to a 470 in-port race in Barcelona on May 12 just before our Worlds. Only 10 boats have been invited and we are honored to be part of it!

As I sit here and write this at 3pm its howling outside. 35+ Knots. Which means todays decision to race at 9am was a good one!

Race 5
With our lessons learnt from yesterday we went slightly more conservative with our starting and our first upwind strategy. We opted for a boat region start and an early tack. We executed our start pretty well but when the first shift came we were unable to tack when we wanted. We were forced a bit further left than we wanted but at that time it wasn’t so bad. We tacked on top of the group headed right and were positioned nicely until our breeze just seemed to drop out. At this point we were stuck between the two sides and had to make a big choice. With the left looking like windier side we headed left, hard. We came back with good pressure and angle and got ourselves back into the race. After a decent downwind we picked the left again upwind and gained a few boats back. On the last downwind we managed another boat or two and crossed the line in 14th. Not bad for where we could have been.

Race 6
With the breeze starting to really kick in we opted for a similar strategy. We started in the same area looking for the same play but again missed our opportunity to tack. Again we were forced a bit left which was okay given there was better pressure there. The boats that went right early hard a very hard time coming back and we never saw them again. We had a mid fleet rounding and had a good downwind by not wiping out in the building breeze and called a good layline. The next upwind we nailed a few good shifts with pressure and sailed our way through to the top 10. On the last downwind again we kept the boat upright when a lot of boats wiped out or chose not to fly kites to take a 7th at the line.

Not the best day but it could have been much worse. With 6 races to conclude qualifying and a drop now included we stand in 14th. With 2 more days of final and the forecast changing a little bit things should get more interesting.

Full results HERE

P.S. BIG news coming from the US Sailing Team later today. Be sure to check out our Facebook Page in approximately 4 hours.

Day 2 of the SOF Hyeres had two different forecasts for the day. Our team meteorologist went with big breeze like yesterday and windguru had it down in the 15 knot range. We didn’t know what we would get but were prepared for both.

Race 3
Seeing more wind left we opted to get a clean start and head in that direction. We got a good start but soon after had BRA reaching across the fleet and our lane was lost. We tacked out and then tacked back to stay lifted. We briefly got back on everyone but missed our opportunity to head right and were forced to the far left corner. Our pressure coming back was not the best and the breeze out of nowhere died and shifted right. We found ourselves back in the pack and tried our hardest to mount a comeback. We got good position on the reach but made a error on the run and missed a huge opportunity to get back in the top 10. At the bottom mark we got caught up with a pack and subsequently while rounding Graham’s shoulder hit the bobbing buoy and we were forced to do a penalty turn. After all the drama we tacked off to the right to stay lifted and found ourselves in a nice clean lane. We hit the right shift and found that we had made a big gain. We rounded the top mark in the top 15 and set about passing a few more before the finish. We managed to pass a few by staying in pressure on the outside of the run and crossed the line in 12th.

Race 4
Afraid of not being in the pressure we again wanted to head left. We stacked up at the pin end tightly with a few other boats and got a pretty decent start. We hit the left pressure and tacked over to head right only to find that most of the good angle was all on the right side. Even boats that got poor starts and ducked the entire fleet were ahead of us. Again we began to mount our comeback and passed boat after boat. We had a good downwind and got us in a good position for the final upwind. We hit some good shifts to get us back into the mix and were able to pass another boat just before the finish to cross the line in 10th. Unfortunately our group of 3 boats including CRO and SLO were all scored OCS. Bummer.

At the end of the day we’re in 25th. With 2 more races in qualifying tomorrow to add a drop we’ll be right back in the mix. Tomorrows forecast is for BIG breeze. So much that our first start is scheduled for 9am… RedBulls will be the morning beverage of choice.

Full results HERE

The Olympic 470 fleet has descended upon Hyeres, France located between Marseilles and Nice on the Southern Mediterranean coast. Some of the fleet has opted not to compete with the Worlds within a few weeks in Barcelona. Hyeres has been a major event for years and we believe it is an important event to prepare for the Olympics. The week leading up to the event brought the famous Mistral winds down the coastline often peaking in the mid 30 knots which gave us some fantastic training opportunities. The forecast for the event includes some Mistral in it as well as the stormy Easterly. It should be a fun windy week.

Race 1
With the Mistral already in we readied ourselves for a windy race. With more pressure expected out to the left we decided for a pin end start. We were a touch late on our acceleration and missed our better lane. We hung out for a minute or two before tacking to port and ducking a few boats to find an awesome lane across the course. With no boats within 10+ boat lengths of us we put our speed to use and headed right. We found a nice shift to come back on a bit under layline and crossed back with the fleet in the top 10. We picked off another 2 boats to round about 8th. Because of the strong breeze on the downwind we kept our angle low and held a solid plane all the way down. We jibed in front of a group to lead them to the mark to round about 5th or 6th. We we hard right trying to minimize tacks and called a perfect layline from way out. We picked off a few more boats to round in 3rd before heading on the reach. The fleet opted not to fly kites on the reach and our reaching speed wasn’t quite up to par. We lost one boat but were able to hold off the rest on the final downwind to take a 4th across the line.

Race 2
Thinking race 1 was pretty windy the breeze actually increased for race 2. We watched a lot of teams struggle just sailing around and there were plenty of capsizes before the start. With the boat end now slightly favored we lined up for a boat end start. We nailed the start this time, rolled the boat to leeward and shot out into the front group. After most of the fleet tacked out we followed on top and rode the fleet to layline. We rounded in 4th and set the kite for a big breeze downwind. We stayed low again and managed to pass a boat to round the bottom in 3rd. Upwind we made the same play as the previous race and sent it right. The Italian that we passed was very fast and was able to climb higher into a better position and got us on layline to kick us back into 4th. Again we had trouble on the reach without the kite and although we didn’t get passed we fell slightly out of position and a French boat from behind was able to get inside us on the run. We don’t really know what happened to the top 3 as we mixed with the Women’s Fleet but it became apparent further down the run. We watched the Japanese wipe out in front of us, then found the Australians with a broken mast, and never again saw the Italians. The French just beat us to the last mark and being a bit conservative dropped our kite for the final leg. We nearly got the French at the line but were happy with a 2nd.

At the end of the day we should be in 4th. The results at this time are not quite final and we’ve already caught a few errors that will surely be fixed. Tomorrow is scheduled to be another windy day and we can’t wait.

Full results HERE

More of the same welcomed us on day 3 with heavy chop and 4-7 knots. Today however we had some added swell finding its way into the Bay of Palma to make things just a bit more challenging.

Race 5
After 2 days of the same we knew what to expect and we went for a mid line start with a plan to head left. We had an okay start but soon found ourselves having to carve out some lanes to stay in the race. At one point up the first beat things weren’t looking so good and we opted for a lane out of the left just under the port layline. This happened to be the magic lane up the course and we found ourselves back in the top 10. We rounded in 8th with a small space behind us and looked to the boats in front to make a pass. We found another great inside lane on the downwind and managed to pass a few boats to round around 4th or 5th. We again decided to work to the left but an unanticipated right shift moved in and the boats we had passed were able to pass us back. We rounded the top mark in 8th again. On the final downwind we made a last minute pass before the last mark and were able to cross the line in 7th.

Race 6
After a general recall start the line was reset to favor the boat end. The entire fleet moved up toward the boat to take what small advantage they could in the light conditions. We opted for a start near the boat as well but were forced to tack out just before “go.” We found ourselves leveraged far to the right and knew we had to close back whenever possible. We took any right shift we got back towards the fleet and for a while were looking good. It wasn’t until the end that the right collapsed and the left moved in. We hard a hard time getting to the mark in clear air but finally found our way around it. Unfortunately on the downwind we got trapped behind some slower teams and had a hard time making our own decisions. We rounded the bottom mark in about the same position, somewhere mid fleet and were immediately lane-hunting for the final upwind. With the wind dropping and becoming very tricky we got a little confused as to what was happening on the race course. We tried our hardest but had a rough upwind. On the final downwind we were able to make a good pass on a group by getting a good lane and finished up in 23rd.

At the end of the day with the added drop at the end of qualifying, we stand in 16th place but still in it overall. Gold fleet racing starts tomorrow and the forecast should turn and we should be getting a little more breeze over the next few days.

Full results HERE

Day 2 of the Trofeo Princesa Sofia brought more of the same conditions but a bit colder. 4-8 knots with heavy chop.

The girls were up first today which gave us some extra time to evaluate the course and make our first race decisions.

Race 3
Deciding the left had more pressure and angle we got a start toward the pin half of the line. We got a fantastic start and let our boat speed work for us to get out in the front group. We tacked after sailing for a few minutes towards the left and hooked into some nice pressure. We sailed clear ahead of the pack from the right and focused on getting the group out left. We soon neared layline and found our way to the mark in 4th. We attacked downwind with the pumping flag being displayed and closed in on the top 3. Positions swapped in front of us but we were unable to make a pass. On the next upwind with the other mens fleet coming downwind we were forced to make a decision to avoid the traffic. We chose left. All in all not much changed in the places but our top 4 extended from the boats behind. We made a late charge on CRO on the final downwind but were unable to complete the pass. 4th it was across the line.

Race 4
Just before the start we noticed a pretty big cloud forming upwind so that soon became the topic of conversation. We soon found out that the approaching cloud would produce outflow effects but then would die once it had passed. We got a clean start in the middle of the line but found we were off the line a bit already putting us back from the boats who started below us. We had to make several re-positioning tacks and soon found ourselves on the hip of a pack heading right. We briefly made big gains until we were forced to tack. As it turns out we should have tacked back but we continued to the left fearing that it might come back in. We unfortunately sailed through a shift and lost all our position. We rounded well back in the fleet and set about to see what we could do. Downwind we tried to work our lanes but had difficulty finding completely clear air. We eventually found it towards the bottom and were able to just sneak in front of a large pack at the mark. We headed out to the left with the skies now clearing and found a good shift to come back on. We had made some major gains and rounded the top mark in 12th. We attacked the boat in front but in the process missed a final opportunity and lost one in the process to come 13th. We were still pleased knowing that the race could have easily been in the 20s.

At the end of the day we are standing 15th but still have very consistent results. This should be helpful going into the finals which start after tomorrows final day of qualifying.

Full results HERE

Day 1 Princesa Sofia

After some months training in Miami and Colorado Springs we’re now back in Palma for the 8th time as a team. Its always exciting to head back to Europe and be pumped for the first Euro World Cup of the season. This year we have 93 entries in the mens 470 with a lot of teams still trying to qualify for the Olympics. Its times like this we’re glad our selections are done and we can just race.

With an odd late sea breeze filling in with some fog and a little bit of drizzle we headed out to the race course around 11:45 and began race preparations in 4-8 knots.

Race 1
We got a pretty good mid-line start and held a good lane toward the left where we wanted to go. We got lee-bowed and had to tack away but continued to try and work left. Each time we went left we were faced again and were forced back right. Half way up the beat we found ourselves in the middle of the course with both the right and the left looking good converging. We tried to pick our lanes and play shifts to at least make it to the top mark in top 15 but were unable to find the clear breeze we needed. We rounded back in the 20s and started a charge. We held about even on the reach and downwind and decided to head right on the second upwind. We consistently found good pressure and shifts and sailed our way back into the lead group. We rounded and continued our attack to pass 2 more boats downwind and take a 10th at the line.

Race 2
Trying to get to a side earlier we decided to head to the pin end for our start. We got a great start at the pin end and shot out into the lead row. As the beat progressed slightly more pressure and angle came from the right and we had a hard time coming back. We fought right as hard as we could but were never really able to catch a lane. We rounded well in the back and had a long race ahead of us. Fortunately at the top mark the Race Committee put up the “O” flag signaling unlimited kinetics and we went to town. Downwind we made great lane choices and were able to rock and pump our way into a good position. At the bottom mark about 5 of us got tangled up in a big mark rounding snafu but we managed to hold a decent position out of it and head to the right. We sailed very aggressively and caught a few awesome lanes to catch right back up to the top 15. We had one final downwind to pull it together and we managed to pass a few more boats to come in 12th across the line. Very pleased.

At the end of the day we’re standing 17th but after 2 races there is plenty of action ahead of us. Best thing is that we salvaged a potentially horrendous day and havent taken ourselves out of it.

Full results HERE

Since our last World Cup event in Miami a few weeks ago we’ve decided to really focus on a part of sailing that can be often overlooked but still as important as time on the water. That is time in the gym.

To make sure we really get our value in the gym we’ve come to Colorado Springs, Colorado where the US Olympic Committee has a training facility specifically set up for improving fitness. We have dorm style rooms, a cafeteria with the healthiest food available and top notch gym facilities with only the best trainers. Across from the gym also happens to Sports Performance where all the physios are set up should we have any small issues.

We have a pretty aggressive schedule focusing on cardio and strength. Stu and I each have different programs to achieve the results we want but we are both in the gym for probably close to 4 hours per day. Typically we have one session in the morning after breakfast form 10-12 and then break for lunch and go in from 2:30/3- 4. Its pretty tough work with long days but we feel like its a good thing.

We’re excited to see how our focus on fitness will pay off during the season and we plan on coming back here at least one more time before we head off to Europe for the start of the season. Stay tuned!

With wind in the forecast we were excited to get racing today. With much to be gained in the results we put it all on the line.

Race 7
With the the wind finally moving into the more southern quadrant of the bay, it opened up the course tactically. We started at the boat end and held a great lane to the top left. We tacked on top of the fleet and held steady pressure to put ourselves toward the front. We tacked in front of the lead group and rounded just behind the ARG boys in 2nd. We had a very unpredictable downwind but found a great lane to extend away from the pack. We rounded the bottom marks equal first with GRE and split sides. We played the same tactics upwind again and rounded in 2nd to the Greeks. We held off a late charge by the NED brothers and took a 2nd across the line.

Race 8
Feeling confident in our decision making and boat speed we knew what to do. We started at the boat end again with a great start and were able to put the bow down and roll the majority of the fleet. Unfortunately a small right shift came through and we were unable to cross the fleet when we wanted. We held out for a little more pressure and tacked in a comfortable lane. We sailed fast and approached the top mark in the top 5. With so many boats approaching and exiting the mark at the same time we had to navigate through some traffic before tacking. BAM! And we stopped… As it turned out while attempting to keep clear of the second place boat (RSA) we didn’t quite leave enough space and consequently caught their shroud through our deck while they were setting the spinnaker. We both immediately stopped with one boat pointing downwind and us pointing upwind. We immediately checked that everyone was okay and then set about to dislodging ourselves. After a few minutes we found it impossible and had to ask our coach to come over and help. After trying to pull us apart with no luck we set about to taking down our sails which required assistance from the coaches. After dropping sails RSA had to loosen their rig tension and pull out the shroud pin and let it pull through our deck. Not a pretty sight but happy to come away uninjured. At the end of the day we were scored a RAF for retiring from the race because of a foul.

At the end of the day we are tied for 5th and still have a shot at the medals if we put together a solid day tomorrow. Our boat was fixed within 4 hours and is fully ready to go tomorrow. Happy to report there was no major structural damage and it was mostly cosmetic.

Full results HERE