This past month, my skipper, Anton Schmid, and I took part in the 29er Midwinters West Regatta held out of Alamitos Bay Yacht Club in Long Beach. This regatta was also the single qualifier for the 2024 Youth Sailing World Championships.
The regatta was sailed over four days. The first two days we were met with light winds followed by two windy days. Day one was a challenge for Anton and I and we didn’t start the regatta off the way we wanted posting race scores in 10-12 range. We knew we had plenty of racing left and with the possibility of two throw-outs; we were still in the running. On day two, we posted solid races and started to close the gap to the leaders. Day 3 we were meet with 20-25 knots of breeze and 4-6 foot swell. Anton and I sailed great in those conditions, but due to one small mistake that led me to become unhooked from the trapeze and fall out of the boat, we didn’t maximize that day. The final day, we had nothing to lose. With only two races remaining and the slight chance of still qualifying, we tried our best to push boats ahead of us in the back, but unfortunately, when all the points were added up, it was too late. We finished in third place.
Overall, we had a solid regatta and we are proud of how we finished. A big thank you to San Diego Yacht Club and HPYS for all the support.