The recent ILCA 4 Worlds in Vilamoura, Portugal, from August 13-20, 2022 was an amazing experience. It was my second world championship regatta as I also participated in ILCA Worlds in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland last year. The competition was just as strong this year with many talented sailors from 51 countries, including 272 boys and 152 girls who competed. The wind was really good on some days, but not so much on others.

Last month we traveled to El Balis, outside of Barcelona, Spain, for the 29er Open Worlds. Two hundred forty-two teams from 26 countries came for the racing held August 1-6. There were three days of qualifying and 3 days of final racing.

It was very difficult sailing conditions for us with super light winds and massive chop. Many days the wind came out of the opposite directions from the day before.

Unfortunately, none of the San Diego Yacht Club teams made it into Gold Fleet this year. In the finals Anton and Peter Joslin top finishes included a bullet and a fourth, but also a UFD (42), to finish 49^th overall and 9^th in Silver out of 40 boats. Alice and Sammie Gardner top finishes included a 4^th and a 9^th, for an overall finish of 56 and a 16^th out of 40 in Silver.

This year our results were disappointing, but nonetheless we learned so much through the racing and from the amazing coaches. I want to thank comp fund for allowing us to have this opportunity.

On August 9^th I took a flight from San Diego, CA to Faro, Portugal for the 2022 ILCA 4 (Laser 4.7) World Championships which were to take place a short distance away in Vilamoura, Portugal.  I arrived a few days early in order to get acclimated to the time difference as well as get a couple of practice sailing sessions in with the USA Team and Coaches (Steve Mitchell, Pedro Mascarenhas, & Marie Barrue) prior to the beginning of the regatta.  

The Govenor’s Cup is one of the showcase events for youth match racing. Due to its ability to accept more than one team per nation, many regard it as more prestigious than Youth Match Racing Worlds. Hosted by Balboa Yacht Club each year in custom made “Gov Cup 22s,” acceptance is by application only and entries are capped at 12. This past July, I was fortunate enough to participate in this event for the second time.

This summer, Peter Busch and I traveled to Canada to compete in the C420 North Americans. I was excited to compete in this event because it was my first time traveling to Canada. We arrived at the Buffalo Canoe Club on July 25th to warm up and learn more about the venue. After sailing in the C420 nationals earlier in the summer, we knew that we struggled in the waves due to our minimal time sailing in those conditions, so practice time on Lake Erie was crucial. After our practice session, we heard roomers that storm systems might be rolling through during our race days, so we started preparing for a regatta filled with chop and heavy breeze. 

In late July, I took part in my first international sailing event. Taking part in the Laser Men’s Youth Worlds out of the Houston Yacht Club. Hearing from my friends and coaches how light and lumpy the venue was, I came with the anticipation of drifter conditions. Instead, each day of the regatta presented itself with a 2 to 4-foot chop and 15-20 knots. With mucky brown water and an eight-foot-deep bay. The courses were relatively short because the nearby shipping channel and edges were critical to starting at. As well as the sideways chop presents a more technical form of steering through waves.

In late July I competed in the 2022 USODA Opti National Championships at The Gorge.  We flew into Portland, OR, and after a long wait for a rental car, drove to Cascade Locks on the Columbia River to prepare for a week of windy practice and racing.  The next day I got my charter boat, rigged, and launched for practice from a rocky beach, which was different than what I was used to. I thought it was going to be very windy and choppy, but it was only very choppy and puffy. But then throughout the day the wind would turn on and be around 15 knots then die to 10 knots. But then on the long sail up the river the wind picked up to 20+ knots. What I learned today was that the up winds are very fast, and the down winds are very slow but feel fast because of the current. Also, I learned that the gorge would funnel the breeze by the wind going in the valleys and picking up speed.

This past July, 97 (ninety seven) C420 teams gathered at the Buffalo Canoe Club for the 2022 C420 North Americans. The trip was a long one, but it was well worth it for the incredible conditions we got on Lake Erie. We had great wind all but one day, where it took a long time to build to a raceable condition. Peter and Cam were impossible to beat in the light wind, they were just so much faster than the whole fleet. Dylan and Nathan Sih also had a great first two days in the other fleet, finishing with huge gaps behind them. The light wind was slightly frustrating, more from the crazy amount of bugs than anything else, but we kept going no matter what.