August 20, 2008:
Congratulations to the Medal winners
GOLD: Jian Yin, China
SILVER: Alessandra Sensini, Italy
BRONZE: Bryony Shaw, Great Britain
August 19, 2008:What
seemed like the never-ending regatta, ended today. We finally got one
last race in today to complete our 10 race series. I'm a bit confused
as which days we raced and which ones we didn't as for the past few days
we've been having two races in the morning, then postponed on shore until
further notice with the intention of completing a third race later in
the day. So, the waiting game continued.
Yesterday the wind was great, that was at least the case before our start.
At about 5 seconds to the Starting gun, I was coming in fast on starboard
by the committee boat and got struck down by the Chinese girl. In front
of me there was a pile up, as one girl fell, the next couldn't do anything
but fall herself and it was a bit of a domino effect where I ended up
getting the Chinese girls' sail falling on mine. So, as everyone started
racing, I was swimming. With the strong current, I was sucked behind the
committee boat and in a no wind zone. Once up, without wind in my sail,
I fell back into the water. Ugh!!!! I tried to stay calm and focused on
the race but with the rest of the fleet minutes ahead of me, I was in
for a long uphill battle. The wind dropped quite a bit and I must say
I had to take some risky tactical decisions to try to catch up, but they
didn't work either…..I did beat a few boards but about 5 meters
before I crossed the finish line, the time limit was up and I was scored
a DNF (did not finish). Our race target time is 30-35minutes and this
race ended up way over an hour. Needless to say, that became my new discarded
race and I was exhausted both mentally and physically.
Race two of the day didn't really go my way either – I did get a
good start but just wasn't able to make anything out of the race. I finished
18th. We then got sent ashore for a rest before the 3rd race of the day
was supposed to happen. We finally got sent out later in the afternoon
– the wind was dying and the current increasing. The guys fleet
started but when they got a 50degree shift, the race committee abandoned
the race and then blew off the day for all of us and sent us in…which
meant we had to finish off one last race today.
I was going to make it a good one…. And for the most part it was.
I had a great start but failed to tack quick enough when I had the chance.
The Chinese girl who I started next to went on to win the race while I
was mid-pack. Some gains and some losses had me finish in 15th today,
which kept me in the same position of 17th overall.
Tomorrow is the medal race for the top 10 girls. Unfortunately I missed
out. I will enjoy my first day of not being on constant stand-by to stand-by
as we have been in full racing mode for the past 9 days and that is pretty
exhausting in itself.
August 17, 2008: Today could have been my day...but it just wasn't. We woke up to lots of wind and heavy rain - and through out the day bigger and bigger waves and heavier rain squals. Conditions I like (except for the pelting down rain that actually hurt while sailing) and conditions I'm good at. Our start was at noon. Finally a day of racing where we weren't waiting around all day. In both races I had a great start and then somehow I kept sliding back in the fleet. Laylines were difficult due to heaps of current which meant I underlayed the top mark several times, which meant I had to throw in a few extra tacks each time which is really slow. I fell a few times, was going slower than my norm in these conditions and I did think that for 2 legs of the first race I had either weeds or a plastic bag attached to my fin - which doesn't help the speed either. What could have been a great day for me turned into a dissappointing day - I just wasn't on fire. I posted a 15th and a 13th. At the moment I sit in 17th overall but 5 points out of 11th and with 3 more races to go before the medal race, anything can really happen. I just hope that I can turn it up for tomorrow!
August 15, 2008: Well,
well, well....there has been a lot of waiting recently. After our first
two days of racing we were supposed to have a rest day, which we did.
Then, the 14th we were supposed to race but didn't due to lack of wind.
That ended up being a long day of waiting. That meant that today, our
scheduled reserve day was going to be a race day. We were supposed to
start at 12:00 and have two races. The wind was forecasted to be good
- building from 10-15knots to perhaps 18knots. It actually started off
okay, but as soon as we got to the race course, the wind slowly died and
did some crazy shifts. We were postponed several times during our starting
sequence due to this. Finally we were sent ashore at 2pm. At 3:45 we were
once again called out to the racing area. The wind was still funky but
did eventually fill in nicely to get off a race. There were some random
shifts and puffs. I had a super start and was going quite nicely up the
first beat but missed the big shift and puff on the left and ended up
rounding not so well. I caught boards on the run, up the next beat and
was in about 9th position until the last run. I had got planing, gybed
back too early and got out of the breeze. A couple girls who had kept
planing got past me. I finished 13th. After 5 races, we've had our first
drop, which means that you drop your worst race score. It has put me into
16th place overall now, as I didn't have as big of a drop as other girls.
Consistency doesn't show it's true colours until later in the regatta,
when those girls who've dropped big scores will have hopefully added some
more big scores.....
Two races scheduled for tomorrow.... But you never know what can happen!
August 12, 2008: Yesterday
we waited on shore for a few hours due to lack of wind. We were finally
sent our around 2pm and luckily the wind filled in nicely...to a maximum
of 7knots or so. I had a pretty good first race - I ended up finishing
13th. I had a great start near the 3 up from the pin but then the right
side ended up coming out ahead. I did not round the top mark very well,
but fought back, had a super second upwind beat and was able to make a
massive comeback from 18th place.
The second race I had a super start on port at the committee boat end.
I was at the top mark in 9th and throughout the race I had lost a place,
then regained that place, then lost a few then made a huge again....and
I was 9th at the second last mark, then on the downwind I lost a bit and
unfortunately let a board get inside of me at the last mark to the finish.
This caused me to be on the outside of the rounding and the gap was open
for another board to come through. I was getting rolled and there wasn't
much I could have done. I finished 14th in that race - a bit disappointing
after working so incredibly hard to be up there.
I do have to say that I have been consistent in my results so far and
with only 4 races sailed, much can change and consistency does pay off!
August 11, 2008: The
Opening Ceremonies were amazing. We were flown to Beijing arriving mid
day on the 8th. We had all day to check out the Athletes Village - it
was huge and very well done and it was really neat to see all the different
athletes too. Checking out the Athletes gym was quite amazing, seeing
all the different body types doing all their pre-games prep. At 6pm all
of us were herded together to take buses to the Stadium to wait....there
were over 300 buses waiting for us. It was an unbelievable sight of just
rows and rows of buses. First we got taken to the Stadium where they hold
the Gymnastics events. We were to wait there until Canada was called to
walk into the Opening Ceremonies (63rd country). While I was waiting I
walked around, traded pins and met lots of athletes. Recognize him? and
of course...he came running up to me asking for a photo with me :-)
A
After a long wait,we finally got to walk into the stadium. The roar of
the crowd was unbelievable and there were so many distractions of where
to look in amongst all the excitement. A few of my teammates and I got
to pole position in the Canada line up and made several pictures in newspapers.
I carried my big Canada flag that had lots of good luck wishes on from
the West Van Community Day, friends and family!!! You guys were all there
with me! Thank you! 
We
stayed the night in the Village and left the next morning back to Qingdao.
Full VIP service, the plane stopped on the tarmac, we walked off the plane
straight onto the buses that were waiting for us and were shuttled back
to the front entrance of our village. That was very welcome after a very
short and tiring night.
And now for the racing...
We started on Course Area A today. It is the closest to the harbour and
thus perhaps the trickiest due the land effects, the current and back
eddy, the waves that bounce back off the break wall etc…. On the
way to the race course the wind was super…it was getting windy so
that we could plane downwind. That all changed by the time our races got
underway.
For the first race of the day, the wind dropped drastically. I had a mediocre
start near the pin end – I was shot out the back by the two boards
around me but was able to go low and muscle back into a good position.
A few good decisions upwind had me 9th to the top mark. I fought hard
the rest of the race but wasn't able to keep 2 boards from passing me.
I finished in 11th.
The second race took forever to get started. There was a switch in the
current from our first race to our second race. We had 2 or 3 general
recalls before the race committee decided to up anchor and move the course.
By the time this was all done, it had been another hour of waiting for
us. Finally we got the racing under way. I had a pretty good start at
the boat end of the line, tacked to go right and was going pretty well.
I misjudged the lay line with the new current direction, which means I
over stood the mark and let a whole bunch of boards get by me. Stupid
mistake but hopefully I've learned that one now and won't do it for the
remainder of the regatta. I never gave up and was gaining down the run.
With all the crazy waves and chop, the nose of my board dug into the water
and stopped, but with my continued forward momentum, I ended up dropping
my sail in the water. This was another costly mistake. Ouch. I got back
in the race and was able to place some more boards behind me each leg
on the way to the finish to end up 15th.
August 9, 2008:Due to blogging restrictions etc, I will be limiting my website news. Please join my email list for my competition updates! Thank you.
August 8, 2008: With
the start of the Olympics just a few days away, I want you to know where
to get all the official sailing news....
WEBSITES
The International Sailing Federation ISAF has just launched it's own online
Olympic Competition microsite. This will probably have the most up to
date results, pictures and news: http://www.sailing.org/olympics/Olympicshome.php
The Canadian Yachting Association will most probably have daily updates
as well: http://www.sailing.ca/home.asp
And there is a new Canadian Olympic Sailing Team microsite: this website
is a more in depth on our backgrounds, with pictures and some videos etc.
but might not be updated as frequently. http://www.canadiansailingteam.ca/
TV COVERAGE
We've been informed that CBC is going to have "extensive daily coverage
of the sailing." This is something pretty special as we hardly ever
get much coverage, so stay tuned! The coverage will be on CBC BOLD, an
HD channel. Not sure how you actually get access to BOLD but I think they
have instructions on boldtv.ca
Also, times are a bit of an issue. It looks like we'll be on live at 10:00pm
Pacific and 1:00am Eastern with a replay each following day. If we are
postponed on land due to lack of wind....you will be postponed too! Hopefully
you'll be as patient as we have to be!
For those not in Canada, I would guess there will be something similar
in the hidden HD channels of most countries and there are also lots of
options to watch TV live now over the internet, I'm just not sure where.
This is the schedule released: (RSX in BOLD)
BEIJING 2008: THE OLYMPIC GAMES
SAILING ON bold
BROADCAST SCHEDULE
(Schedule subject to changes)
SAILING
Saturday, August 9
Keelboat Heavyweight Dinghy-Finn
1 a.m. ET LIVE
Keelboat Heavyweight Dinghy-Finn
11:15 a.m. ET
Sunday, August 10
Skiff Dinghy-49er
1 a.m. ET LIVE
Skiff Dinghy-49er
2 p.m. ET
Monday, August 11
Windsurfing RS:X Men's and Women's
1 a.m. ET LIVE
Windsurfing RS:X Men's and Women's
12 noon ET
Tuesday, August 12
Men's 1 Person Dinghy Laser /
1 a.m. ET LIVE
Women's 1 Person Dinghy Laser Radial
Men's 1 Person Dinghy Laser /
12:30 p.m. ET
Women's 1 Person Dinghy Laser Radial
Wednesday, August 13
Men's 2 Person Dinghy 470 /
1 a.m. ET LIVE
Women's 2 Person Dinghy 470
Men's 2 Person Dinghy 470 /
12:15 p.m. ET
Women's 2 Person Dinghy 470
Thursday, August 14
Skiff Dinghy-49er
1 a.m. ET LIVE
Skiff Dinghy-49er
12:15 p.m. ET
Friday, August 15
Multihull Tornado / Men's Keelboat Star
1 a.m. ET LIVE
Multihull Tornado / Men's Keelboat Star
11:15 a.m. ET
Saturday, August 16
Heavyweight Dinghy Finn Medal Race /
1 a.m. ET LIVE
Women's Keelboat Yngling Medal Race
Heavyweight Dinghy Finn Medal Race /
12 p.m. ET
Women's Keelboat Yngling Medal Race
Sunday, August 17
Skiff Dinghy-49er Medal Race
1 a.m. ET LIVE
Skiff Dinghy-49er Medal Race
11:15 a.m. ET
Monday, August 18
Men's 2 Person Dinghy 470 Medal Race /
1 a.m. ET LIVE
Women's 2 Person Dinghy 470 Medal Race
Men's 2 Person Dinghy 470 / Medal Race
11 a.m. ET
Women's 2 Person Dinghy 470 Medal Race
Tuesday, August 19
Men's 1 Person Dinghy Laser Medal Race /
1 a.m. ET LIVE
Women's 1 Person Dinghy Laser Radial Medal Race
Men's 1 Person Dinghy Laser Medal Race /
11:15 a.m. ET
Women's 1 Person Dinghy Laser Radial Medal Race
Wednesday, August 20
Windsurfing RS:X Men's and Women's Medal Race
1 a.m. ET LIVE
Windsurfing RS:X Men's and Women's Medal Race
12 noon ET
Thursday, August 21
Multihull Tornado / Men's Keelboat Star Medal Race
1 a.m. ET LIVE
Multihull Tornado / Men's Keelboat Star Medal Race
11:45 a.m. ET
July 26, 2008: At the end of June I headed down to Mexico for my final training camp prior to the Olympics. I was training with Demita Vega, the Mexican Olympic representative and her coach Adrien who also sailed with us. My first 12 days were spent training in Cozumel - where I had been last year. Cozumel is home to Demita and her pet Nella! (you might remember the picture of Nella and I from last year)
We had perfect training conditions throughout the entire 3 weeks I was in Mexico - we had wind, no wind, waves, lots of current, chop, hot and humid weather - ideal for China preparation. We worked incredibly hard and well together; doing interval training at night and sailing during the day. Jason Rhodes came to down to coach me for the last 2 weeks which was great and thus were able to get lots of video footage for great analysis during the debriefs. He had to adapt to the Mexican style coach boat - quite different and quite a bit harder on his back than the typical rubber zodiac.
On the weekend of July 12/13 we headed across the channel to Playa del
Carmen for a competition. Unlike typical races, everyone started together
regardless what division and equipment they were sailing on. There were
many youth and even little kids all windsurfing - it was such a great
atmosphere. Unfortunately, Demita had hurt her back and missed the races
but there were several guys racing on the men's RSX which meant I had
to fight hard nonetheless. After 6 races, I had won 5 and came 3rd in
one which meant I won my category and also against the RSX men!
For the final 5 days of our training camp, we changed our venue to Cancun.
We sailed out of the Cancun Windsurfing club, a building that had been
destroyed by Hurricane Wilma and had yet to be reconstructed. It was a
perfect venue though. Once again, Jason had to adapt to yet another style
of coach boat, this time it came with a driver and his kids.
It was such an amazing place to sail - the water was a gorgeous aqua blue and the weather was always beautiful. Cancun presented us with a few weeds in water - also ideal training for China and it's algae - which they supposedly have under control now.
July 4, 2008: Yummy Green stuff....here are snid-bits from the news about it!
China's latest Olympics nightmare is a vast algae bloom that covers one
third of the sea where the world's best sailors are supposed to be competing
in just over a month. China scrambled Thursday to clear tonnes of algae
that is covering a third of the Olympic sailing course and causing huge
embarrassment for authorities trying to promote a "Green Games".
An estimated 20,000 people and 1,200 vessels have been mobilized to tackle
the huge algae bloom threatening the upcoming Olympic sailing event in
east China's Qingdao. Up till now more than 100,000 tons of algae has
been weeded out. Statistics showed that as of Saturday the algae had affected
a total sea area of 13,000 square kilometers, four hundred out of which
was covered by the foreign stuff. To make it worse, more than 32 percent,
or 15.86 square kilometers of the guarded sea area for Olympic sailing
competition, was also covered up.
Water quality has been a concern for the sailing events, given that many
coastal Chinese cities dump untreated sewage into the sea. At the same
time, rivers and tributaries emptying into coastal waters are often contaminated
with high levels of nitrates from agricultural and industrial runoff.
These nitrates contribute to the red tides of algae that often bloom along
sections of China's coastline. But officials in Qingdao said pollution
and poor water quality did not have a "substantial link" to
the current outbreak, according to Xinhua. Instead, scientists blamed
the bloom on increased rainfall and warmer waters in the Yellow Sea. Algae
are now blooming over more than 12,900 square kilometers, or 5,000 square
miles, of the sea, according to Xinhua.
Well....all I can say is I'm glad I'm not there at the moment, but I'm
sure they'll have it sorted by the time the Olympics come around!
Yuck!
June 29, 2008: Since the end of my Europe stint, I have been training at home in Vancouver. I was quite excited about coming home - to summer and to get stuck into a great training program. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate for the first week or so and sailing was pretty miserable. I trained for a few days with my team mate Zac and then was joined by Steff Williams from New Zealand for my training block. We logged many hours on the water, battling each other in a range of conditions, but mostly in light air and lots of current as that is Vancouver's specialty. Coached by Jason Rhodes, both of us made huge gains - which kept our training battles alive and well. Mid-June, Dave Hayes, Canada's Youth Representative at the last World Youth Championships and runner up in the Canadian Olympic trials then joined me in Vancouver. Dave's forte is in the breeze and is physically more powerful than me; I wanted to learn some high wind techniques and sail more powerful - like a guy. Vancouver's wind forecast wasn't the best, so the three of us ended up driving down to the Gorge (Hood River, Oregon) for a few days for the Gorge Cup Race. The weather patterns were quite unusual there as well - we arrived to humid overcast skies and not much wind - a huge contrast to the typical hold on for your life windy Gorge. The wind never did come for Race Day and the races were abandoned, but all was not lost. The wind did eventually came up at 7pm and like the night before, we had an incredible sunset sail - getting off the water at 9pm. An incredible way to spend both nights there, having fun and I learned a lot as well.
May 11, 2008: Sorry about
the lack of communication about the last few days of the European Championships
in Brest, France. The last five days of the championship were very very
long - mostly because we were postponed on shore for the majority of the
days. Day 3 had us waiting onshore until 7:15pm when the first and only
race of the day was raced. The scheduled start was to be at 11am, which
means that I get there at around 9am - so it made for a very long day.
Day 4 was a rest day where I went exploring along to coast to a really
beautiful surf spot called Pointe de la Torche, about 45 minutes south
from Brest. We were very lucky to have a beautiful, sunny and warm day
(25degrees). Unfortunately for our next racing day, day 5 - the weather
changed dramatically, it was miserable - 8 degrees and non-stop rain and
no wind. Once again we were supposed to start at 11am but were postponed
on shore until about 5pm when they finally blew the day off. Day 6 of
the regatta wasn't much better weather wise, but luckily the wind collaborated
a bit more and we were able to sail 2 races. I can't say that I was very
happy with the racing...it was horribly cold on the water and when hands
are numb holding on to the boom become an issue. I had some very strong
points in both my races but wasn't able to turn them into a result on
the scoreboard. On the 7th and final day of the regatta we were supposed
to have one final race and the medal races for the top 10 were to be held.
Once again...no wind and lots of waiting around. 3pm was the latest they
could start us, but there was still no wind so the regatta ended very
uneventfully. I have never been postponed during a regatta as much as
this one, the waiting around all day is almost more tiring than the racing
itself as it's so hard to be on constant "stand-by" mode for
hours on end. A bit odd for a place that is known for it's very windy
and stormy conditions.
I finished 33rd in the regatta - a result that I'm not really thrilled
about, but lots of good came out of the regatta. I had my coach, Jason
Rhodes with me for the regatta and a few days prior to it. We were working
on very specific technique changes and the goal of the regatta was to
get solid starts, work on my strategy, especially for the first leg, while
sailing with my improved technique. I can honestly say that I sailed quite
well, but when trying to work on changing technique or working on something
particular, the short term focus is lost a bit and the immediate results
suffer a bit. Not to worry though....I am very confident that I am heading
the right direction.
May 1, 2008: The day
after the French Olympic Sailing Week finished in Hyeres, France I drove
to Brest, France. (Brittany - north west coast of France). We were welcomed
with a few days of torrential rain, lots of wind and hail. It was between
7 and 11 degrees - not very enticing sailing conditions. After a few days
off to recover from the last event and the drive here, I got back onto
the water.
Each day I've been on the water, the weather has been different. Lots
of systems move through here changing the conditions dramatically and
very rapidly. The first day I had on the water here it was upwards of
20knots with current against wind big waves and it was extremely difficult.
The next day, windy with flat water, then lighter conditions, all from
different directions. Where we are sailing in the harbour of Brest, it
is extremely tidal which also means we have tons of current on our course.
All and all, it is a very difficult place to sail as it is also very shifty.
January 20, 2008: Once in Gold Fleet, I just wanted to better my position. So, the good news is that I did better my position, however the bad news is that it was only by one place to finish 37th overall.
During the final series we had very unstable wind conditions, directions that I have never sailed in and were considered rare even by the locals. On the first day of finals we had anything between 5-10knots offshore, meaning huge changes in pressure and shifts of 30degrees. I had great starts, tried to play the shifts and most importantly stay in the pressure. There was no pattern and there was a lot of luck involved. Although the top girls still came out on top at the end of the day, there were huge upsets within the fleet. I would have to describe that day in one word: lottery. Although I sailed quite well, I finished near the back of the fleet in both races.
The next day we were starting after the silver fleet had sailed their 2 races. We were sent out at around 3pm, tuned up before the race but the wind was so inconsistent in both direction and velocity that the Race Committee could not set a course. Then the wind completely died, we got sent in to wait onshore until further notice. Finally, at 5:30pm we got sent back out. The wind had stabilized and actually had a direction. At the beginning of the race we had a decent 6-8knots, which was dying very quickly as the race got underway. I went to the left side of the course as it looked like it had more pressure and I was looking quite okay, until the wind died some more and the current took over. I was now fighting against the current in the channel while the others on the right side of the course were in less current and were able to shoot ahead. It was a tough race of trying to catch up, very slowly I did. The wind had died completely by the time I got to the windward mark for the second time. This is where the Race Committee decided to shorten the course and finish us. I had beat a few girls up the last beat on the way to the finish, but turned around at the end of the race only to see that they had pulled out of the race. At this point we were making hardly any headway against the current. That was the only race of the day.
Then for the final day of racing...it was WINDY!!! I almost forgot what wind was, as it's so typical that we train in wind and as soon as the regatta starts, the weather is completely different and usually we don't get wind. It was about 20knots from the East, a direction that is once again rare. I was so excited to finally get a race in planing conditions. Unfortunately right before the start my batten camber widget broke, which meant that the camber did not rotate around the mast when I tacked. I spent a few minutes in the water trying to fix it and ended up taking the camber out of the sail. This is how I ended up racing. It was quite frustrating as normally I am very fast and can point quite high in lots of breeze, but with my not so ideal sail, I wasn't able to keep any height nor did I have power in my sail. This hurt me a lot especially right after the start. I continued to sail the best I could, I finished 13th in that race (shown as 23rd as the top 10 had a medal race of their own).
That ended the 2008 World Championships for me. Although I accomplished my primary goal of qualifying for the Olympic Team, I am disappointed in my overall result. I know I have far greater potential and that the regatta just did not go my way. But, onwards and upwards from here... now it's time to focus on getting ready for the big show!
January 16, 2008: It was too hard to write an email update earlier....so here is my update up until the end of the qualifying period, the rest day...
My preparation for the Worlds was superb. I felt completely ready...
Before the first race on Day One, I had the normal pre-race jitters and just wanted the racing to get underway. The breeze was about 8-9knots. The start gun went off, I got off the starting line with a great start on starboard (I have the right of way). It was about 10 -15 seconds after the start when a Japanese girl, on port crashed into me. Her board smashed into my fin, her mast into my boom, she kept sailing but unfortunately I went down. While I was down, a Chinese girl ran over me and by the time I was able to get up and going again, the fleet was far ahead of me. I was 3rd last to the top mark and was now only in the game of catching up. A very disappointing start to the regatta. (The someone fouls another sailor, they must do a 360 penalty turn. The Japanese girl did her turn to exonerate herself, but that actually doesn't help me, the fallen sailor). The second race was a bit better than the first, but finished right behind the other Canadians.
Day Two started off with very light winds. I was really excited about the change of conditions. I had a glamour start in the first race and was in the top bunch leading up to the windward mark. Then I made a tactical error which cost me some boards, making what could have been a really great race to a decent race. For the next race, the wind picked up to 10-12 knots, conditions we were planing in. I was concentrating on my starts, and once again had a super start. My game plan was to go to the right side of the course, which I did, but somehow the left came out ahead. The race wasn't over yet though and I continued to battle it out. Then, on the last downwind I got some weed caught on my fin and had to stop to get it off. Unfortunately that cost me at least 5 places.
Although I chose not to look at the results through out the qualifying series, I pretty much had a good understanding that I was not looking good to qualify myself into Gold Fleet, or the Olympics as I had both Canadian girls ahead of me. I had only finished ahead of the other Canadians once in 4 races and my chances of making gold fleet were quite slim. (The first 6 races are qualifying races that determine who makes it into Gold or Silver fleet. The top half make it into gold fleet and can never be caught up by someone who is in Silver. I was pretty sure that one of the other Canadians was sitting in Gold fleet and I was deep in Silver behind another Canadian. The worst situation that could happen for me was that the girl in Gold Fleet stayed in Gold and I was in Silver and that would mean that the trials are over....) So, I had a pretty rough night, my mind racing and playing so many tricks on me. I knew I had to pull miracles to even have a shot at making Gold Fleet...
Day Three started off with no wind whatsoever. Talk on the beach was that the two sea breezes were fighting each other and it could mean that we would possibly have no races that day if one wind direction didn't win and stabilize. Luckily the wind did come in, an offshore tricky and very gusty wind, and surprisingly, it got somewhat windy. I really had to pull myself together, I needed two good races. I had a great start in the first race, played the shifts and sailed myself to the front of the group. I finished 6th place!!! I was so stoked, my chances of extending the trials just got better. All I needed to do was have another good race to finish off the qualifying series. I had a super start again, I had a great first beat to the first top mark. I rounded well in the top 10, gybed around the mark, and all of a sudden there was not a breath of wind. I fell in (some others did too), I got up as quick as I could...but the others had caught up and were blanketing me on the way downwind. I lost a bunch of places. Just before the finish we have a slalom course. I was in a pack, a vulnerable position as you need to react to others actions. I had girls on either side of me and behind me, when the girl in front of me messed up her gybe. I had nowhere to go...but down. So, I was swimming again. Boards sailed passed me as I struggled to get up as quickly as I could. I finished a disappointing 25th. I was pretty distraught after that race, not knowing the points and just hoping that I still had a chance to be in Gold Fleet, if not, best scenario was that all of us Canadians were in Silver fleet - extending the trials to the end. I sailed ashore slowly, taking it all in and trying to deal with what just happened...I was trying to prepare myself for the worst case scenario.
I arrived at the beach, later than most, awaited by a few of my friends to help me with my gear. They said "I did it" ....In that moment and for a while there after, I did not and could not understand...
People came to congratulate me, yet I still wanted to see the results for myself. I was the last person to to make it into GOLD fleet by one point, AND the only Canadian in Gold Fleet!!! Which means that.....I DID IT, I DID IT, I DID IT !!! The trials are over and I'm going to the Olympics!!!!!!!!!!! Those were 3 very long, very difficult and very emotional days...
December 24, 2007: I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
I wanted to write an update a while back but I haven't actually had a single moment free...finally it's Christmas and I'm taking a few much needed days off. I've been in New Zealand since the middle of November, training starting immediately and well...now it's already been 5 weeks. Each day over the last month, Takapuna Beach - where the RSX Worlds are this January, more and more windsurfers from around the globe show up, all coming down to train up for the last Olympic Qualifier.
We've had really great conditions, almost too good as it's been somewhat windy and sunny for the most part. I competed in the New Zealand RSX Nationals that were held from December 13-16th. Generally a Kiwi only event, this year we had 35 competitors from all over the World. This made for really great racing and competition. It was my first time competing since August, so it was a really great opportunity to get the cobwebs out. Made plenty of mistakes throughout the series of 8 races, learning heaps each race and finished the regatta off with a few 6th place finishes. I finished 14th overall, although I probably would've been in the top 10 had the race committee not scored me wrong for the first race and my two Z-flags which gave me an additional 14 points overall. I had never seen the Z-flag before, it's a flag that was never used in the 470 dinghy racing that I did. The Z-flag means that if you are over the starting line within one minute before the start, you have to return to the proper side of the starting line, but you carry a 20% penalty of the overall fleet size added to your race score. Unfortunately, getting 2 of those in one day did not help the results. But...better now than at the Worlds!
So, even with all my mistakes I ended up top Canadian and when I finally got my act together on the last day I was mixing it up with the best to finish with two 6ths. Along with my training partners, Romy Kinzl from Germany and Hayley Thom from New Zealand, we hired Aaron MacIntosh, a Kiwi windsurfing guru and Olympic medalist to coach us for 9 days. We spent 5-6 hours each day on the water, had lengthy debriefs and video-analysis. Apart from windsurfing, eating and sleeping....there wasn't much time for anything else. Coaching ended on the 23rd....it's my first time in a few weeks to put my feet up and relax a bit, and finally an update. Training continues throughout the holidays as January 10th is approaching quickly.
All the very best for the holidays and thank you for your continued support!
October 20,
2007: On October 13th, I left Vancouver's cold and nasty weather
behind for a training camp in Mexico! I was invited by the Mexican windsurfer,
Demita and her coach Adrien (a French RSX racer). We spent the first week
in Cozumel, Demita's home island. I got to see her home and meet her pet
bambi - Nella. We
stayed in one of the few houses on the beach tucked in between 2 hotels,
with an almost perfect grass rigging area leading to the beach (...only
almost perfect as we were attacked by fire-ants and mosquitoes). During
this week there were many small storms that came through, giving us a
wide variety of conditions to train in. We worked very hard, spending
3.5 to 5 hours of quality sailing time on the water each day.
For our second week, we moved locations
to Playa del Carmen where Demita's family has a beach house. 
Once
again, we had unbelievably great conditions - each day was different so
we got to work on many different aspects of our sailing. For most of our
training sessions, the 3 of us were sailing together which was extremely
valuable. Receiving constant feedback on the water was super and being
able to continuously get challenged by both Demita and Adrien kept me
working hard. We also did video analysis and I learnt a whole new way
of gybing - which I'm very excited about.
This past weekend we attended a regatta
in Tulum, where I became the 2007 Quintana Roo State RSX Champion. We
had six races in a variety of conditions and I won the girls title by
4 points to Demita and both of us beat all the guys!!! It was a very interesting
regatta venue as there was only about 200m between the beach and the reef
that we could sail in, thus depending on the wind direction, the courses
would vary and on an upwind we would have to do at least 5 tacks (normally
in windy conditions 1 or 2 is the norm). So, it was great training for
all of our manoevers as well!
My trip to Mexico has been both great training and very fascinating!!!
Demita was a great host, introducing me to Mexican life and showing me
wonderful places in the Mayan Riviera. We went surfing in a place where
the roads get closed at night so the turtles can cross the street, we
visited Xcaret; a Mayan culture eco-theme park, the Mayan Ruins in Tulum,
went snorkeling not only to see the beautiful coral reef and it's fish,
but we also saw the cannons that the Spanish had shot at the Mayans when
they came to conquer Mexico during the 16th century, and while stretching
one evening on the beach about 50 newly hatched turtles were making their
way to the water for the first time!
August 24, 2007: Pre-Olympics
The 2007 Qingdao International Regatta was a Test-Event for next year’s
Beijing Olympics for both the organizing committee and the sailors. Since
Beijing has no water, the city of Qingdao was chosen to host the Sailing
competition Qingdao is an hour flight from Beijing, a beautiful coastal
town...of only 8 million! There is only one representative per country
per class here, I am very happy to have qualified myself for this spot
to get the chance to race at the Olympic venue.
My first day in China was a bit of a rude awakening as we were faced with
torrential downpours, flooding streets where the sewer drains were bubbling
up into the street, thunder, lighting and hot. Luckily my second day was
much better. It was actually windy (up to 20knots which is something Qingdao
is not known for), sunny and clear!!! - because of all the rain the day
before washed the smog away. I could see for miles up and down the coast
and saw the beautiful mountain range behind the city. WOW. The opening
ceremonies were held that evening - we had such a clear night and could
see all the buildings. The whole city was illuminated, laser lights off
most buildings, lights in the shape of sailboats on buildings. The opening
ceremonies were fantastic. They had all sorts of entertainment, the usual
speeches and then millions of fireworks. The Canadians were in the 4th
row from the stage....we were directly under...or should I say in the
fireworks. Stunning, shocking and scary at the same time - needless to
say that this would have never passed the safety regulations at home!!!
Day 1: No racing due to lack of wind
Day 2: 2 light air races
Day 3: No racing due to lack of wind
Day 4: 2 light air races
Day 5: No racing due to lack of wind
Day 6: No racing due to lack of wind
Day 7: 2 light air races
My sailing and confidence got better each race and I wished that I had more than 6 chances to race. These light wind conditions are my most challenging because of my height and weight, but I came to this test-event to learn and come to terms with what I need to do to make myself a serious contender for 2008. I welcome the challenge and am excited to continue pushing myself to the limit. I finished 17th overall.
We only ended up having 6 races in the fleet series, the top 10 went on
to race in the medal race (it blew 15-20knots! – who would’ve
thought) It was like a dream come true for Qingdao to have these wonderful
conditions. Unfortunately for most of the sailors and the regatta, it
was a day late...but at least we now know that it can get windy here.
Congratulations to Bryony Shaw (GBR) who won the women's RSX event!
July 16, 2007: The World Championships was a very interesting event. Nerves and emotions were high as for most sailors it was a qualifying event for the Olympics, National Team and Pre-Olympics. The conditions were the most random and difficult conditions I have ever sailed in, very nerve-wrecking where one could gain and lose within seconds due to the shifty winds and the gusty nature of the wind. The course that we were raced was along the coastline directly under the cliffs with an offshore wind. It wasn't uncommon to get 30 degree shifts and be sailing in 25knots, then in 5 knots. The difference in the wind speed had some sailors planing while others were hardly moving. Luck and bad luck went hand-in-hand, one could catch a gust at the top mark and sail around everyone, or you could be the one being passed with no possibility to defend. Bad luck hit me hard on the last day of the qualifying series, when on the last reach to the finish (25m) I was rolled by about 10 boards that came from behind and were planing in a gust while I was standing still. Thus, I missed Gold Fleet by 3 points. After 10 races in similar crazy conditions, I finished 3rd in the Silver Fleet and 40th overall. The top 20 nations at these Worlds were allocated a spot at the Beijing Olympics. I placed within the top 20 countries which means that I qualified Canada for a spot at the Olympics. There are two of us in Canada both trying to win that one spot...and there will still be a trials for that. So, although Canada has a spot, I am not guaranteed to go...this depends on my next Worlds result.
I am home for the next three weeks before I head to Quindao, China for the Pre-Olympics, which I qualified for at last years World Championships. This will be very interesting as it'll be my first time at the Olympic Sailing venue, a venue which is known for it's lack of wind, swell and current. I am super excited to be able to race this event.
July 3, 2007: The 2007 ISAF World Championships are in Cascais, Portugal. This is the first Olympic Qualifying event; all 11 Olympic Sailing classes are here trying to qualify their Nation for 75% of the Olympic berths. RSX Women will have 28 spots available at the 2008 Beijing Olympics for 28 different Nations, of which 20 Nations will qualify themselves here. It is also the first Canadian Olympic selection event, so wish me luck :-)
Cascais is a beautiful old town about a 20-minute drive from Lisbon. The town has a lot of character, great food, is clean and the coastline is gorgeous. Ten minutes up the coast is the famous Guincho Beach, which hosts both World Surfing and Windsurfing (wave sailing) Championships. This is probably the nicest venue I have been to for a sailing championship…hopefully the wind will cooperate too!
I arrived in Cascais on the 18th of June, directly after the European Championships. I have had some great training and am looking forward to the start of the regatta. The wind is very tricky here, especially on the course areas that we have been allocated. The wind is offshore and littered with huge gusts, huge holes and big wind shifts. It is not uncommon to be sailing in 20knots and hit a lull of 4-5 knots, and this can happen several times in one leg. Needless to say, it'll be very important to connect the pressure dots! One day we also had an average of 29knots gusting to 37knots…not only was the ocean white, but it was sea of capsized boats…it was a hard day and I was happy to make it back to shore in one piece!
Today was the official first day of racing for some classes, however the RSX class starts racing on the 6th of July. We will have 3 days of qualifying races followed by a rest day, then 3 days of finals.
I finished measurement today, have a bit more gear tinkering to do and then I am set to go. More news to come once the races start….
April 30, 2007: The French Olympic
Sailing Week in Hyeres, is usually known to be a breezy event especially
when the Mistral blows, however this year’s competition was plagued
with days of light air. With 71 girls here at this event we had a qualifying
series to determine Gold and Silver fleet. During the first 3 days of
qualifying the wind didn’t get much stronger than 6 or 7 knots…ever.
I had tough days, not through lack of effort but a variety of factors
including my most difficult conditions: light wind combined with some
tactical errors and occasional bad starts left me to battle it out with
the others in the silver fleet. There was also a lot of waiting on shore
due to the lack of wind and the days just seemed to drag on. Then finally,
for the last day of the regatta we got some wind!!! Up to 25knots. That
made all of us “heavy air specialists” who were in silver
happy and we actually got some good racing in fun conditions!
Yeah…I get to home for a month!!!
APRIL 15, 2007: We had a Canadian Team training camp in Hyeres with Gebi as coach. Luckily we had wind for all five days, generally from 20 to 30 knots. We did lots of board handling and starting drills, I am feeling quite confident in the breeze and am hoping for a breezy event. However, the camp ended... and so did the wind.
April 7, 2007:Palma de Mallorca – spring in Europe. I arrived to weather pretty much the same as at home, 9 degrees and raining. Luckily the rain let up sometimes and other than being really cold, it was nice sailing. For Princess Sofia Trophy we had a really big fleet, 68 girls! so we had a qualifying series, which would decide who will race in Gold and Silver fleet.
It had been windy every day prior to
the regatta, but on the first day of racing we had no wind and were postponed
onshore for a few hours before getting sent out into "china-like"
conditions of no wind and big seas, only to send us back home after an
hour of waiting around on the water. Day 2 was much the same, a long wait.
This time however we were able to get one race off before the wind totally
died. On the third day we actually had some wind and were able to get
3 races off. I was sailing fairly well and had some decent results in
pretty tricky conditions. The wind was offshore and we had anywhere from
5knots to puffs over 20 knots...My highlight of that day was leading the
2nd race until about 10meters to the windward mark when a HUGE gust catapulted
me....then it happened again...and of course I lost my lead and was well
back in the fleet by then. On the second upwind, I did something right,
rounding the top mark in 2nd. I lost 4 boards down the last run to finish
6th. After 4 races the qualifying series was over. I was in 22nd overall.
Day 4 presented us with very tricky conditions. Marginal planing and shifty.
My first race was not very good and I also broke my boom. The second race
was much better until I found out I was OCS (over early and disqualified)
after the finish. I slipped to 30th
overall. On the final day of Palma they had us waiting for 7 hours before
they called it off due to lack of wind and rain squalls. So the regatta
ends with only 6 races on our scorecard, out of an expected 10. I feel
like I've been waiting for almost a week now...each day we had very long
postponements on shore before we finally were sent out. I finished up
30th, as nothing has changed since the previous day.
Tomorrow I head to Hyeres, France where we have a Canadian training camp for 5 days followed by more training, and then the French Olympic Sailing Week during the last week of April.
February 13, 2007: Greetings from New Zealand! Sail Auckland ended yesterday after 4 days of racing. The conditions for the regatta were very light for most of the regatta (4-7knots). We had long days; starting off with waiting on the beach for wind and finally getting 3 races off the first day and 4 on the second day. It was really great light air practice as the competition was extremely tough here, including the World Champion, Alessandra Sensini from Italy and Barbara Kendall, multiple Olympic medal winner from New Zealand. I was really happy with my starts and for the most part my racing aswell, but unfortunately I was OCS (over early and disqualified) from my best race in which I placed 4th. Then before the racing on the 3rd day, I tweaked something in my back and although I raced one race that day, I was not fit enough to continue racing in the last 2 days of the regatta. I have since been to the physiotherapist and luckily it's not anything chronic and bad. I feel much better now and will be back on the water in the next day or two. I will continue to train here in Auckland for the next couple of weeks before returning to Vancouver to train early March.
WINTER 2006 < here >
SUMMER 2006 < here >
SPRING 2006 < here >
WINTER 2005 < here >