You've got to crack a few eggs to make an omelette...
These were the words that my coach, Rob Fox had for me after what was a pretty tough regatta. For those that don't know the saying, Wikipedia defines it as: In order to achieve something, it is inevitable and necessary that something should be destroyed. (and yes, parts of me were destroyed!)
I finished 26th overall. This wasn’t the greatest result for me, however I’m not upset by it at all. I actually had a tremendous learning opportunity that I am thankful for - yet it was a bit frustrating too. We got mostly stable and onshore conditions as well as light winds, which were two items on my list of “need to work on”. Unfortunately they didn’t come separately, so I had to learn as well as put into practice both things at once. Slowly and surely, it was all coming together, but I knew I couldn’t expect more than that for the time being. I know that I am working on all those little pieces of the puzzle, and sometimes it feels like those pieces aren't coming together quick enough, but I am starting to see the big picture now and I believe that these pieces will all come together at the right time. Needless to say, I have come home with some key things to work on the water.
I will be home until August 5th. I'll be training diligently before I head off to Weymouth, UK for the World Cup Event: Sail For Gold, followed by my Worlds in Denmark.
Attached are a few pictures that Jochem took of me after racing one day!!! The last picture looks like I'm on a hydrofoil :-)
Loving the sunshine, hope you are too!
Half way through the European Championships...
I don't know what it is about this year but every regatta has been plagued with long waits. All my training days prior to the regatta were in light wind conditions with the exception of about 15 minutes when I got planing. With racing scheduled to start at 11:30, on day one I arrived at the club around 9:00 to get prepared... but then we got to wait for wind all day, eventually being sent out to race at 4pm, returning to shore at 7pm. Needless to say, a long day! Day two was the same, but the wind came a bit earlier so we were sent out around 2pm. Yesterday we finally started on time! All 3 days - all 6 races were in super light and lumpy conditions. Very tiring - both mentally and physically. The races were gruelling and my arms (especially my forearms) felt like they were ready to explode after each race.
I don't know why but I just couldn't get off the starting line.... 0/6! Having a bad start just set me up to have a bad race - mainly because I never had a clear lane to sail in. Regardless, I am focussing on certain goals and learning certain lessons - which although I'd love a change in the conditions... this non-stop light wind pumping races in sloppy waters is actually good and reinforcing those lessons. The racing is super close and there are lots of collisions all over the course especially at mark roundings - I've done two penalty turns myself already. I'm sitting in 31st at the moment - a result that I'm not really that excited about...but there are 3 more days of racing so I hope to turn that around!
On a different note, I made another article in a magazine about my work as a stunt double for Amanda Crew for the film "Charlie St. Cloud", starring Zac Efron. The film is coming out on July 30th. I've attached the article and a picture of me sailing the Open 50... by myself ;-) If you get a chance to see the movie, you might get a glimpse of me (although you shouldn't be able to tell it's me)...there should be some helicopter footage of the boat sailing along a rugged coastline with a lighthouse at the cape of it with me at the helm.
Three more days to go...
I'm in Poland...!
Hello from Sopot, Poland - venue of the RSX European Championships. I arrived here 3 days ago to hot and sunny days which has been super nice. Light winds have had me pumping hard and getting back into my interval training quickly.
My time at home was great. Whenever I am home, I usually spend my time getting my body repaired from the last training/competition trip which consists of massage and chiro whilst getting ready for the next trip and doing all those good for me things like: gym, yoga, biking, and of course windsurf training and some relaxing too. I went over to the Canadian Sport Center in Victoria again, both to do a gym session and an on water performance analysis of my pumping technique (comparing it to my previous analysis from May). I had made some big changes to try to make my pumping more efficient since May and I was stoked to see that my hard work actually showed improvements both on the water and on the graphs. All pretty high tech stuff with lots of squiggly graphs (see picture). Now I get to put that new technique into test here at the Europeans!
And I'm in a Magazine...!!! Check it out
Windsport - Early Summer edition pg 36/37
"Heroine: Junior Racer Fiona Wylde Looks up to Nikola Girke" (I met Fiona in 2005 after I decided to switch from 470's back to windsurfing and spend my summer in the Gorge learning to race on Formula gear. Fiona was just 8 or 9 back then, I think - already windsurfing and already ripping. Up-and-coming... that's an understatement... she is definitely one to watch for in the near future!!!
Tomorrow is my day off so I'm going sightseeing - Gdansk, Gydnia and Sopot!
More to come as soon as racing starts!
Denmark training camp wraps up
After a great finish to the Holland regatta, it was time to pack up and head to Denmark for the next training camp. As it turned out...the trailer almost lost a wheel as the bearing had fallen to bits and the whole thing needed replacing (see picture of what was left of the bearing). The super friendly regatta volunteers helped organize the potential fixing of the trailer in another town. First the coach boat had to be craned off the broken trailer, then the broken trailer craned onto a functional trailer...and then I had to drive to Hoorn, another town not too far away with hopes that the trailer place there could fix it...and fix it quick! Luckily the trailer man could fix the trailer....YEAH!!!! and fixed both sides as he said the other side was a bit dodgy and would not last that long either. By later that afternoon day we could begin the final pack up again...and get on the road to Denmark, arriving at 3am. Unfortunately, through all of this I tweaked my back - so my first priority once I got to Kerteminde was to see Bo, the Chiropractor who I'd seen several times last year, and after several visits and plenty of icing, ibuprofen and stretching, I was able to function again within a few days and it didn't hinder my training too much.
Our training camp was super: mornings were mainly technical and board handling sessions with just my regular training group (Danish, Finnish, Mexican, German & me), while the afternoon was spent racing on the race course for the Worlds. The Hong Kong team and the German youth guys joined us which made for a big fleet (20-ish) and plenty of great racing. We had all sorts of conditions, but mainly light to marginal and typically shifty and puffy = perfect for everything I wanted to work on! Racing in a larger group was also great to scout out the conditions and get to understand the venue a bit better. Coach Rob and I focused a lot on strategy and tactics, while maintaining proper technique....I'm happy to say....I'm improving heaps and made a few break throughs!!! :-) :-) :-) Previously, these were the conditions that were "not my conditions", but with plugging away at them, I have made myself an equal in these conditions - even winning several of the races! Everyone worked really well together, the coaches varied the drills keeping our sessions intense and interesting and it was fun too!
Our World Championships are held here in Kerteminde in August - hence the training camp here and the two training camps here last summer. Kerteminde is a small cute town and is very eager on hosting this competition. The newspaper and TV reporters were all over us - coming several times to interview, take pictures and film us - we were on the evening news for a good 3-5 minute clip and there were several articles in the paper - mainly because Bettina (Beijing representative) is the local star. Attached is a picture that made me the "local star" from last years' Nordic Champs! Also, check out this write up: The world's best windsurfers are out training on the waters of Kerteminde.
Now... after sailing 18 of the 21 days I've been here in Europe, I am mentally and physically windsurfed out. Time to go home!!!
What a Month!
What was just supposed to be a shorter two and a half week stay at home turned into a whopping 7 weeks!!! Who knew that Volcano Eyjafjallajökull could throw all my plans into the air too.
After a couple of days of being in limbo: to cancel all plans or to try to get on another flight later that week, I made the call to stay at home. Although it was a bit tough to know that all my competitors would be there and that I'd miss my opportunity to compete against them, it gave me to opportunity to get into a great training rhythm here at home.
Having wanted to get a head start on beating jet lag and changing my body clock before I was supposed to leave for France, I started getting up early and going to the gym before 6am. Definitely a very nice way to start my day! That left me with all day to get my windsurf training in, biking, yoga, and enjoying some of the things I don't normally have time to do. Although it's been quite chilly in Vancouver, it's nothing a pair of booties and a thick wetsuit couldn't handle. I had so many nice days on the water – it was actually a pretty windy and gorgeous month. The highlight for me was this past Monday sailing in steady 35knots just in front of Royal Vancouver Yacht Club. The first 10 minutes had me swimming more than sailing – barely able to get back on the board without flying off the huge waves. I was thinking I'd have to go in cause I (and my equipment) couldn't handle it, but I kept at it and soon enough I felt quite comfortable and was gybing with ease...well, ok, maybe not with total ease. I've sailed windy days like this on a short board before and even on an RSX in flat water, but never a day with waves like this too. The day had me smiling from ear to ear...stoked to have sailed and sailed well. Loved it!
Now I've just returned from a mini-camp in Victoria with my RSX teammate Zac Plavsic. We spent the last two days with the Canadian Sports Center Pacific guys putting us through the hoops. A hard gym session followed by anthropometric testing (fat skinfolds & circumferences), followed by a very tough 2 hour interval pumping session while having our lactate levels tested...9 pricks to my finger! Needless to say, I was a bit sore for for the next day's session. To conclude our camp we had our pumping techniques analyzed by a professional technical performance analyst – with video and a device that measures how our board is moving through the water. So much information – and very quite useful. Looks like I will be training more to try to fix my weaknesses!
Another two weeks of training at home before I head off to Holland for the World Cup Event: Delta Lloyd Holland Regatta. Then to Denmark for a training camp in Kerteminde, venue of our World Championships this August...that is off course if Volcano Eyjafjallajökull or it's neighbouring volcano will let me.
Attached are a few pics from the windy day...Isabella's Laser Radial bottom section snapped, and other pictures to show just how beautiful it's been here!
Till Holland...
O Canada
Happy Easter!
I'm sad to say that my time in New Zealand, to train on the RSX and sail on O CANADA, the Open 60 program has come to an end. It truly was an incredible and unique experience – one of a lifetime that only 5 of us Canadians got to partake in. With me on board, there was fellow RSX sailor Kevin Stittle, Mike Leigh from the Laser, Nathan Baron – a mini-transat sailor, who unlike any of us has learned on big boats and doesn't sail dinghies and Rob Fox, RSX coach. Led by Dan Slater, Ed Smyth and Allan West – all Kiwi sailing guru's – we were in good hands to learn all the ropes of this boat.
As a group, we got to sail on final time on Monday – onshore winds of 20-25knots meant bigger waves = a really fun downwind with the spinnaker up. At first we had to sail upwind for a long while so that we could get past Rangitoto Island and more into the open water. The boat is designed to go downwind better than upwind and thus we were pushing only 8-9 knots upwind in relatively flat waters in 14 knots of sheltered breeze behind the big volcanic island. Once past the tip of the Island, the wind was up to 25knots and with the more open waters, the waves got bigger!!! This is where we turned around to head back towards Auckland with the spinnaker up. O CANADA sailed so fast and so gracefully – surfing down the waves at 19knots with spray flying everywhere. Once we sailed into the lee of the island again...the roller coaster ride was over, we took down the spinnaker and put up a jib that we could sail on a reach towards the harbour with.
A lovely team dinner concluded our stint with O CANADA. I think I can speak for all involved – we loved our experience: we had a fantastic time while learning so much. We all felt so fortunate to have been given this opportunity. Get a glimpse of what our sailing was like (a great little teaser of the documentary to come): O CANADA video
O CANADA will be competing in her first race (after her transformation from former Spirit of Canada) in the Auckland to Tauranga Yacht Race. Check out this cool clip: The transformation of O CANADA and the getting ready for her first race!
And now... back home to Vancouver for two weeks before I head off to Hyeres, France for the World Cup Event: Semaine Olympique Francaise.
The Long Sails
The day after the Safety at Sea course, we headed out around 2pm for our first crack at night sailing. The wind was in the mid-20's and we had a beautiful sail out to Little Barrier Island – a 60 nautical mile round-trip. Sailing a beam reach, we were just flying. At one point we had dolphins come up beside the boat – there must have been 20 of them jumping fully out of the water and playing in our wake. It was incredible!!! It was a beautiful evening too – although a bit cold cause we got absolutely drenched from the waves crashing over the front of the boat. Sailing home in the dark was not as difficult as I thought as the lights of the city clearly marked our way. We made it back to the dock at 9pm.
Boat call was for 8:30am the next morning so that made for a bit of a short night. We were going to sail 200miles up the coast of NZ to "Hole in the Rock" up near the Bay of Islands and back. Once again the old main sail had to be taken off and the new main sail (that had just been altered from the previous day as it didn't fit properly) had to be put on the boat again. While the boys were busy putting the finishing touches on the boat, I went to the supermarket to buy food for the overnight trip – definitely a bit of a gamble, I returned to the boat with what I thought would be filling, nutritious, yummy, something that could be warmed easily on the Bunsen burner for which I only had one pot etc etc. At noon we left the dock and had to be quick to get all the sails up as the helicopter was going to be filming us for one hour starting at 1pm. We couldn't have had a better day and time for this photo shoot. Beam reaching, we had 25-30 knots – we were just smoking across the water. We all had turns as helm, but I hit the new boat speed record: 22.1knots!!! It was just incredible.
We divided us crew of 7 up into two crew shifts. My shift included Dan and Rob, while the other shift had the 4 other guys. We took first shift for 3 hours, while the others got to relax or sleep down below. We were so lucky on our shift – we had good breeze, sailed right underneath Sail Rock and were clocking up the miles quickly. At the end of my shift I prepared dinner for us in the "galley" with my one Bunsen burner. Fresh pasta with chicken & pesto was on the menu and was received well. Then it was my turn to relax. I was tired, but not exhausted and couldn't get to sleep with all the noises that were going on – and a carbon boat is a pretty good noise conductor. The winches, the grinding pedestal, sails up and down, guys running back and forth on the boat, the clunking of the boat over the waves, the canting keel...you name it, it makes noise. So, needless to say, I did not sleep. I was back on watch at 10pm, but not before I warmed up some soup for everyone. By this time it was completely dark. Sailing in the dark was great – a bit trickier as you have to sail by the compass numbers as you can't always see land, the wake coming off the boat was crisp white, if you looked over the side of the boat to the canting keel – you'd see it lit up by phosphorescents and it made it look like a missile flying through the water. Another shift change after 3 hours...this time I fell fast asleep right away - needing to be somewhat rested for my next 4am shift on deck. Once again, it was beautiful. Stars filled the sky, the milky way was as clear as I've ever seen it and we were still sailing so quickly, almost quietly in the middle of the night, a bit of a surreal experience. From a distance we could see the Auckland city lights - the Sky Tower clearly poking out above. We were making really good time and ended up arriving back at the dock at 6am. I was definitely tired then, having only slept 2.5hours over my 2 rest shifts. The other shift had 3 "rest shifts" and managed to be a bit less tired. The camera crew met us at the dock and after some more interviews, we could finally go home, back to bed....I had a nice 4 hour nap.
A documentary is being made about O Canada – capturing the high points of the Open 60 program which basically tells the story of 5 of us Canadian Wind Athletes learning how to sail , the transformation of the boat from former "Spirit of Canada" to "O Canada" that will be available on DVD to the public as well as it being broadcast on TV. I'm not sure of all of the details, but will fill you in once I do.
We have one final sail on the boat on Monday as a team before the program for us ends, but then Dan Slater and Ed Smyth, get the boat ready for the Auckland to Tauranga race starting on April 1st. It's the first time the boat will be raced since her transformation and hoping to set new records to show the sailing world what an incredible sailing weapon she is.
Lots of pictures attached above...lots of fun times!!!
Safety at Sea...
Two long long days...and we haven't even begun the longer distance sailing yet!
Yesterday morning we started off with our "Safety at Sea" lecture given by Alan Guyer from Sea Wise at his apartment. At first I thought that sitting down for 3 hours to listen was going to be a tad bit boring - but it totally wasn't. Alan could talk like the best of them and had us hanging on to his every word. He showed us video clips of boats that were in distress, boats that sunk and all the rescue efforts and footage that went along with each case and opened the floor to questions and did lots of explaining. I'd have to say that even as a sailor, it was pretty daunting to see what can happen and what does happen out in the big blue sea...and that one must take all the safety precautions seriously and be prepared. No case is ever the same and thus knowing the fundamentals can save your life. Three hours turned into 4 interesting hours quite quickly. I learned heaps! The afternoon was spent finishing up all sorts of odd jobs around the boat, finishing only at dinner time.
It was a 5am start for all of us this morning as we had to meet and get to the wave pool by 6am. We had to bring all our wet weather gear, life jackets and were briefed the day before that we might get sea sick, get scared and panic etc, so I was a bit nervous about what exactly we were going to do. We started off by just wading into the pool and seeing what would happen to us (without life jacket). The wet weather gear got suctioned onto us so quickly and had we been in deep water, we would've sunk within 10 seconds. So....definitely key to have the lifey on at all times in rough conditions or before you exit the boat to the life raft. Next we put on our life jackets - between all of us, we were had 3 different kinds - from cheapest model to the deluxe model. Those with the deluxe (most expensive) model were able to put them on in seconds, strap them tight instantaneously and were good to go. I, as well as 5 others had the "cheaper" version but not the cheapest - and it took us a good 5 minutes at least, on land to put them on correctly - tighten them etc. These life jackets were also not adjustable in the water. We all jumped into the water, lifey's inflating once we hit the water...all good there. Then the wave pool got turned on creating 1 to 1.5 meter waves - all still fine here. Then Alan turned on the cold hose and started spraying us all - in the face. So now we had waves bouncing us up and down, water off the waves was gushing at our faces and now the "fake rake plus wind". Breathing and trying to shield our faces was all we could do - for those of us who had the "cheaper" lifey's. The lucky ones that got the deluxe life jackets had a hood that they could pull over their entire head which attached to the front of their lifey. It had breathing holes on the side and kept them calm, warmer, and most of all breathing. We learned that with the cheaper life jackets, we had only 1/4 the chance of surviving as those with the deluxe version. Hmmm...I know which one I'd be buying when I go offshore. So then we learned how to huddle as a group, stay connected to each other and also how to move as a group.
Next was the lesson on how life rafts work. How, what, when, why...the whole nine yards. The first and most important lesson is: only get off your boat if it is flooding or on fire...otherwise NEVER leave your boat. WHY, you might ask? ... well, we were about to find out! The life raft - although it provided shelter, it was small, smelled of rubber & glue, was tippy, had water in it, and could capsize. So first we had to develop a communication plan and have a clear leader. Then we all jumped into the water and got into the life raft - as planned (big strong guy in the life raft first, others that held the life raft from behind so it wouldn't tip while the rest got in the front). It all got a bit squishy in there - so tight that we had to deflate our life jackets to make more room. Imagine being in one of these life rafts...as some people have done for up to 128days!!! So, one more time, out we got and i was designated as the "puller in" from the inside of the life raft. So, that meant I had to get in the raft on my own, and then, one by one, get all of the boys in - all of them....even the big ones!!! There is a technique - by dunking them 3 times, and after the third dunk, you can pull them out easier as they pop out of the water like a cork out of water, and like magic...soon I had all of the guys in the raft. Then the challenge of getting all of the water in raft out. There must have been a foot of water in the bottom of the raft. Then we had to learn what to do if the raft capsized. I was in the raft first with Nathan when we capsized. I was a bit nervous about being able to breathe under the raft, but by going through this procedure, it really showed me that I just needed to remain calm and that it was "somewhat" easy to right. We all had a turn at being capsized and righting the raft. Fun times (in the pool) yet very tiring!!!
The rest of the day we put on the new main sail (at least 2 hours), took it for sail to have a look at it - realized that it needed some modifications done to it....so had to take it off again so it could go to the loft. All this big boat stuff takes so long.
Left the boat after 6pm. Tomorrow we are planning on going on a longer sail take takes us into the dark!
O Canada – the Open 60 Program
Since the beginning of this week and until the end of March, I am learning how to sail an Open 60 here in Auckland as part of Wind Athlete's Canada "Open 60 Program". There is a small group of us Canadian Sailors who have been given this opportunity to expand our sailing experience - to something I rarely get to do and have really no clue about - big boat stuff, while continuing with our Olympic class training here in in warmer waters with Kiwi training partners.
The Open 60 Class is another pinnacle of the sport of sailing. These boats are designed to push the envelope for man and machine. Every four years, as with the Olympics, the Vendee Globe Ocean Race is the ultimate competition for the Open 60 Class, a solo non-stop unassisted around the world race taking about 3 months.
We are under careful guidance of experienced Kiwi sailors: Dan Slater, Edward Smythe and Allan West. They are getting us up to speed on sailing this powerful and exciting boat, teaching us how to handle the winches, put up the rigging, put reefs in the main, navigate, steer (twin rudders), go up the mast (yet to be done for me!), how the canting keel works & the two dagger boards, what each sail does etc etc. Each day my respect for the boat grows, - the loads that this boat can handle are enormous and she sails incredibly.
On the first day I think we all were a little overwhelmed at first with all that's going on in the boat. We've all come from different sailing backgrounds and so each of us has a bit of an understanding, but we all were blown away with what it really takes to sail this boat. The loads on the boat are incredible as are the creaking sounds that the boat makes when ropes are eased, when we grind etc. and we are all just getting used to that, but until then, I think we are all a bit..."oh crap...what was that noise". We had turns at some of the positions...and I can tell you that grinding up a mainsail is not so easy. It's funny...it's quite easy at the start and you think..."no problem", about a minute later you are thinking 'we must be getting close to the top now", only to hear from the others that you're only about 1/8th the way up! Ha...and to think that you'd do this one handed!!!
For our second day out on the water, it was supposed to be 20knots building to 35knots later in the day, so we thought it would be the perfect opportunity to windsurf the RSX along side the boat... Kind of cool to see the Canadian Flags on our RSX sails and O CANADA together...blasting along. Kevin Stittle and I were on the water waiting for O CANADA to meet us. It was windy while we were waiting but then the wind slowly dropped...and dropped enough to make it pretty difficult to sail along side or even get in front of the boat. Although a bit frustrating...it was definitely pretty cool that this massive boat was pulling away from us...just hauling downwind - faster and lower than what we could do on a windsurfer planing! Once the boat got too far ahead of us we de-rigged in the water and caught up with the crew with the coach boat. Once back on board, we could see that upwind from us the wind was increasing and there were rain clouds...Quick decisions were made to reef the main. We didn't have much time left before the squall hit. We tacked over to get right into it... to go reaching and try to go real fast! It must have been blowing about 30 knots at this stage and we were flying...we hit 21knots! That was quite fast and very cool - I always love the full adrenaline, water spraying over the sides etc. Amazing that you don't feel that scared at 21knots in a boat like this though...
On Monday we take the "Safety at Sea" course and then we are ready for some longer distance sails. It'll be my first time sailing in the dark and we're doing to do an overnight trip as well - where we take turns being on watch etc. And for any of you who think sailing around on an Open 60 boat is luxurious, - it's not!!! The sailing part is luxurious, but with the boat designed as an offshore racer to be sailed single-handed, there is not much room underneath. No head (toilet) and only one Bunsen Burner to heat up something with (no kitchen), and plenty of low ceiling to hit your head on. And now with 8 of us on board, sleeping (if it happens) will and can only be done in shifts!
Hoping for some strong winds...Yeeeeehaaaaaa!!!
I've also now started a facebook fan page: Nikola Girke - Olympic Windsurfer. I invite you to be my fan - get shorter but more frequent news updates! Also, please check out my short video (enjoy the song - haha) and donate to my campaign through Fundrazr: Fundrazr Video!
Good bye Vancouver Olympics, Hello New Zealand...
After being at home for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games, it's hard to decide what's more fun: being an Olympics fan or being an Olympic athlete!!!
What an awesome time to be at home – the Games were just phenomenal! From superb athletic performances to claim 14 Gold Medals, 7 Silvers and 5 Bronze to the incredible buzz of the city day and night, Vancouver was going off!
I wasn't an official volunteer for any organization but I did help out at a few places. One of which was the CAN Fund House. The Canadian Athletes Now Fund (a not-for-profit devoted solely to raising funds and awareness for Canada's athletes) had the 11th floor of the Shaw tower donated to them by Shaw which was right on the waters edge overlooking the Olympic cauldron and the Olympic Rings. The CanFund house was a place where athletes, family and friends could come any day all day throughout the Olympics to watch the Games, hang out and be merry. One very cool thing was that Eric Sprott and his investment company, Sprott Asset Management LP and the charitable foundation he runs, pledged $100,000 for every gold medal won by a Canadian athlete at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. On each day that a gold medal was won, there would be a cheque presentation and champagne toast at 11pm, where as many of us summer and winter Olympians would say a few words and a thank you.
We also had a Canadian Sailing Team Reunion which included having a nice dinner at RVYC, going to see the Czech vs Russia Men's Ice Hockey Game, followed by a visit to the World Olympians Reunion Centre. It was great to catch up with old teammates, reconnect with the sailing idols of my youth and meet some of the Canadian sailing legends from up to 5 decades ago.
It was a bit sad to leave all the hype behind but I definitely took some of that inspiration with me...for my training here in NZ. I'll be down here in Auckland for a month – the first two weeks are training camps while the last two weeks I will be learning how to sail an Open 60 (more on that to come later in the month). So far I've had three great days on the water already....I know I'm working hard when I can't stay up past 9pm :-)
Miami Olympic Classes Regatta Report Jan 25-30
After my North American Championships ended, I had a bit of a rest before getting ready for the next competition – the first World Cup event for me this year – Miami Olympic Classes Regatta.
It looked like we were going to start off the regatta with a windy day of racing – however with major storm clouds brewing and even tornado warnings, racing was cancelled early in the afternoon after being postponed onshore for 4 hours. In the end, it was only a bit of heavy rain that came through – but I guess they were airing on the side of safety. It was a bit of a shame as it would have been a fun day of racing.
Then for the next four days we had pretty similar conditions: 6-13knots, offshore unstable (very puffy) and shifty winds. These are the toughest conditions for me technically, tactically and strategically, however with 8 races over the 4 days I was given the opportunity to work on my weaknesses over and over again – perfect! With my coach Rob Fox, I put together a list of goals and objectives for the regatta – one that did not focus on my results, but more specifically focused on the process of each individual race – broken down into many pieces from pre-start routine to what my focus needs to be in these unstable wind; when to give it my all, where to position myself within the fleet and about wind tendencies. From each race I took valuable information and put it towards my next race. I had some super upwind beats, some great downwind runs, improved on my reaches and had a clearer vision for the game – it’s just that I haven’t pieced it all together yet to pull off one complete race... from start to finish. I am happy with my progress and feel much more confident in these conditions – especially in knowing what I need to work on and how. I finished 14th overall in a very competitive fleet, and although I would have liked to be amongst the top 10, I fully welcomed the challenge of sailing day after day in what used to be my most dreaded conditions.
And now... I’m back home!!! Finally after 7 weeks away (Mexico at first and then Miami) I am back in Vancouver. Stoked as the Winter Olympics start here on the 12th! For the month of February my focus will be on increasing my strength and fitness whilst volunteering at a variety of functions, participating in local celebrations and giving several talks at schools...now all we need now is snow on Cypress! Go Canada Go!
Sorry no pictures this time....
RSX North American Champion!
After three days of racing in a wide array of different conditions, we were able to get 7 races completed. There was only 6 of us girls but we raced with the guys fleet so we had more competition to race against, but we also are on different size sails and fins so it was definitely more challenging. Although there was only 6 of us, it was really tight racing - the group included two of my training partners that I was in Mexico with and the British Bronze Medalist from the Beijing Olympics.
Saturday started off really windy, 20-25knots. Our race committee was having some sort of problems with our course area and thus we ended up waiting for over an hour before they got the first race under way. We eventually did and it was a long race - two times windward leeward (2 laps of up and down). I led to the top mark but lost my lead to the British girl on the downwind, but with another good upwind, I regained the lead and kept it this time on the downwind...to cross the line first. After this first race we all got sent in for lunch (we sailed to an island and they provided lunch for us). By the time we were back on the race course, the wind dropped a lot. We were able to get two more races off in the late afternoon in these light to marginal conditions (not my strongest condition), but I fought hard and finished 2nd in both races!
Sunday once again started off with strong winds as a front was moving through. The sky was ominous and the clouds over to the right side of the course looked very threatening. Thus, the right side of the course looked very favoured to me, so I decided to do a port tack start (see the picture attached). My timing was a bit off....about a second or so too early but I was committed to crossing the fleet....Yikes!!!! The over early flag went up, I knew it was me so I exonerated myself by going back to dip the start line. Then it was catch up time! I was doing my best when the wind did over a 90 degree shift to the right and that's when the race committee abandoned the race and sent us to shore. Those scary clouds were now above us and were about to cause havoc. Heavy rains soaked us on the way in. We waited onshore for the weather to clear and then were sent out for two more races. Although the weather had settled, the wind was far from stable. My position changed numerous times throughout the race, but managed to finish in 3rd and 2nd.
Monday's forecast did not look promising, but luckily we did manage to get some wind and were able to get two tricky races off. I was leading the first race on the first lap, but got left behind in a puff that didn't reach me. I quickly went from first to a distant 4th. The next race wasn't much easier....the race was won already on the first upwind and there was no chance of catching up. I finished 4th once again.
Having managed to sail a fairly solid regatta, I finished 2nd overall to Bryony Shaw of Great Britain...and claimed the North American RSX Women's Title! Now for a bit of rest, recuperation and some more training before the World Cup - Miami Olympic Classes Regatta starts next Monday the 25th.
Happy New Year
A bit late...but I hope you all have had a Merry Christmas and a great start to 2010.
I left Vancouver on December 12th to go for a training camp in Cozumel, Mexico. I've been there twice before to train with Demita, the Mexican Olympic representative, but this time we were lucky to be joined by 2 Danish girls, one Finnish girl and a few local youth boys. So, most days there were 8 of us on the water with Demita's coach, Adrien running lots of drills and putting us through all the hoops. The first week was a bit tough to be back at full on training, but my body adapted quickly and all in all, it was a really great, fun and productive training camp. So a huge thank you goes out to both of them for making our stay and training camp in Mexico a big success. It was pretty hard for it not to be with great conditions each day and bikini sailing for the most part! My coach, Rob Fox came down for the last week of the camp, which increased the intensity and made sure I was getting the most out of my training sessions!
More training followed more training, but we had a great schedule and we were living in the ideal spot for training. In Cozumel, where to rig our sails and leave our equipment has always been a problem in the past, but a lovely Canadian lady who owns a house on the beach with a lawn to rig our sails on was kind enough to let us take over her grounds for one month. We lived across the street, so this was really convenient.
Between training and for our days off we went snorkeling, meandering around town to check out the mexican markets, went to some Mayan ruins or just relaxed.
Christmas was celebrated in by combining a multitude of traditions - Danish, Finnish, Canadian/German and Mexican. We danced around the Christmas tree (a small palm tree) singing in the morning accompanied by brunch (more of the European tradition) and for Christmas dinner we were invited to Demita's family's house for traditional Christmas Eve night. We feasted on delicious food followed by the hitting of the "piñata", a brightly coloured paper mache star filled with candy, which we had to hit blindfolded after having been spun around several times to lose our sense of direction. Everyone shouts at you to tell you to hit either left, right, higher or lower...in spanish and it gets quite confusing. For my turn and without me knowing it, Demita's aunt took the piñata and held it away while everyone was still shouting where I should be hitting. Of course I had no idea that I was going to be hitting just air...the whole time and everyone was laughing. I did eventually get a few good hits though! It was a really fun night.
New Year's Day started off with a Bang - literally! We had booked a snorkel/scuba diving trip - so that meant we would leave the harbour on a boat and head off to another dock to pick up some more passengers. Unfortunately...as the boat was attempting to dock, the gears failed - throwing the boat into forward gear and not reverse as planned and needed. Needless to say, there was a big bang as we hit both the rocks from below and the rock wall of the dock - and that boat was out of commission for the day so we ended up going on a much smaller one a bit later on. Always an adventure! Snorkeling was great and we saw lots of beautiful fish and a few bigger...not so friendly looking barracudas!
On the 9th of January I flew to Miami in preparation for the RSX North American Championships which start tomorrow. All of us from Mexico came here together...only to fly into Miami for the coldest day on record since 1920 or so. It was freezing. It was warmer at home in Vancouver than it was here in Miami. Luckily these cold days were my intended days off, so I didn't have to bear the cold too much. Since then it has warmed up heaps...today was even a shorts day!
More news to come once the racing gets underway at the North Americans...
So Much Good News
A lot has happened since I came home at the end of September. It sure has been a really busy time for me. I came home to an incredible end of the summer - it got me outside doing all sorts of exercise, mainly biking but also got some Vancouver short- board windsurfing in! Between trying to stay fit, working, doing some school talks, getting fitness tested, started up a new fitness program and trying to organize/plan my next years leading up to London 2012.... I had my hands full.
It was about mid-October when I was asked to audition for a stunt-double part in a movie (for a sailing scene). I got the part! It was only supposed to be a two day ordeal, but I quickly learned that's not how the film industry works. We went up to Port Renfrew, on the west coast of Vancouver Island to do the shoot, which ended up being a 6 day adventure. Attached are a few pictures of where we were and what we were doing - check out the nice surf spot! On the boat there was a total of 6 of us - 5 guys doing all the work and then hiding for when the helicopter came to take the shots of me sailing the boat "solo". It was a treat to sail on this Open 50 racer.
Early November I flew to Maui for a bit over two weeks. I haven't been back for many years so it was so wonderful to be back to my old stomping grounds. Before I started 470 sailing in 2001, I had lived in Maui for 1.5 years to pursue my windsurfing goals and dreams. Needless to say, there was plenty of catching up to do with my friends and then trying to cram what seemed like 8 years of not really short-boarding and surfing into two weeks! It was part of my "cross-training" plan to go and play there - to get back to why I started windsurfing - jumping in the waves, wave riding and surfing. Luckily, even after so many years went by, I could still do it. I guess it's like riding a bike...kind of. It is great training for the RSX too - as there are so many parallels, however one must be more precise/sensitive on a short board as it's not as forgiving as the RSX (big board & big sail). I arrived at a perfect time - for my first day on the water I was greeted with mast high (4m face waves) and wind. I was in wave-sailing heaven. I guess that's Maui - I didn't get eased into it....rather I got absolutely launched into it. I loved it.
My next stop was Toronto. I was elected to be the Female Athlete Rep for the Canadian Yachting Association's Board of Directors, thus, needing to attend the AGM. The night I arrived to Toronto, November 20th was also the Canadian Yachting Association 2009 Rolex Annual Awards Banquet. I was honoured to receive this year's "CYA Female Athlete of the Year Award". This award really means a lot to me. Although I have received this award twice before (2001 & 2004), both times was while I was sailing the 470. Changing sports from sailing to windsurfing in 2005 was a really daunting task, full of challenges, many pride swallowing moments and some doubt. Slowly and surely though, my hard work and determination has started to pay off. A 17th place finish at the Beijing Olympics left me with unfinished business - my goal is to bring home a medal from London 2012. Being the recipient of this award means that I've been doing something right and that I am on track towards achieving my goal!!! Thank you to all those who have helped me get to where I am today.
I'm home for two weeks before I head off again - this time to Mexico for a training camp with 4 other RSX girls. I'm looking forward to getting back on the board!
Final Day and Final result: Worlds 2009
Going into yesterday's final race, I had a bit on. After a frustrating evening in the protest room the night before that ended up adding many points to my score, which in turn dropped my overall standing, and a somewhat sleep disturbed night (as I was trying to figure out any other angle that I could take to reopen my hearing) I had to put all that aside and go do my very best on the one last race of the series. All I could do was to race my best, and hope that the other girls would do worse...and that everything would fall into place.
It was a beautiful day here in Weymouth. It was blue sky and between 12-18knots. Nice sailing conditions, not only because it's fun but because I am fast in these conditions. I was going out to win the last race of the day...
I had a plan, but during the last minute before the start, I ended up further down the starting line than I wanted to be and found myself in a difficult position, and one that was opposite from my game plan. I was in a pack at the start and was forced to go left...then the wind got patchy. Yikes. I tacked away towards the right side of the course having to duck many boards only to see that the girls that had gone to the right side originally were a long way ahead. I tried to catch up, headed to the right, chasing girls down, but once I tacked back towards the left side, the girls from the other side crossed in front of me. I was sailing myself backwards. Then I caught a weed and was forced to remove it, which I did but at the same time I fell into the water. Urgh... I got back up, tried to refocus only to round the first mark in second to last position. This was not looking good for my race win — nor helping me improve my result.
"Refocus, work hard, refocus....pump more, think....stay in the pressure, come on Nik - catch up" was all going through my mind.
By the first downwind mark, I had caught up a lot of distance on the girls in front of me, yet hadn't passed a board. I thought the left side was going to be better than the right side of the course — the right was where most of the fleet had gone to for the second and final upwind of the race. Following the fleet wasn't going to do me any good, and with good pressure on the left, I took it on. It was all or nothing at this point... I had great speed, great height, and didn't catch any weeds!!! I sailed myself up into fourth place by the top mark, to finish the race in 4th!!! What a comeback... I was so happy that I was able to turn that race around and make it count.
Then the waiting period started for the highly anticipated results to be posted. Who finished where and what would that do to my overall position. The way I calculated it, I had moved up one position to 18th, however the results still were not up. They had forgotten to score one girl on the results. After much suspense, that girl got scored and that changed my score. I now was tied with the girl who was in 17th place. However, I won the tie-breaker which means I finished 17th overall. Really happy with this result as this is my new personal best!!! (by 18 places)
I learned so much this regatta and had so many great moments and races that I am all the more excited about the 2012 Olympics here in Weymouth. I know and now have proved it, that I am and can be one of the top contenders for a medal here in 3 years. Lots of work must be done in the meantime, but I am up for it. I couldn't have done this without the support of my coach here, Rob Fox. We worked very well together and I really hope that I can continue to work with him in the future. I see big gains to be made!
I would like to thank everyone that has supported me and encouraged me throughout this championship and in it's lead up. Rob Fox, my teammates, the CYA, the PJPSF, RVYC, Inventa, Helly Hansen, USANA, Rev3, Kaenon — Thank you!
Only 3 days off before the "Skandia Sail for Gold" Regatta starts here in Weymouth. It is the next World Cup event and the last one of the season... More news soon.
More from the RSX Worlds Finals
Another tough day at the office. I actually had two decent mid-fleet finishes only to come to shore to find out that in the first race I was OCS (on course side, which means I started early and was disqualified). I protested to appeal this decision as the Race Committee did not fly the correct flags on time, and spent 5 hours after racing to go through with this process. The outcome was that the Race Committee had made a mistake but they felt the onus was still on me to return and restart the race. My argument to this was that I didn't get the information that anyone was over the start early as they didn't fly the flag straight away as they needed to, and thus they can't disqualify you without going through the correct procedure. It was one of my first times going into the protest room and to protest a Race Committee is a hard one to win, but I actually did get my facts straight and the Race Committee was found to have made the mistake but I was not granted my finishing position and must keep my disqualified score. This didn't help my overall standing, and I am really disappointed but with one race left tomorrow I will finish on a good note and finish what will be my best Worlds result ever.
First Day of Finals
It was a tough day on the water today. Yet again, Weymouth presented us another day with different wind conditions. Today's breeze started off quite light, but built as we headed out to the race area — from about 5/6knots to a variable 6-10. We were able to sail one race before a thick fog rolled in between races, it got cold quite quickly and we got sent in to shore. We were postponed on land for what ended up being a short lunch and were sent right back out for the second race of the day in very similar conditions to what we had in the first race.
For both races, I had a game plan, based on what I thought the wind would do. I nailed both starts and had a clear lane and was in good position... I headed to the right side, only to have the left come out ahead. Then, when I headed to the left side, it ended up being the right side of the course that came out ahead. I just didn't get it right today. I made decisions based on what information we could get before the race, but sometimes they don't always work. My speed wasn't the issue, neither was my start, I just got gobbled up. Needless to say, it was a bit frustrating and I posted my two worst scores of the regatta so far. However, between my coach and I and the rest of the Canadian team, I think we were able to determine a pattern that was making the wind shift so perhaps next time, I will have a better clue as to go up the left or the right side of the course.
With that being said, tomorrow is a new day — and a very different day as the wind is forecasted to come from another direction, one that I have yet to see here. Should make things interesting. We have 2 more races in the final series before the top 10 move on to their separate medal race. Of course I'm still vying to get one of these top 10 spots. I'm sitting in 14th at the moment, but looking to move up some after tomorrow's racing.
Now I just need the winds to be in my favour.
Day Two of RSX Worlds
Although today was moderate breeze (well, anything from probably 11-16 knots), it felt like it was light air. Anything compared to yesterday would seem light and powerless. Needless to say, today's racing was a bit more tame. We had 2 races in these "marginal" wind conditions where one can sometimes get planing while other times you needed to sail with the daggerboard down and rail the board. To plane, you need enough wind to be able to sail on the fin only and you go fast, although the angle you sail at is not necessarily that great. The other option, which was to rail — means that you sail with the centerboard down (more like a sailboat) in a higher and slower mode. Choosing between the two modes can be quite tricky, while choosing wrong can be quite costly.
In both races I played my options well, didn't take any risks and clocked two good results. I finished 5th and 7th respectively, however there were a few girls that had finished in front of me that were disqualified as they were over the start too early, and thus my finishing results were 3rd and 6th.
I'm pretty happy about my results today. At this point, after 4 races I sit in 5th place. Tomorrow we have 2 more races before the fleet is split into Gold and Silver fleet. Then we sail the rest of the series, another 5 races for a total of 11 races.
The picture attached is of me and my coach Rob Fox waiting around in between races. It was a very chilly day!
First Day of Worlds... Insanely Windy!
The wind hasn't eased off for days now. Yesterday's practice race was just a taste of what was to be the first day of racing. The boys started racing at 11am while the girls start was at 1pm, and it was windy! Solid 25-30 knots for the first race and even more for the second. The girls fleet was split into two, thus we only had 29 boards in each fleet. The first day is done and luckily I am still alive to tell about it!
My start to the first race was horrible. I don't know what happened but somehow I couldn't see what time it really was or how long I had to go to start and thus I started in the back of the pack. My speed was great and I basically plowed through the fleet to get up to about 6th place. Unfortunately at the leeward mark I had a big crash (me versus a nasty wave) and I went swimming. That didn't help me as tons of boards flew by me. So, once again I was in catch up mode and by the end of the race I had caught back up to 8th place.
Between races the wind dropped off a bit to 22-25knots. Still really windy but "hardly windy" in comparison to what we'd just sailed in. Then, before our second start, the wind ramped up again. I had a super start, I was to windward or above the fleet and going fast!!! I was first to the windward mark, and kept my lead for the next downwind and up the next upwind again....until we got hit by the mega-gusts. With the wind now gusting just over 35 knots going downwind and needing to gybe... I had a bit on. It wasn't easy and unfortunately I fell. I got up quick and managed to come back to 3rd, but then at the very last gybe to the finish (we have a slalom course at the end of every race where we have to gybe around marks back and forth 3 times), I fell again. Urgh....I lost a few more boards and finished 6th in that race. A bit of a bummer as I held on to that lead for so long had the wind not picked up another 5knots and threw crazy waves at me....maybe the result would have been different.
Nevertheless, tomorrow I get another try at it. Of the 58 girls racing, about 24 girls did not finish the last race...
Tomorrow's racing starts at 11am. Current forecast is for it to be windy...but not as windy as today and lighten off as the day goes on. Not a bad start to the regatta...now onwards and upwards! Off to bed for me now as I am one spent girl.
update from weymouth, england
Hello again....sorry I haven't been in touch lately, but it's been all go! At the end of June, after Kiel Week in Germany, I flew home very briefly before I headed to Toronto to coach at a Development RSX Clinic for a week. I too was able to sail with the two development guys (and not just coach on a coachboat) as well as two of the Canadian Sailing Team guys as we were lucky enough to have a coach from Royal Canadian Yacht Club to run drills and do video footage of us. Although I had just come off of six weeks of sailing in Europe, this camp was super. We got plenty of time on the water and all of us improved our board-handling skills.
At the beginning of July, I was finally home, and home to stay for about 5 weeks. I was really looking forward to my time at home. I needed to concentrate on my fitness and try to get back to “race weight”. We had the most beautiful weather at home, which allowed me to do everything outside– biking, running, swimming in the ocean, windsurf training and outdoor yoga! Combined with going to the gym and eating really well, I managed to shed some weight, and even better, I feel healthy, fit, recover quick and have lots of energy. All which is helping me build my confidence for the World Championships coming up in Weymouth, UK at the beginning of September.
Weymouth is where I am now. I arrived here last night after a 10-day training and competition stint in Kerteminde, Denmark. Like earlier in the year, I joined the Danish and Finnish girls in atraining camp with the Dutch coach Jochem. We had 5 days of superb training & weather!!! Lucky us as in June the weather was miserable. We managed to sail 2 sessions a day for 2-3hours each, so by the time the rest day came, we were all shattered. We only got one rest day before the Nordic Championships started.
There weren't enough different Nordic countries entered in the competition so the Race Committee decided to make it an "open" event and to sail both the men and women/youth together. The men sail on a bigger sail and have a bigger fin so they are generally faster and can point higher. This made start positioning a bit trickier, but since it was windy for the most part, they didn’t affect us too much. We had 9 races in total in windy, very gusty and shifty offshore breeze. It was quite challenging as one could get anything from 4 to 18knots. I was able to get off the starting line well, had good speed and sailed really well. I tacked in good pressure and in shifts and made good downwind decisions. Being scored with the guys also made the scoring interesting. It was such close racing that it all came down to the last race of the last day, where there was three of us girls all tied for the top girl spot. During the last race it got quite windy and by the first downwind I was leading the race. Then, I hit something, perhaps it was weeds, butI fully spun-out and couldn't recover myself and ended up wiping out during my gybe. Needless to say, I lost my lead, and finished up 3rd girl (tied for 2nd but lost in the count back) and 6th overall. I wish I wouldn’t have fallen in that race, so I could have won the event, but I know that I sailed well enough to have won it and I feel so much more confident going into my world championships with this training and competition under my belt.
Attached are a few pictures of the training and competition...and I'm the Canadian Star in the local newspaper! I now have a few days off before training starts up again. 'Til soon...
a 6th place finish in kiel week
I just got back from "Kieler Woche" or Kiel Week in Germany. Kiel Week is the biggest sailing festival in the world, involving the whole city and something like 3.5 million visitors come to enjoy the festival that goes over 10 days and there are thousands of boats on the water each day. It is one of the best organized regattas of the olympic circuit and it extends well beyond sailing, although for us it was a World Cup Event. The Schilksee Olympic Harbour, where the 1972 Olympics were sailed, turns into a carnival type area. Food, shopping, bands, and always some kind of action is all within the marina base. Whether it was frankfurter sausages you were after or a nutella crepe or beer, it was all there. From morning until midnight, there was buzz...one of which we even felt through the walls of our apartment as the bands kept playing till midnight each night!
The week before the regatta we had great training; the wind blew from all sorts of directions and the weather was a bit up and down - this venue is renown for it's looming black clouds that changes what was a nice day into a wet & cold day quite quickly. Ironically, the wind started to do weird things once the regatta started. On day one we were supposed to have 3 races but were lucky to get two in. Big shifts and pressure differences made those races quite difficult and since our top (windward) mark was only about 100m from shore, there were some big gains and big losses in little to no time. Although I sailed quite well, I realized some of those losses and finished the day with a 6th and a 9th. Then the waiting began. The wind forecast did not look good for Day 2. Thankfully, the organizers called off the day after only a few hours of postponement and that was a great call as the wind never came. We were all eager to race on Day 3...but once again, it was shaping up to be too light to sail. As no front or weather system was on it's way past Kiel, we really needed the sea breeze to build - which in this case wasn't going to happen as the land temperature just wasn't going to warm up that day. On this day though, the organizers really needed to get some more races under way and thus, we were on postponement at one hour increments all day long. Finally, they called the racing off for the day at 5:30pm. Waiting can almost be as tiring as sailing! Having sat around all day with some energy to spare, a few of us girls went for an evening training session just to loosen up a bit for the next day. Luckily Day 4, which was also the last day of racing for all sailors but the top 10 that make it to the medal race, looked a bit better. Also a light-ish wind day (6-9knots), but enough to get 3 solid races in. I had a few better races that day, enough to put me into 7th overall. Wednesday the 25th was the medal race. I had the opportunity to move up a spot to 6th and if all the stars aligned, perhaps even to 4th. I had a great race - I finished 3rd in the medal race (although I had at one stage been in 2nd) and thus moved up to 6th place overall. I was quite happy with my result, especially because the whole regatta was sailed in my most trying and difficult conditions. Finishing 3rd in the medal race gave me back some confidence, that I too can be at the top of the game in all conditions.
If you want to see what the Medal Race was like...and follow me (as we were all wearing a gps) click here
With my 6th place finish at Kiel Week, my World Cup Ranking has now brought me up to 8th overall.