Thank you for your financial support which helped me to attend the 2019 Open Orange Bowl Regatta held at Coconut Grove Sailing Center in Miami, Florida. I participated with my skipper Sophia Devling in the I420 fleet. The regatta was the first of three qualifying events for I420 Worlds which will be held in France this summer. The regatta was also Sophia and my first large I420 regatta.
We spent our first day in Florida rigging our boat. Sophia and I can rig a C420 quickly, however, an I420 is a lot more work. After over 6 hours of work, we got the boat almost ready to sail. The next day we finally were able to get out on the water only to return with yet another long list of things to fix. Sophia and I dreamed about returning to the simplicity rigging c420s but we would never be able to give up the speed of an I420.
The racing was challenging. Not only were we new to the boat but the I420 fleet is filled with great sailors. During the event we learned a great deal about boat speed, boat handling and much more. Sailing in such a challenging fleet is very rewarding as we have to learn fast to keep up. Overall we finished in 22 place.
I can’t wait to countine to sail I420 learn more and prepare for I420 Worlds. Thank you so much for your continued support!