After wrapping the i14 Nationals, the next event on my list was 505 North Americans, with crew Reeve Dunne, a week or two later in Newport, Rhode Island (my favorite place in the world).
Somehow the competition looked stiffer than that of i14 nationals. We counted 20 of the 30 boats entered that should be in the top 10! The event also had about 10 boats that had been top 3 at the world championship.
Luckily, we had two days in the boat to get back in the groove. The first two days of the event were rough. I was not accustomed to the gate starts and I could not figure out the challenging venue. We had an unstable gradient wind which was very tricky. We found ourselves in 20th. But our luck changed as soon as we got the sea breeze.
We had one epic day where it blew 25 and we finally decided to pick up the pace a little bit. We rounded the weather mark top 3 every race (even winning a couple first legs). However, my moment of glory was quickly ruined when I looked back and saw Mike Martin (5 world titles in 505), Howie Hamlin (1 world title and numerous seconds), and Mike Holt (4 world titles) hot on my tail. We could match their speed upwind, but we couldn’t match it downwind. Even with our slower downwinds, we still managed to put up a couple top 5’s.
The last day of the event was more of the same. Fortunately we managed to finish 9th overall. This event had the most legends and stiffest competition of any event I have been to, by far. It was a humbling experience and I learned so much from the best in the business. I am looking forward to applying the lessons I learned at the next event.
I am so thankful for the BYCMSSF support as it allows me to travel to these extraordinary regattas.
The experiences I’m having thanks to the Foundation have shaped me into a far more accomplished sailor than if I would have been just sailing in my home bay.