Once my crew Kennedy and I wrapped up some training in Rhode Island, it was time to take the long car ride to Rochester, NY, for the C420 North Americans. I had just been in Rochester for the Rose Cup, so it was a familiar venue.
The first day we rigged up with my tuning group. We had Augie Dale coaching us. We managed to squeak in a couple hours on the water. The conditions were very light and choppy (not my favorite). However, we made some adjustments and got our speed back.
On the first day of the event, the conditions were about the same but a lot shiftier. There were huge, crazy shifts, which were sometimes nice but very frustrating at other times. We managed to have a decent day and were in the top 5. The second day was about the same. However, we won a race with the biggest lead we have ever had. We must have had a mile gap behind us. It felt great.
The third day had dreadful conditions. It was about two knots and barely sailable. Being one of the bigger teams, we struggled a bit, but we managed to survive the day. The last day of the event we finally got some wind and we were looking good. Going into the second to last race we were winning the event. We won the start, but we broke our bridle and had to retire from the race. We missed the next start because we were trying to make a new bridle on the water. However, we had the biggest comeback of all time. We went from a deep last to tenth.
Although it was a very frustrating and challenging event for us, we still finished top ten and learned some lessons along the way. I enjoyed Rochester and I am looking forward to getting to race there again. I was so lucky to stay with sailing friends, Bobby Bryant, a sailor from Rochester YC, whom my dad knew from competing in the Baldwin Cup at NHYC. Thank you to Bobby for his hospitality and to the Balboa Yacht Club Maritime Sciences and Seamanship Foundation for its support in getting me to North Americans.