Thank you for supporting me to the 2023 ILCA 4 Youth World Championship in Volos, Greece this summer. This regatta was not like any other regatta that I had ever competed in before, and I am so thankful I was able to experience it. This was my pinnacle event of my summer, and being able to compete in Greece on Team USA was the definite highlight.
Most of the practice days before the regatta had great sailing conditions, with the wind being pretty consistent. The days would usually start out light and the sea breeze would fill in slowly and build each afternoon. These conditions were similar to what I had been practicing in all summer in southern california. Because some of the race days began with postponements due to not enough breeze, I was always able to use that down time to consistently run course checks and stay hydrated in the extreme heat. Hydration was one of my biggest goals for me over the summer because I had had trouble keeping up with it during some of my past regattas and would notice my fade and lack of energy when I was not staying hydrated.
I was also constantly working on really paying attention to the weather conditions and currents before each race. This really helped me throughout the regatta because by the end of the day it became more and more necessary for me to complete my pre-race checks so that any big gains could be made against my competitors.
The race days went great for the most part, and I tried to keep everything I could in my control as far as my pre-race weather checks, always checking my sail trim and my control lines. I would say experiencing such a big fleet in the ILCA4 and working on tactics off the line in them was one of my biggest takeaways from this regatta.
My final place in the regatta was 10th in silver, and it makes me want to work harder for next year’s Youth Worlds in Portugal. I am really grateful for this experience and I am thankful to MSSF for the support.