Dear BYC Maritime Sciences & Seamanship Foundation,
Thank you so much for your help and support for my trip to Florida to sail Orange Bowl. This was my first Orange Bowl and the experience was great. The very first day we went to check in and setup our charter boats then go sailing to practice for the racing, but unfortunately it was so windy that Carolyn Smith, my skipper, and I decided not to go out because we didn’t want to break anything, including ourselves. On the first day of racing it was around 20-25 knots of breeze and I was fully trapped and freezing to death. But thankfully the next day of racing the wind was much less. And as the racing went on, each day it gradually died until the last day where there were hours of postponement from no wind.
Even though we did not get in the top 10 overall, we were happy we made it past mid-fleet, for this was our first Orange Bowl and we were proud of ourselves for making it that far. Carolyn and I both learned a lot and met many new people. It was such a great learning experience and I am so glad I was able to participate.
Also, I would like thank you for your funding, and support toward the SCYYRA Clinic. For that clinic, 1 skippered, which is a bit unusual for me because I usually crew most of the time. But by driving in the clinic, I learned so many tips from the amazing coaches there. They were so helpful and they, along with the foundation, helped me become a better skipper overall. Driving in the clinic also made me feel more comfortable and confident while skippering, which is good because I normally don’t feel confident while driving, making me do bad in the race. Even though it was pretty light, I still had a lot of fun.
Both Orange Bowl and the SCYYRA Clinic allowed me to improve my sailing, as both skipper and crew, and improve on sailing in light and majorly heavy winds. I could not have done it without help from the foundation.
Thank you!
