Goals for the 2009 Season

Given the limited amount of time I have available to race, I am going to try to make the most out of my schedule for 2009. My big goal is do well in the Laser Master's World Championship which will be held on St. Margaret's Bay, near Halifax Nova Scotia in late August. In addition, I am excited about gearing up to do the J-22 North Americans which will be held at Rush Creek Yacht Club outside of Dallas in early October.

Along the way, the event that I am really focused on at the moment is the Laser Master's North Americans which will be held at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina beginning on May 15th. This years event could draw 100 boats with already nearly 75 pre-registered. I think most Laser Master's sailors are using this event as a tune-up for the Worlds, especially since it will be held in similar conditions as those expected in Nova Scotia.

I have not done that much Laser racing in open water, big wave conditions so it will be a huge challenge for me. The last two North Americans were held on fairly small bodies of water (Lake Travis in Austin and at the Gorge in Oregon..a river) and I managed to do well at these venues. This will be totally different. Stamina and technique are going to be very important, especially while sailing downwind. Huge gains (or losses) can be made downwind in these conditions.

Contrary to popular belief, these Master's events do not draw a bunch of out of shape old guys. My experience has been that the folks that are still racing Laser's at this point in their lives are dedicated to fitness and have a lot of drive to do well at anything that they attempt. You will tend to see a lot of guys that look like "ex-military" types walking around the parking lot. They are all very serious and focused, yet at the same time, it is a true pleasure to race with these people. They have such a great attitude and it is a blast to get to know everyone on shore.

I recently raced the Easter Laser Regatta with a brand new boat and I am now starting to get it tweaked to where it feels comfortable. Suprisingly, each Laser feels a little different to me and it takes a while to get used to the feel of a new boat, even though they are as identical as you can make them. Every time I go for a sail, I try and make one improvement to the boat.... rigging, smoothness of the foils, etc. Incrementally, I want to slowly get better and better.

My fitness is not nearly where I want it to be yet. I haven't been able to get out and sail as much as I would like and I am now going to have to really work hard to get at least 5 more good sessions in before I leave for North Carolina.

Most of the time I have been practicing by myself which is kind of hard to do in a Laser. It is difficult to muster up the intensity for long periods of time while sailing against yourself. When I am not on the water, I am trying to spend some time in the gym and practicing yoga as a way to improve my strength and flexibility. Unfortunately, there is no real substitute for time on the water and I need to take it up a couple of notches in the next two weeks.