My goal was to qualify for the USODA Team Trials that are going to be held at SFYC, CA, this April. The conditions were just amazing, 15-20 knots and little waves, the sailing took place on the Gulf of Mexico.
There were 61 boats on the starting line, I finished 18th and 5th of the Blue Fleet. To qualify you needed to be 17th, although I missed the qualification I had a great time finishing 6th at one of the races.
I was sailing with team SYC the same team as my last USODA regatta (USODA Midwinters at New Orleans). Before I left, my coach Nico told to me about some key points I had to work on, downwind sailing and my starts. I tried my best to sail downwind as fast as I could and minimize my lost on the downwind and maximize my gains on the upwind. Sadly the race committee was tough and we sailed all the races under the U flag, which means that if you are over the line one minute before the start or under, you are disqualified. We even sailed the last one under the black flag which is the same thing as the U flag except that even after a general recall you are disqualified. It took me a couple of starts to push the line, so I had to make up for the bad starts by, surfing the waves downwind and maximize my speed upwind.
I would like to thank my Dad for this very special trip and to all my friends, in particular from SFYC and my family for their support.
Special thanks to Belvedere Cove foundation for their grant that helped to found my trip.
Here are some pictures:
Quand tu veux mon bonhomme... ce Dad&Son trip était fantastique... persévérance et passion :-)
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