Friday, September 22, 2017

PCC's @SFYC 2017- My last ever Opti regatta!

My last ever Opti regatta was the 2017 PCC, at my home club: the SFYC. Depending on how long you have been following me, you might know that my first USODA regatta was the 2014 PCC at my original home club the RYC. It was cool to finish Opti sailing with the regatta I started with.

The first day of competition was a great day as the wind was high and the waves were big. These were perfect conditions for me. On the first race, I did not do too well as I finished 8th which kind of got me disappointed, but I was ready to do better the following race. The 2nd race, I started in the top group and managed to have the lead at the top mark, at the reach mark I was in 2nd, and at the bottom mark, I was far ahead. I had a comfortable lead on 2nd place. On the last upwind, I decided to not bale my boat out and to sail as hard as I could.  Right at the finish line, I made an error and lost my lead. My friend in 2nd place caught up to me and crossed the finish line first but then had an issue and in sailing, when you re-cross the line, you are back in the race. So, we were both still racing but then I crossed first, the race committee scored me 2nd that race which didn't bother me, as this was my last Opti regatta. I could've protested and been scored 1st that race. The person that was scored 1st that race ended up beating me by one point, so if I had protested, I would have been 2nd overall.
The last race of the day was a special race that started out very bad. After the start, I was in last place but since it was windy I caught up most of the fleet and eventually the whole fleet. I tacked over and was in first by a lot. I rounded all the marks first and the bottom mark, my friend told me I had a 3 minute lead on 2nd place thanks to the current on the downwind. At the finish, I won the race with 1 minute 24 seconds lead on 2nd place. I was then 3rd overall.


The second day of competition, the forecast was the same as the previous day. I was so excited to sail my last day in Optis. The first race, just like the day before, was not so good with a 5th place. The second race was good as I scored a 3rd place. The last race of the regatta (and of my Opti career) was pretty windy: I started pretty bad and just like the day before got an early lead. I wasn't very far ahead but I was first at every mark. At the finish, I couldn't believe it, I had finished sailing Optis with a bullet (winning the race). This was a dream come true as when I first started sailing Optis, I always dreamed about winning. Finishing 3rd overall at this regatta out of 65, was also a dream come true.

Optis for me have been an awesome experience, my favroite memory is probably when I qualified for Team USA at the 2016 Spring Team Qualifiers. I also loved this last regatta when I got my first ever USODA bullet. 

I would like to thank all the people that have followed my adventures in Optis and that always came back to read my blog. I would like to thank more specifically my Parents for supporting me through this adventure and helping me become a better sailor and person, my coaches Nico and Tommy for teaching me new techniques at every practice, Jerome and Scality for sponsoring me, and Caroline for helping me with mindfulness and techniques to stay focus. 

I will now start sailing 29ers and Nacra 15s, these boats are very fast and exciting.
I decided to switch to a Facebook page and end this blog, you can follow my adventures.

Thank you again for all of your support, I am looking forward to a new chapter of my sailing life.



Here are some pictures of me sailing:





Here is a picture after the start:












2 comments:

  1. I definitely dream about going to this party place again. The live music at the event venue was an added bonus, providing a backdrop for the fun hours spent imbibing, tasting, and chatting up with the breweries and beer distributors.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yacht on rent in Dubai with Mala Yahct if you have craze about it and mauch more

    ReplyDelete