Laser ACCs

This weekend I competed in the Laser Atlantic Coast Championships held at Severn Sailing Association in Annapolis, Maryland. I finished 5th in the 83 boat fleet.
Results can be found here

Laser Midwinter's East

I am in Clearwater for the ISAF Grade 1 Laser Midwinter's East Regatta. The regatta doesn't start until Thursday so I am training with other Canadian sailors for the first part of the week. Results can be found here.
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February 19, 2009
Today we had strong wind from the north, and big waves combining with yesterday's swell. In the first race I had a good start about 2/3 down the line on a pin favoured start, and had a clear lane on port on the first shift. I missed out on a shift to hitch back to the left and was back from the leading group. I brushed the windward mark as well and had to do a 360. I sailed a good second beat and passed another boat on the final beat to finish 13. In the second race I had a great start in the middle of the line and held my lane nicely out to the left side and played the shifts well to round the windward in 3rd. I lost one boat and distance on the first run, but sailed quickly again on the second beat and rounded 3rd. I extended on the last run and stayed ahead on the final beat to finish 3rd. In the last race I was a bit late on the trigger at the start, but was still able to get a good lane. I tacked out on the first shift, but came back a bit early and the boats I was with on the right came back ahead of me. I sailed quickly again on the second beat and moved up to 6th. I passed one boat on the final reach and finished 5th. I am now in 8th overall.
Weather: Sunny, 16 degrees, 15-20 knots, N

February 19, 2009
Today was the first day of racing. When I first got out the wind was south-south west at about 15 knots. We raced the first race in this wind, but it came down slightly throughout the race. I had a good clear start and held my lane well out to the left side. I missed out on a couple of shifts and rounded the first windward in 10th. I went to the wrong gate mark and my vang key popped out at the bottom so I lost a chunk of distance, but was able to make it back on the second half of the beat. I lost one boat on the final run, but passed it back on the reach and got another on the final beat to finish 10. For the second race the wind had come down to about 8-10 knots and gone to around 300*. When we finally got going after several generals I had a poor start, but found a lane out to the left and sailed quickly. I made a good move at the top undertacking a group of boats that had overstood. I had a tough time getting going downwind and lost 4 boats. I sailed quickly on the second beat, passing 6 boats, but lost 3 again on the run. I almost passed a boat on the final beat but I needed a bit more and finished 12. After two races I am in 10th overall.
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 18 degrees, 8-15 knots, SW-NW

February 18, 2009
Today I went out for a shorter session, with about an hour of sailing out on the gulf. Only Evan Lewis, Lee Parkhill and I decided to go out. We did a short upwind followed by some boat handling work. The regatta starts tomorrow with the first race at 11.
Weather: Sunny, 24 degrees, 16-20 knots, S

February 17, 2009
Today we had wind from further east, starting around 14 knots, and decreasing slightly throughout the day. We had a good group, joining up with some international sailors as well as CST. We ran a couple of drills focusing on the top of the beat, some starting practice, and finished the day off with some racing. I'll have a shorter session tomorrow before the regatta starts Thursday.
Weather: Sunny, 20 degrees, 8-14 knots, E

February 16, 2009
Today was the first day out on the water after the Miami OCR. We had good wind from the north with big waves today. We ran some boat handling drills and did some open speed work. I had good pace both upwind and downwind. The forecast for tomorrow is for less wind so I should be able to work on my starting which I saw was a big weakness in Miami.
Weather: Sunny, 22 degrees, 15 knots, N

Miami OCR

I am back in Miami to compete in the Miami Olympic Classes Regatta. It is an ISAF Grade 1 event and part of the World Cup circuit. Racing runs Monday January 26th to Friday the 30th with the medal race on the 31st. Results are available here

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January 30, 2009
Today was the last day of series racing. With a cold front forecasted to hit in the afternoon the wind was shifty, but persistently going right. I had a poor start, but quickly found a lane and was looking good up the middle of the course. At the top, both sides came in and I rounded in the mid 20s. I lost distance to the leaders, but not many boats when the wind went right on the second beat. I sailed a quick run and passed some boats to finish 25. I finished 29th overall in the regatta. I would have liked to have been higher, but I did not sail well enough on the lighter days, and I had problems getting off the line well. I am down to Clearwater in two weeks for the Laser Midwinter's East regatta.
Weather: 20 degrees, cloudy, SW-W, 8-14 knots

January 29, 2009
Today we sailed in a light wind from the southeast. I had trouble getting off the line the whole day. There were not many passing lanes in the light air and I had a tough time coming back. In the first race I finished 46. In the second race the wind was up a bit. I had a slightly better start, but lost my lane soon and was behind at the first windward. I sailed a good run, but had a poor leeward rounding and was behind again. I passed a couple of boats on the final run but it was only enough for a 37.
Weather: 28 degrees, sunny, SE, 4-8 knots

January 28, 2009
When we first got out on the water today there was a decent breeze, but it came down quickly. I had a poor start in the first race and played the wrong side on the first beat and was well behind the leaders. The wind died down completely on the downwind, and by 5 minutes into the second beat the race was called. After waiting for half an hour, new wind came in and another race was started. I had a better start but got bounced around badly in traffic and was again behind after the first beat. I was able to pass a few boats throughout the race, but it was still only enough to finish 38. I am now in 23rd overall. Racing continues tomorrow, and the RC can now give us 3 races to make up for the lost races today.
Weather: 28 degrees, sunny, SE, 4-6 knots

January 27, 2009
Today was the second day of racing. In the first race I had a poor start, but was able to get clear. I had a similar situation at the windward mark as in the first race yesterday and lost some boats and rounded around 20. I passed boats on the first run, but made some stupid mistakes and finished 22. In the second race I was again forced to tack out after start, but again found a clear lane. I sailed quickly downwind and finished 20. In the final race of the day I had a poor start and never got a good lane. I wasn't as quick as I would have liked downwind and finished 30th. Three races are scheduled for tomorrow.
Weather: 26 degrees, sunny, ESE, 8-14 knots

January 26, 2009
Today was the first day of racing. In the first race I had a good start and held a clear lane out to the left side and hooked into pressure. I missed the last shift coming into the mark, and was low on the layline so I lost a lot of boats. I managed to hit the mark as well, and was forced low to spin and lost more on the reach. I stayed even on the run, but sailed a great second beat and finished 19th. In the second race I didn't have a great start but was able to tack and get a clear lane quickly. I rounded the first windward in the top 20, and sailed a pretty good run. Again I had a quick second beat passing several boats. I passed another couple of boats downwind and finished 7th. After two races I am in 11th overall.
Weather: 26 degrees, sunny, E, 8-12 knots

January 25, 2009
I only went out for a 30 minute session today to do a couple of tacks and to make sure everything was in order. Racing starts with two races scheduled for tomorrow.
Weather: 25 degrees, sunny, E, 5 knots

January 24, 2009
Today started off with short races off rabbit starts. The group got bigger and bigger as other international sailors joined. I had good speed, particularly downwind. When the group got too big the Ontario and Nova Scotia sailors broke off. We did some starting practice and another couple of races. Tomorrow I will have a shorter session.
Weather: 24 degrees, sunny, E, 6 knots

January 23, 2009
Today was my first day back in Miami after the training over Christmas. I only had time for a short sail, but it was good to get back in the boat.
Weather: 22 degrees, sunny, NE, 6-8 knots

Orange Bowl

The Orange Bowl regatta runs from December 27th to December 30th. Click "read more..." for daily reports. Results are available here.

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December 27, 2008
Today was the first day of racing. I had good starts throughout the day and had good speed both upwind downwind. In the first race I had a good first beat and was in second, but lost one boat on the second beat. I was quick on the final run and passed the boat back again and finished 2nd. In the second race I led to the windward mark and the first leeward, but lost out on a shift on the second beat and rounded the second windward in 2nd. I caught up a lot on the final run, but it wasn't enough and I scored another 2nd. In the third race I lead after the first windward after an incident where Luke Lawrence (USA) did penalty turns at the windward mark. I stayed ahead and finished 1st. In the last race I had a good first beat and rounded in 2nd, but lost some distance on the second beat. I was able to hold off the third place boat on the final run and finished 2nd. After the first day I am in 2nd overall with 7 points.
Weather: Partly sunny, 26 degrees
Wind: East, 8-16

December 28, 2008
Today was the second day of racing. The wind started of at around 12 knots and went down throughout the day to 6. It was puffy and shifty which made for tricky conditions when combined with the steep, short chop. In the first race I lost out on pressure on the first beat. I was quick downwind and passed boats and finished 6th. In the second race I didn't have a great start and missed out on a couple of shifts and finished 10th. In the third race I had a great first run, and was 3rd around the bottom mark after rounding the windward around 10th. I held that position through the race. In the last race I was over early and was forced to go back. With no lanes available I had a tough time making any real gains and I finished 14th. Racing continues tomorrow with lighter winds in the forecast.
Weather: Mostly sunny, 28 degrees
Wind: East-Southeast, 6-12

December 29, 2008
There was no wind this morning, but the RC sent us out and postponed on water. We waited for 4 hours before a light sea breeze came in at 1 pm. At 1:15 racing got underway. I had a clear lane at the pin end of the line and hooked into a line of pressure allowing me to come across the race course ahead. I lead to the windward and stayed ahead until the finish. The last day of racing is tomorrow with a curfew at 1.
Weather: Mostly sunny, 28 degrees
Wind: Southeast, 3-5

December 30, 2008
Today started out with a light wind from the north west. The RC started us, but the wind faded and went right 45 degrees forcing them to abandon. The second race was started in a light north easterly. I had an okay start, and stuck out on the right hand side with Zeke, who I was 5 points ahead of. The left side came in, and we rounded around 12. I picked up a couple of boats on the next beat, but Zeke was ahead, keeping me from gaining any more. He finished 6th and I finished 9th, leaving me in 2nd place overall by 2 points.
Weather: Mostly sunny, 28 degrees
Wind: Northeast, 4-6