Laser North Americans

The 2010 Laser North American Championships are being held at Texas Corinthian Yacht Club in on Galveston Bay, June 24-27.

Follow results here.


Click here to read daily reports.


Tuesday, June 22
I arrived in Texas today and picked up my charter boat. I went for a quick sail not wanting to stay out too long in the heat - it was 40 degrees today, sunny, and the water is 32.
I am doing another training session tomorrow. Racing begins on Thursday.

Wednesday, June 23
After registering today I went for a 1.5 hour sail. We had similar conditions to yesterday - 6-12 with small waves, but it was overcast and not as hot, making the sailing more bearable. Racing begins at noon tomorrow.

Thursday, June 24
No racing today - no wind.

Friday, June 25
In the first race I had a great start at the pin end, sailed into the first patch of pressure and tacked onto port. I led the fleet to the first weather mark, but lost one boat on the run. I was able to pass the boat back early on the second beat, but lost Evert McLaughlin who hipped up on me and got some more pressure. I sailed a poor run and lost a couple of boats to finish 5th. In the second race I had a poor start near the boat end, but was able to tack out and get clear quickly. I sailed fast to the right hand side and came in to the weather mark in the top 8. I passed boats on the run and finished 6th. In the last race I again had a great start at the pin, but it turned out I was black flagged. I sailed a great race, leading throughout, going fast. With the disqualification I am currently in 19th in the fleet of 68. Odds are we will only get one race Sunday, if any, so the racing tomorrow will be crucial in trying to make up some distance to the leaders.
Weather: 6-10, ESE, 40 degrees, partly cloudy

Saturday, June 26
In the first race I had a good start at the pin end, and won the left side. The boats on the right came in ahead at the weather mark and I rounded around 10th. I made some gains on the first run but lost going left again on the second beat and finished 9th. In the second race I had a poor start near the boat end and was forced to tack out early. I had to foot out to get my own lane, but was eventually able to get clear. I positioned myself well coming into the weather mark and made some gains to round in the top 15. I lost a couple of boats on the second run but was able to make a couple back to finish 13th. In the last race I had an okay start near the pin end, but lost my lane after a couple of minutes. I played the shifts well, and came out of the left in okay shape, rounding around 10. I was quick on the reach and was able to escape to the inside on the first run with pressure and took off on the pack behind to round 4th at the bottom. I passed another boat on the second beat and held to finish 3rd. With scores of 5,6,BFD,9,13,3 I am in 5th place. Only 9 points separate 4th and 8th.
Weather: 6-14, ESE, 40 degrees, sunny

Sunday, June 27
In the first race I had a poor start towards the pin, but was able to get clear eventually and rounded the weather mark around 20. I passed 4 boats on each of the downwinds and made gains upwind to finish 11. In the second race I had an awful start and found myself well back. I was able to make some gains on the first run but lost again on the second beat. I passed a couple of boats on the last beat and finished 20. In the last race I started at the pin and was able to get a clear lane quickly and go fast. I rounded the weather mark second, lost one boat and distance on the reach, but was quick downwind and rounded the bottom 3rd with a gap behind. I was 2nd to the next weather mark but lost one boat on the run and another 2 on the final reach to finish 5th in the race and 5th overall in the regatta.
Weather: 6-14, ESE, 40 degrees, sunny

Delta Lloyd Regatta

I am in Medemblik, Netherlands for the Delta Lloyd Regatta - an ISAF World Cup event. Racing runs May 26-30. Results can be found here. Click on read more for daily reports.
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Tuesday, May 25
I got my boat this morning and went for a quick sail to make sure all my gear is in order for tomorrow. Racing begins at 14:00 for the Lasers, with 3 races scheduled.

Wednesday, May 26
Today was the first day of racing. The wind was up and down from 6-14 knots throughout the day, with significant shifts. I generally sailed quick, but would make small gains up the middle on small shifts and lose to the boats on the side in the bigger shifts. In the first race I had a poor start, but made good gains on the first run. I made some more boats on the second beat, but could not gain enough ground and finished 28th. In the second race I lost my lane off the start but quickly tacked out and had a clear lane and good speed. I was going well relative to the boats on my side, but the wind went 15 degrees left and I was behind the pack on the left. I had a good first run, passing 10 boats, but sailed some extra distance on the last run and lost several boats to finish 28th. In the last race I got pinged around after the start and was left a bit back. The wind was up a bit and I was going well, but I again seemed to try to make the middle of the course work and lost out to the boats on the sides. After the first day of racing I am in 56th with straight 28s.

Thursday, May 27
Racing has been postponed for 2 hours, and will now begin at 3pm local.

May Training

I am currently training at the National Sailing Sport Center Ontario (NSSCO) in Toronto. I will be training in Toronto for the first 3 weeks of May before I go to Holland for the Delta Lloyd Regatta.

Results from the RCYC HPT Regatta can be found here.

Miami OCR

I am in Miami for the Miami Olympic Classes Regatta, an ISAF World Cup event. Racing runs Monday through Friday, with a medal race Saturday. Follow the regatta website here.

Click read more for daily reports. read more...
Saturday, January 23
I arrived in Miami this morning. I went for a short sail today, joining up with US sailor Kyle Rogachenko for a quick upwind and a long downwind back to the regatta centre. Registration is tomorrow and racing begins Monday.
Weather: Partly cloudy, 28 degrees, NE, 8-12

Sunday, January 24
I took today off. Racing begins tomorrow with two races scheduled

Monday, January 25
After a long delay on shore waiting for a cold front to pass through, the fleet was finally sent out at 3. After more delays on the water we finally got underway at 4. I didn't have a great start, but was able to get clear air out to the left side and came back on some nice pressure and rounded the weather mark in 8th. I lost 1 boat on the first run, one more on the next beat and two on the final run to finish 12th. Racing continues tomorrow.
Weather: 26 degrees, cloudy, NW,12 knots dying to 6

Tuesday, Janaury 26
After a short race committee delay racing got underway in a northerly with big velocity changes and 15 degree shifts. In the first race I had a poor start and had a tough time on the first beat. I passed a few boats on the reach, 5 more on the run, 10 on the second beat and finished 16th. In the second race I had a better start, but again lost my lane. I picked a good lane upwind and came into the weather mark in good position. I lost two boats on the last run and finished 14th. In the last race I had a better start, but lost the lane again after a few minutes. I rounded the weather mark around 30th. I passed a few boats on the run, but lost a big group of boats on the last run and finished 39th. After 4 races I am in 39th overall. Tomorrow is the last day of qualifying races with two races scheduled.
Weather: 24 degrees, sunny, N, 6-14 knots

Wednesday, January 27
Today we had a similar wind direction with big changes in velocity and direction, but a lower average wind. I had trouble with my starts in both races today, but was quick downwind. I need to work on my positioning relative to other boats in the pre start and my ability to hold my spot. I am going too slow and am therefore unable to have a proper acceleration. I scored a 29 and a 30 today and just managed to qualify for gold fleet racing. There are two races scheduled for tomorrow.
Weather: 25 degrees, sunny, N, 4-10 knots

Thursday, January 28
Today we had an easterly wind with big changes in both velocity and direction. I did a better job today of getting a clear spot on the line, but was still a bit late pulling the trigger and lost my lanes a few minutes after the start. In the first race I had a poor first beat and rounded deep around the first weather mark. I was quick on both runs and was able to make gains around the track to finish 34th. In the second race I got clear out to the left hand side of the course and rode a nice leftie back across. I rounded the weather mark in the top 20, gained distance on the first run, lost a few on the second beat, and then gained a couple back on the last run to finish 18th. Tomorrow is the last day of finals racing with two races scheduled.
Weather: 26 degrees, partly cloudy, E, 6-12 knots

Friday, January 29
Today was the last day of finals racing. We sailed in a moderate southeasterly wind with slow wind shifts. My starting was better today, but I did not always put the boat in the right place on the course to take advantage of the wind shifts. In the first race I had an okay start, but missed out on a few shifts on the first beat and found myself near the back of the pack. I sailed a quick first run, passing some boats and gaining distance to the group ahead. I was quick again on the following run and caught up to a big group of boats. I managed to escape low on the final reach and hooked into coach boat wake, passing 15 boats to finish 21. In the second race I had a better start and played up the left hand side of the course. The first beat ended with a slow right hand winder and I did not manage to come back from the left side. I had a below par first run and was left too far back to make any gains and finished with a 44.
I finished 43rd overall in the event. Next up is the Laser Midwinter's Regattain Clearwater, Florida in two weeks.