Worlds is done and dusted... 21st overall finish. Now everything looks towards the upcoming Olympic Trials.
We had an intensive training block in the lead up to the Worlds, as detailed in our previous newsletter. Because the Worlds venue was closed off until right before the World Championships, we decided to spend our time in the lead up in a venue that has similar conditions to the Hague. Along with many other 470s, we trained down the coast from the Worlds venue, the little town of Niewpoort, Belgium! (Not to be confused with the Harbor Court New York Yacht Club venue, Newport, RI) Big breeze, big waves, and even stronger tidal currents! It was an epic week.
We came into the Worlds ready to give it our all. This was the first combined-World Championship event Trevor and I have ever taken part in. This event only happens once every four years in the lead up to the Olympics, and is arguably even more competitive than the Olympics as countries will have all of their top sailors present to compete. An electric environment to be a part of. It was made all the more interesting with the challenges presented by the sailing venue. The Hague is characterized by extremely strong tides, often racing in more than 2 kts of current, which changes a lot of the dynamics of sail boat racing.
We had a great event overall, with so much potential shining through. We are really proud of the gains we've made during this long European season. It's not easy being away from home, putting absolutely all of your energy and resources towards a goal. The Worlds was a very challenging event that really put our team to the test. In some ways we succeeded, making a ton of progress on our pre-event goals, and in other ways it exposed some weaknesses in our training, guiding us towards new objectives as we game plan towards our best performance for the upcoming US trials. To be honest, 21st overall was not the finish we were looking towards. Looking at the results now, we were merely one good race away from potentially taking part in the medal race. But that's what it comes down to at this level. Every point counts.
We were really happy with our boat speed at the event. Once we got off the starting line well, we had great speed upwind, even in the bigger breeze. This was a big jump for us, and shows that the hours put in on the water and on our fitness have been paying off. The game plan now is to continue chipping away at our goals, spending as much time as we can on the water and making progress in every way we can.
A big component of being able to accomplish our goals is financial support, without which we couldn't spend nearly as much time on the water as we do. Thank you so much to our newest partner, Engineered Yacht Solutions @EYS, for their support to our campaign! EYS is a class-certified marine welding and custom metal fabrication service based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. They are pursuers of perfection, just like us! You can now see their logo on the front of our spinnaker!
What are we up to now?
In the wake of the World Championships, our team took some well-deserved time off to recharge and regroup. Louisa had the privilege of attending the Golden Spinnaker Gala hosted by the New York Yacht Club, a fundraising event for US athletes for the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics. It was a beautiful evening and a great opportunity to meet many legends and supporters of the sport of sailing.
Meanwhile, Trevor ventured to Lake Mendota for the 2023 E Scow Nationals.
We are back and feeling refreshed to get back on the grind. For the past month we have picked up training again in the UK with our British training partners. While the temperatures are slowly dropping, the UK waters have been fantastic for working towards our goals.
The next goal is to qualify for the Olympics at the US Olympic trials, taking place in Miami, FL January 6-13th. Basically the US trials are a single domestic event, meaning racing is exclusive to only US boats. Whoever wins, qualifies for the US spot at the Olympic Games. We still need to qualify the country for the Olympics, for which, the next opportunity is the continental qualifier taking place at the upcoming World Championship in Palma, Spain in February 2024. Because there are currently no other North American countries competing in the mixed 470, our path to the North American spot is relatively secure, provided we finish in the top 90% at the Worlds – something we're confident in based on our previous results. So, our primary focus is on clinching victory at the Olympic trials, followed by the quest to secure the country's qualification.
Planning our time up through the trials is the next challenge. What is the most efficient way to spend our time and resources to be in the best position to win the Olympic trials? That is the question. For now, we are trying to be as frugal as possible, which for us means staying in the UK to train. We spent most of our resources training in Europe up through the Worlds, and so money is tight. That being said, we are pedal to the metal when it comes to training and are pouring everything we have towards the best build up possible for the trials.
Training in Hamble with Vita Heathcote and Chris Grube!
Exciting news on the equipment front: we're thrilled to announce the acquisition of a new boat for the Olympic trials! Being at the top of our game will require having the best equipment! We have earned a build slot with Ziegelmayer, the top 470 manufacturer. As the trials will be taking place in Miami, we need to ship a container from where the boat is being built in Germany to the US, which is quite a substantial cost.
If you'd like to contribute towards our new rocket for the trials, please click here to find details of how to make a quick donation through GoFundMe, or a tax-deductible donation via check!
We are well on our way towards our goal of representing the USA at the upcoming Olympic Games. Thank you for being part of this journey with us! Stay tuned for more updates soon! In the meantime make sure to subscribe to our newsletter and keep up with us on social media @nb470racing!
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