Our month in the Bay is over and we are moving on to the next regatta, the Canadian Olympic Classes Regatta in Kingston (CORK). There we will be sailing against other FX's for the first time all summer (woo) and take part in another US Sailing Olympic Development Program clinic. We are really looking forward to training and competing at CORK but we are going to miss the Bay.
The training conditions here have been incredible. Not once in our month and two days of sailing out of Richmond Yacht Club did we have to take a land day because of a lack of wind and only once did we decide that it was too windy to continue our training session. We got experience in a myriad of wave states from short chop to three foot breakers, and we got to practice in everything from zero to two knots of current.
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| Family selfie with the Moodys. Thank you guys! |
What we are really going to miss about the Bay though is the people. We could not have asked for more supportive, welcoming, and helpful people to have spent the last month around and we consider ourselves so incredibly lucky for that. Contrary to what we told our parents at the time, the whole "plan" to go sail in the Bay was loose at best, and we mostly made things up as we went along. Honestly we just sort of showed up in the RYC parking-lot, smiled, and it all seemed to work out. It is only now, as we are writing this reflection of the training block that we are realizing all the little (and also really big) pieces that fell in to place for us because of the amazing people here. There are some big than yous for us to throw out here.
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| In "The Office" (aka the RYC parking lot). Thank you RYC! |
Thank you to the Moody Family for housing us and feeding us and treating us as two of your own. Thank you to the Skiff Sailing Foundation for the use of the 49er we sailed all month, use of a trailer, and for your infinite wisdom and help on our fundraising project. Thank you to Richmond Yacht Club for not kicking us out of your boatyard (or showers) when we showed up unannounced and set up an encampment between your Opti racks. Not only that, but that you RYC for inviting us to your Wednesday Beercan Races and providing a comprehensive and happy space for all sailors (us included) to do what they love and have fun. Thank you to the RYC Junior Program, especially Dan Brand and Merrill Piece, for sharing your space, your tools, and your joy for this sport; and for rescuing us all those times we flipped in the inner harbor and got stuck in the channel. Thank you to all of our donors. Without your support we would not have been able to take this time to travel, train, and compete, in the Bay and beyond, and chase our dream of representing our country at the highest levels of sailing competition. And thank you to the vibrant sailing community of Richmond and San Francisco Bay for being interested in what we are doing and helping us spread the word about our team and high level skiff sailing in general. We honestly love talking to you all about our boat and this sport and are just tickled that you would take the time to ask us questions and chat.
As we venture on in our sailing we will be hard pressed to find a place like Richmond and the Bay. It has given us so much and we are better sailors and people for it. We hope to be back soon, but until then, so long, and thanks for all the wind.
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| Bye everyone! Hope to see you all soon :) |
