An Encouraging Trend

I finished high school in June of 2015, and have been training full-time since then. There is no question that I have improved a lot in that time, but, until now, the results haven’t always reflected that. Finally, we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel!

So far, I have competed in three regattas this summer: the North Americans in Vancouver where I finished 4th, the U21 Worlds in Belgium where I finished 15th, and the 2018 ISAF Worlds Test event in Denmark where I finished 36th. (Each regatta was a significantly higher level than the previous one. Finishing 36th at the Worlds Test event was a much bigger achievement for me than 15th at the U21 Worlds or 4th at the North Americans.) Admittedly, each result was for me overshadowed by the fact that all three times I came really close to doing a lot better. Regardless, the most important part is the trend that it shows. Each one was the best regatta that I had ever sailed until that point!

Without a doubt, a huge amount of the credit for the progress that we are making goes to my supercoach Vasco. I am incredibly fortunate to have him on my team guiding me towards my goals.

Right now, we are at the point in the season where we are very close to the final lead up into the World Championships that will be held in Split Croatia this September. This is the peak event of the year, and everything else I have done this year was in preparation for this event. At the beginning of the year, I set the goal of trying to make the gold fleet at the Worlds (top 33%). It will be a good challenge, but, if we can continue on this same trajectory as the past few months, it is definitely possible!

Currently, I am writing this update in an airplane somewhere over the Atlantic. One thing that I have learned over the last few years, is that towards the end of a long period of time away from home, I am always mentally tired and my sailing performance is affected. I want to be fresh physically and mentally for the worlds, so I decided to cut this block in two and go home. However, since we are in the final lead up to the biggest race of the year, I couldn’t afford to have that much time away from the boat. In the end, we decided that I would go home for one week before heading back to Europe. To be honest, I’m not completely sure how this will go; it is a lot of travel time and a lot of time differences just for one week. Still, I have a fair bit of practice with getting over jetlag, and there’s nothing quite like being at home to recharge the batteries and come back ready to go.

When I go back out to Europe, I will go to Lake Garda, Italy for one final 10 day training camp to fine tune anything that needs fine tuning, and then to Split one week before the worlds to get back into the sailing conditions there. Then it’s go time!!!

On another subject, I am still in need of help with the financial side of my campaign. If anyone is interested in discussing a corporate sponsorship, or may be able to make a donation to my campaign, please  contact me!

Tax-deductible donations can also be made at this link.

Thank you for your support!

Thanks for reading!

Fillah