PanAmerican Games Identification Camp

To partake in a little ‘Throwback Thursday’, back in September, I returned to Ontario for a week to sail in a PanAmerican games identification camp, which took place in the two days leading up to the Ontario Sailing Combine and Fall CORK. The Camp was run by Ontario Sailing and was coached primarily by Larry Lemieux and Zach Railey. Larry is a renown coach and has been coached world class champions and Olympians, not to mention competing in tow Olympics himself; 1984 in the Star and 1988 in the Finn Class. Zach Railey is also a phenomenal sailor, still currently competing in the Finn Class. In 2008, he won the Silver medal in the Finn for the USA. It was an incredible experience, being able to be coached by two sailors with so much experience under their belts. We had the opportunity to work on everything from mark roundings, to tack and gybes, and some long lineups where we focused on boat speed. Their vast amounts of input and information they were able to share with us over the span of two days is something that I think I will always remember and that my sailing will forever be thankful for as well.

Summer Snapshot: Cork OCR

Today I wrote my third midterm out of four and having to hit the books really makes me wish for my summer back, and so here’s another ‘what I did this summer’ catch up!

After Canada Games wrapped up, I headed home to Toronto for the weekend and then it was right back to Kingston to compete at CORK OCR, the first half of our Canadian Sailing Team qualifiers – the second half being Miami OCR at the end of January. Once arrived in Kingston, I got out on the water with coach Chris Cook, some of the CST girls and the other identified athletes for a couple days of solid Kingston training before the regatta.

Having just finished up the Games in the shifty, puffy conditions of Magog, I was looking forward to the steady, consistent breeze of Kingston and being able to stretch my legs a bit. Much to everyone’s surprise, the first three days of the regatta were not the classic Kingston thermal and due to various weather systems in the area, we ended up racing in light, variable breeze. We also sailed the first couple days just off the Portsmouth Harbour pier, so that also provided some plot twists, as we didn’t have the normal Kingston lefty.

After those first couple of days though, we moved back out to the middle of the river and the wind picked up. For the rest of the regatta we had increasing winds everyday, which meant hard work for everyone. We were sailing 3 lap races, something that was new to most of us, which meant slightly shorter upwinds, more time for gains (or loses - but I’m a cup half full kind of person), and lots and lots of hiking. There was quite a lot of mental prep required before you rounded that last leeward mark to brace yourself for the pain of that last upwind!

All in all, it was a tough regatta, requiring all of the sailors to change gears halfway through kept us all on our toes. There were lots of learning experiences, and I personally had a breakthrough when it came to pushing myself when I thought I had nothing left. This breakthrough helped lead to some results that I am very proud of, and have set myself up in a good position heading into the winter season and Miami OCR. I look forward to sailing in everything Kingston has to offer for many years to come – it is probably one of my favourite racing venues.

But now, it’s back to the books with one more midterm to go. Wish me luck!

Summer Snapshot: the Summer Games

The deep red and gold maple leaves are falling across Ontario and here in Nova Scotia the cold autumn rain chills to the bone.  It has been many months since my first post to this blog – many months of training, competing, packing, moving and now studying.  This is the first of a couple of “what I did over my summer holidays” notes to bring you up to date.

Currently, I’m in Halifax, Nova Scotia attending Dalhousie University in the Arts & Social Sciences department.  After a gap year in Miami training and competing, it’s back to the books… More on Dal later.

By far the highlight of the summer was representing Ontario in the Laser Radial at the Canada Summer Games held in Sherbrooke, Quebec in August.  On a crystal clear Sherbrooke night against a backdrop of the Apalachian Mountains, the Opening Ceremonies August 1 were a thrill.  The entire contingent from Ontario was decked out in our white, black and red Team O gear. We marched into the Sherbrooke University Stadium amidst cheers, music and lots of Ontario flags, a really unique experience. All the teams looked amazing decked out in their team gear, they looked so good I made sure I swapped a few shirts for some of that team gear before I left.

The 5 days of sailing on Petit Magog provided as much variability as one could want sailing on a mountain lake.  We had winds ranging from 0-5 knts one day and 15-20 knts two days later. A small mountain lake, Petit Magog never offered high seas or even a rolling wave but there was lots of chop, shifts and bouncing gusts.  (Toronto Harbour had provided a great training ground with its main street gusts and shifty conditions.)  And there was great competition.  We were 8 radials with representation across the country missing only the 3 territories, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland/Labrador.  The athlete venue was located at the tiny and friendly Petit Magog Sailing Club, while the spectator venue was across the lake at a park.  As a sailing venue it was a unique experience in that bleachers had been set up for viewing and the starting line for the northern of the 2 courses was about 100 metres off the bleachers.

For me the competition was frustrating from Day 1 when my 1^st and 2^nd place finishes only resulted in a DSQ and OCS.  The rest of the week was an uphill battle to drop those 18 points, not an easy feat with only 8 boats competing.  When it was all over, I was pleased to bring home not only a bronze medal for Ontario, but also what felt like a lifetime of experiences.  I made new friends across the country and enjoyed sharing their victories and lamenting their losses in a variety of sports.  A huge shout-out to our coaches for the Games, Chris Hewson and Emily Hill and our Chef de Mission, Steve Jarvis. Chris and Emily kept us keen and focused while Steve kept all the logistics in line – including a few extra trading pins and tickets.

Here at Dalhousie, I’m surprised how many Games shirts and team gear from across Canada I see on campus.  The only problem is, the team gear was swapped, traded and bartered for feverishly and the guy in my Psychology 1000 class whose hoodie says Yukon could just as likely be from Manitoba.  All in all it was a fantastic experience and one for which I am very grateful.