Laser World Championships

The Laser worlds were held in Boltenhagen, Germany from May 2nd to May 10th. I finished 140th out of the 168 boats that were in the event. I was 28th in bronze fleet just making the top half. I was pleased with that. The full results can be found here.

Ricardo, I and our coach Al landed in Hamburg, then Ricardo and I picked up our new boats from the Laser Dealer in Hamburg. We stacked both of them on top of our rental car and headed up north to Boltenhagen. The place that we were staying was a nice sort of cabin house. It had a big open  living room/ kitchen which was great for putting on sail numbers. From our house it was about a 10min drive to the sailing center which was on the other side of the town. The nice thing with staying where we were was that we were right beside the gym and grocery store.

We were lucky to have about 10 days of training before the event started.  For the first three of those the wind was over the land from light to 12kts and shifty. However for the remaining days of training there was a sea breeze  and it was between 15kts and 28kts depending on the day. It was the kind of place that when you went outside you know that it was windy because there was this whistle in the air. Ricardo and I came to call it the howl. Every morning it was there  until we started racing!

 

There was almost no wind on the day of the practice race. Ricardo and I went out, started,  did an upwind and down wind leg before the wind completely died and we got towed in. The first day of actual racing was a bit winder to start but was dying by the end of the day. Race one was one of my best of the event, I started at the pin, flipped on to port right away and got a bit of a lane. After tacking a few more times on some shifts I rounded to top mark in 20th. By the end of the race I had bled some boats and was back to 35th. The next race was similar to the first but with a bit lighter wind.

Over the following next three days of the qualifying series we got off all the races that were scheduled. The wind was quite similar, light with almost no hiking breeze. The forth and final day of qualifying was by far the coldest day of sailing that we had had the whole event. It had been cold during all the training and that did not surprise us because we are in north Germany very early in the year. At the end of qualifying I was sitting 155th and would be sailing the rest of the event in bronze fleet. Ricardo had made it into silver fleet which was great for him as it meant that he would have a shot at getting an Olympic spot.

The temperature was warming up for the three days of finals and with that came some more wind. Day one of finals was still quite light but by the end of day two we were hiking. on the last day we were full out hiking but the wind still did not ever get over 18kts.

I had some great races in the finals. In the very first race I was forth around the top mark but lost it all on the second up wind when  the wind from the right and I was on the left. The next race was also good for me I got a top ten. The next day I had a great start,  starting at the boat and going right. I got a nice shift and was 2rd to the top mark. I lost one boat on the second beat and finished the race 3rd. My second race of the day was similar to the first one  I missed a shift and was 22nd in the race. The last day of the event was the windiest one that we had had. It was still a land breeze and was really shifty. I had two solid races and a great start in the last race.

This was my first Laser World Championship and I was happy with how it went. There were some times that I would have liked more wind. Now we are spending some time being tourists in Berlin before we head over to Holland for the Delta Loyd Regatta.

-Kyle

Laser Midwinters West

The Laser Midwinters West Regatta was held at the Alamitos Bay Yacht Club in Long Beach California from March 23rd to March 25th. I finished 7th out of the 44 boats entered. The full results can be found here.

I drove down from Vancouver with a coach and we pulled a second trailer. Our big trailer had been driven out straight from Florida. We left on Saturday morning and rolled into Long beach on Sunday night. We were staying at a nice hotel about as close to the Yacht Club as you can get although it was still a 10min drive. Our Royal Vancouver Yacht Club representation at this event was one of the biggest that we have had in years. There were fourteen sailors plus two coaches,six of us in full rig Lasers and eight in Radial.

We had four days before the event, spending the mornings making sure that all of the boats were set up correctly and then sailing in the afternoons as the winds started to build. There was hiking breeze for every day of training with clear blue skies. It could not have got much better.

As is so often the case the first day of the regatta brought light winds, overcast skies and smog. We did get the three races off that the race committee was trying for but after the first race there was no hiking to be done. The second race was my best of the day. After a good start at the pin I immediately tacked and got going on the lifted tack. I was third to the top mark passing both boats on the reach. One of them got past me as I protected the fleet on the second beat finishing the race in second and really happy with that.

Day two was a lot like day one with light wind and no hiking. The Race Committee was trying for four races but only managed to get three off. I had a solid day and was reasonably pleased with how I was sailing. It was nice for us to get some sailing in lighter winds as we have not had much of that over the winter.

On the third day of racing we arrived at the club to see sand blowing and the palm trees swaying. Most of the team was quite excited about this. However, shortly after arriving the Race Committee put up AP saying that it was too windy and and that they were going to wait for the front to go through. At 12:00 AP went down meaning a 1 o’clock start. We got out of the harbor and did a long upwind warm up before going and finding our committee boat. It turned out to still be windy with gusts up to 25kts and some nice big waves. The start line was really pin favored I started up the line abit but not in an ideal position. There were four of us from Royal Vancouver that were loving the winds! I got to the the first mark in third. After two more laps of the course and some rearranging of the fleet I ended up fourth behind three sailors from our team. We were hoping for more but there was only one race sailed that day. I finished the regatta in seventh and happy with that as it is a step up from my tenth last year at this event. Royal Vancouver Yacht Club ended up winning Laser full rigs with the boat in first and four boats in the top seven.

Up next for me is lots of gym work and training as I prepare for the Laser Worlds in Germany at the beginning of May.

-Kyle

March Madness

The annual March Madness Regatta was held out of Royal Vancouver Yacht Club on March 10th and 11th. I won the event and six of the nine races. There were 10 boats racing the results can be found here.

On Saturday the wind was out of the East with a lot of velocity changes. During the first four races the wind was quite light although for the 5th and last race of the day it started to build. On the Sunday the wind was stronger, out of the South and blowing right over the Yacht Club. This made for some interesting and shifty racing. We sailed four races on Sunday.

The race committee did a great job getting off lots of races without keeping us on the water so long that we all froze. Next up it is off to some warmer weather in LA and Laser Midwinters West regatta.


-Kyle

Laser Midwinters East

It is Monday morning and I am sitting in Denver airport on my way home after Laser Mid Winters East. The regatta was sailed between February 23 and February 26. There were 48 boats entered in the Laser and I finished 16th. The full results can be found here.


I took the day before the regatta off. This felt great after the busy training schedule that we had been on. The morning of the first day of racing we woke up to solid white outside of our apartment windows. We got to the club at 9 for the 11 o’clock start only to be postponed on shore due to the fog. The fog started to clear around 10:45 and we were racing by 11:30. We did three races on the first two days of racing. With hour long races and 18-20 kts of wind out of the S they were tiring days. Day two was a lot like day one with fog and an on shore AP in the morning.


For the third day the wind did a 180 and we got even more of it out of the N and with the current going S it made for some BIG waves. It was a day when not tacking too much and putting the bow down paid.


On the last day the wind started out looking a lot like the day before but as the day went on the wind started to swing to the E. However with the waves still rolling N to S it made for some really interesting sailing. It was easy to lose track of where the marks where when sailing downwind if you started to sail with the waves. I was able to make some gains by going what looked like high road but really was the rum line.


I am happy with the way that I sailed. I am still going fast up wind in breeze but I think that the biggest improvement for me is the fact that I am not losing on the runs.


As for now it’s back to Vancouver for some time at home. After almost 2 months away I am looking forward to my own bed. I will be doing some sailing in Vancouver and a lot of gym work. As always after a windy event one thing is clear, you can’t be too fit. Then around March 14 I will be heading down to LA for laser Mid Winters West.

-Kyle

Clearwater Training

After the Miami OCR regatta I traveled to Clearwater Florida to spend three and a half weeks training before competing in the Laser Mid Winters Easts. We have now been here for just over three weeks and training has been going great. During our time here we have only missed out on sailing three of the days due to lack of wind.

I am here with Ricardo and our coach Al. We have been sailing three hours plus a day as well as fitness with biking and gym which have made for full days and good sleeps. The days are starting to blend but on most we did cardio in the morning then on water around 11 and gym after dinner.

On the sailing side of things we did it all; long up winds, short course, long course, mark rounding, and some really long down winds. For those we would drive the truck 25km down the coast to a landing spot and bike back to the sailing center. After sailing down the out side in the open ocean in some huge waves we would de-rig the boats, put the spars in the truck and tow the boats back to the sailing center with the coach boat on an inland water way. It does take a bit of work but it is totally worth it. We get 25km of amazing down wind sailing in big
waves and great wind.

It is funny how when you stay in a place for long enough the weather will give you a bit of every thing. The norm seems to be 22°C and sun with winds of around 15kts but lighter in the morning.
That said there was a two day cold snap that brought some high wind and then there was the day it was over cast with light wind. We have had a bit of it all but only one day with rain.

We are staying in a awesome corner apartment on the 16th floor. The place is nice with two bed rooms, two bath rooms  and a great chilling
area - Ricardo is happy about that. There is a pool and hot tub down stairs which we have been getting some use out of.

With the training portion of our stay coming to an end I am starting to get stoked to race again. The forecast is looking good and I think that we are going to be in for a super event. From what I have seen in my time here Clearwater is one great place to sail.

-Kyle

Rolex Canadian Sailor of the Year Awards Dinner

Last Friday I traveled from my winter training base in Clearwater, Florida to Toronto to attend the Rolex Canadian Sailor of the Year Awards Dinner where I was awarded the Bill Burke Youth Elite Memorial Award. I felt honored to be recognized for my achievements over the last year. We were treated to an amazing four course meal and a night in a very nice hotel. My mom was invited along and we had a great time exploring Toronto. My coach Al was also honored as the CYA Male Athlete of the Year. After spending the weekend in Toronto it is really nice to be back in Clearwater and the warmth. Today we are doing a 23km down wind and towing the boats back up which is going to be awesome.

-Kyle

Miami OCR

The Miami OCR regatta is over and I am heading up the coast to Clearwater. The Miami OCR was held from Jan 22^th to Jan 28^th. I finished 50^th out of the 74 boats entered. Find results here. I was happy with this result but more than that I was happy with the way that my down wind speed had improved. I felt like I was going fast and even able to pass people. This is a big step forward for me as last year I was getting to top marks is good shape but being passed by boats on the downwind.

The weather for this event really could not have been better. I think that this might have been one of the most consistent Miami OCRs wind wise in quite some time. We never had a start delayed waiting for wind and every day there was enough to be hiking at some point in the day with most of the event being between 6kts and 15kts. The race committee did a great job getting off all the races at the scheduled time despite the fact that were 5 fleets on one course.

Our accommodation was the same place that we stayed last year. A nice apartment about a 10min bike from the sailing venue but right across the street from a gym and grocery store. By the time the event started there were 6 of us staying in the place. We did group meals every night and it seemed to work out quite well.

 This year the Lasers were sailed out of the US Sailing center which is a change as we have been sailing out of the convention center. The US Sailing center is nice but it does get a bit crowded at times and there is no parking. It was a nice spot to be biking to.

I was lucky enough to be able to fly in just over a week before the event was to start. I spent this time training and working on my down wind speed. After a 3hr on water session training with team Canada, Ricardo and I would finish off with a long down wind. Leaving ourselves with no options but to sail in one day this took us over an hour and a half. After we got in we would head back to our place, eat some food the then head over to the gym for a bit. It was great training and the weather was warm. Not much changed after the regatta started as we were on water quite early most mornings so had a fair bit of time in the afternoon to do stuff.

Now the trailer is loaded and we are driving up the coast to Clearwater for over a month of training. We are going to be focusing on downwind, doing some really long ones where we sail downwind then tow the boats back up with the coach boat.

-Kyle