It’s been a couple of weeks since we’ve returned home after the European Championship earlier this month.  It is imperative to get some time away from the boat, the van, Europe, and each other after a high-stress, month-long trip such as the last one.  We have sufficiently winded down, and we are ready to get back in action at the Sail for Gold Regatta in Weymouth in just a couple of weeks!  First, though, we will make an appearance at Erik’s hometown Centerport...

Boat preparation, on-water training, physical conditioning, tune-up events, sports psychology; all are important keys to success in this Olympic Sailing game.  Health of the crew, however, can trump all.  Trevor has been fighting an illness since the first day of the event.  After fighting through the first four days of racing, he had nothing left in his tank.  The bronchitis (as diagnosed by his Polish doctor) finally took its toll and kept us from getting on the water. ...

We were on the water for nearly six hours as the race committee fought to get ahead of schedule in the final series.  The wind began much like the past two days, but quickly died out.  Shortly after dying, a new onshore breeze filled in and built to near 20 knots.  The biggest difference now was the waves, which became hazardous. Going Fast Downwind!  Fried Elliott Photo / friedbits.com We had four decent races, and we are now in 20th overall.  It was not our best day, but...

We had another puffy, shifty, offshore breeze for the final two qualifying races at the Europeans.  We scored a 12-13, and we are now in 18th overall.  It was a truly challenging day on the water, and we showed we are nearly there at the top.  In both races, we were in the top five on the third and final lap! We had two good starts, enabling us to sail our own race from the start.  This proved highly valuable, as the puffs coming off of the shore on the left side allowed us to...

The Race Committee decided to get ahead of schedule today by sailing four qualifying series races on the second day of the event.  The wind was coming off the land, and with our course no more than a few hundred yards off the beach, it was very puffy and shifty.  The wind ranged through thirty degrees and from 8 up to 18 knots.  It was a trying day to say the least, and we came out no worse for the wear.  We had an 11-17-10-1 score-line, which moves us up to fifteenth in the...