By Craig Wilson
Florida bound. Bathing suit… check. Sunscreen…
check. Drysuit… check??? The event was the St. Valentine's
Day Regatta in St. Petersburg, Florida, the final qualifying
event for this year's USODA Team Trials. 250 sailors in
total, 150 sailing in the Gold fleet, with the top 25% of
finishers eligible for USODA's Team Trials. Four sailors
made the trek to Florida from the SBYSF Opti Sailing Team,
"Team Opti Power:" Lucas Pierce, Miguel Ferreira,
Quinn Wilson, and Dane Wilson. In preparation Lucas and
Miguel attended a pre-regatta clinic hosted by several of
the US National Team coaches. Roughly 50 sailors participated
in the clinic, which included a mix of class time and on
the water drills covering speed, boat-handling and local
knowledge. Quinn and Dane participated in several days of
practice in Miami and St. Petersburg sailing with a small
team of 6 lead by coaches Lucas Calabrese and Justine O'Connor
out of Miami, Fl.
With the breezy and chilly practice sessions under everyone's
belt, Team Opti Power were rigged and ready early Saturday
morning anticipating an afternoon building breeze into the
upper teens. As the sailors turned the corner around 9am
exiting St. Petersburg harbor they were greeted with a puffy
15-18 knots and a mile or so dead downwind sail to the starting
line. The path to the line was strewn with swamped Opti's,
a sign of things to come. Yep, the breeze was building,
but well beyond expectations. Lesson learned? Expect the
best, and prepare for the worst. Unfortunately most of the
sailors were caught underdressed, as result, 80 of the 150
entrants in the Gold fleet did not complete sailing on day
one. The race committee was also challenged in the extreme
conditions as the leeward starting boat repeatedly drifted
off its position delaying the first race nearly 45 minutes.
This exasperated the negative affects on the sailors as
those that arrived early on the starting line waited for
over 1-½ hours before the first race. This also meant
the maelstrom was fully established for race one with a
sustained 22-24 knots with gusts to 30. Dane was loving
the conditions and battled with Luke Muller throughout race
one finishing 2nd with Luke grinding out the final leg and
finishing 1st. Quinn and Miguel toughed out race one with
solid small guy finishes of 19 and 23 respectively, both
realizing that by simply staying upright a spot among the
top 20 was pretty attainable. Lucas, the least experienced
in heavy air joined the carnage at the jibe mark with a
spectacular planing pitch pole.
The combination of pre-start and post-race delays resulted
in all three of the youngn's of Team Opti Power simply getting
too chilled to compete, learn, or have any semblance of
fun, so just prior to race 2 we packed up and headed for
hot chocolate. Dane, however, lined up for the windiest
race of the regatta, and his worst start of the regatta,
which actually looked much better 30 seconds later as three
boats leading to the left flipped in a particularly strong
gust freeing Dane up with a clear lane enabling him to go
on to post a 3rd place finish. The race committee decided
to cancel racing for the day after race 2 in consideration
of the number of sailors who abandoned. Dane ended the day
in 4th overall 3 points out of 1st.
With the excitement of day one behind them, Team Opti Power
bundled up and went to work tuning up early for what was
a very tricky breeze ranging from 8-12 knots with 20+ degree
shifts rolling in from both the right and left all day long.
The race committee did yeoman service this day getting the
races underway at 9am with the goal to complete the scheduled
six-race series. Staying consistent in these conditions
was the obvious key. Saying and doing is always two different
things however.
Miguel was sitting solid with his goal to finish in the
top 25% even with his one throw out already used up. On
day two, Miguel suffered just one painful race, but managed
three top ten finishes placing him 31st overall, easily
attaining his goal.
Quinn's goal for the week was to simply enjoy the experience
and get back in the rhythm of sailing. Day two went well
posting an 8, 5, 3. A bit of a dogfight on the starting
line of race 6 ended the streak, but Quinn finished the
event 22nd with a smile on his face… mission accomplished.
This was Lucas' second "big" regatta and his
first trip east and his first taste of competing in unfamiliar
surroundings. With the added adversity of the cold front,
huge breeze, and a particularly nasty starting environment
Lucas showed great spirit working hard throughout every
race and between each race to prepare for the next. His
speed was solid on all points of sail and with a handful
more regattas, and some heavy air jibing practice, Lucas
is primed for solid results. Final position, 117… top
half!
The final result of the Valentine's Regatta marks a breakthrough
event for Dane. He's been climbing the ranks the past two
years with his previous best result a 12th at last summer's
Nationals, but the big win has eluded him throughout the
fall. His goal for this regatta was to start strong, and
maintain focus to the very end. A solid finish was what
he needed. Entering the final two races, Dane had sailed
very conservatively, mostly working the middle of the racecourse.
His primary competitors were winning races by sailing to
the corners, but that proved inconsistent, while Dane's
approach kept him in the hunt in every race. Dane continued
with his approach in race 5 and worked his way to the front
lee bowing Nic Muller (5th overall) just shy of the final
lay line to the finish to post his first race win of the
event. That's the finish he needed. So, it came down to
the final race. Race 6, another 3rd, which meant he had
to wait for the second flight to finish to see who won.
If Luke Muller finished 8th or worse in the final race Dane
wins, if not Luke wins. After leg 3, Luke rounded the leeward
mark in 4th, but he got caught on the final leg too far
left as one of the many right shifts rolled in leaving him
in 11th half way up the final beat. But, there was one more
left and Luke locked into it and passed 3 more boats right
at the end. Luke finishes… 8th, Dane wins!
It was a great event. A bit painful, but much to celebrate
as each member of Team Opti Power had a uniquely successful
experience. We tend to get caught up with the scores and
results, but it's always the little things that shine through
in the end. Dane summed things up as he looked back and
analyzed his experience. He chalked it all up to having
fun. He said, "I just kept smiling and focused on being
happy."
Results
Photos
