Sailing Blog
2010 – Year in Review »
October 20, 2010
The sailing season is not completely over for 2010, but October and November are the quiet months and the bulk of sailing for the year has already been completed. With a few weeks at home with Jenny and Lily, I have been able to reflect a bit on the previous season; the great events, the tough ones, the distant venues never visited, and the venues you love to return to. Even with the hectic schedule and sometimes crazy racing, when the schedule quiets and the dust settles there are a few constant, concrete themes that emerge at the end of every season.
First, the challenges in the sport of sailing present themselves in different forms and at times when you least expect it, and regardless of how much effort you put forward, there are no guarantees to success. In the past year, there were events and races where it seemed where we could do no wrong, and there were other times, where you wonder after 20+ years of competing on the water, how can you be so far off from where the leaders are. But I guess it is a combination of the two that make this sport so great; when you reach your goals, there is no better feeling, and when you get kicked around and come up short, you are left with a hungry feeling to not let it happen again. There was a good mix of both feelings in 2010, and the lesson learned is to not get too high when things go well because you are always one mistake away from a shocker, and don’t get too low when you have a tough day on the water…the next race is just around the corner and anything can happen.
Second, the characters and scene – Whether it is the Melges 32, 24, 20 classes, or the numerous scow fleets, there are unique people that you get to know like an old High School buddy. I always wonder to myself if this is how other sports and activities do it; do they all gather after a long day of competition with good friends and people they just met, share a few beers and cocktails at a bar overlooking a gorgeous evening at some lake, harbor, or ocean? For the car racers, golfers, and stamp collectors, I’m sure there is a great sense of camaraderie, but you can’t beat being on the water. Regardless of how great or terrible your day was, there is always a good party, a cold beer and a great atmosphere at the end of a day of sailing. I could get into some classic individual stories, but fearing reprisal, I will do the honorable thing and keep them to myself…expect for the time when a Samba teammate pegged a passing car with several oranges from the 4th floor balcony of our hotel in Cagliari, that was pretty entertaining.
Lastly, the venues – 2010 allowed for travel to a few far off venues that I can tick off on my sailing destination list like Lake Garda, Italy and the idyllic town of Harbor Springs, MI., and the return to great sailing venues like San Francisco Bay, Biscayne Bay and Newport, RI. The great travel destinations are not with out the pains of jet lag, exhaustion and time away from the family, but the reward is hitting the water on a different corner of the globe. With that, here are some memorable moments from the 2010 racing season –
Best Race – When the Mistral rolled in on the final day of the Melges 32 Europeans in Cagliari, the racing was, and I hate to utilize this overused word, epic. The RC sent us out at 7:30 am and with the breeze already pumping at 25-30, we thought it was merely a formality to get us out on the water. At 9am, a warning signal sounded and it was clear the RC was not messing around even with spray easily getting blown off the top of waves. This video from the Italian team ‘Brontolo’ captures a great downwind ride…
Harshest Race – OCS in the 3rd race at the E Scow Nationals in Little Egg Harbor in very difficult conditions to battle back. Just getting back to 25th would have given us a shot at the title headed into the last race.
Best Event – Winning the E Scow ILYA Champs on the M42 with Chrisy, Tony and Lynn. For those outside the ILYA, it is hard to appreciate how special winning an Inland Championship is, with all of the history and great competition in the class it is hard fought every year.
Toughest Event – Melges 32 Worlds. After a long year of training and preparation on the Samba, we failed to show up against the best competition in the world.
Best Competitor – Tough to call, but how John Porter and his team on Full Throttle took the Melges 32 class by storm this year was impressive. Jonathan McKee called tactics and with several of John’s sons and legendary Scow sailors onboard, they were one general recall away from a World Championship.
New Racing Experience – Going offshore with the Bella Mente…powerful boat with a great team to have my first offshore experience with.
Best Competitive, Laid-back Racing – M and M sailing with Mary Anne and Bill Ward on the Melges 20. Great winter circuit in Miami with 2 extremely fun and motivated people.
Best Venue – Lake Garda, Italy. Fantasy camp for sailors.
Special Thank you to the following people who allowed another great year racing and coaching – John and Catherine Kilroy and the Samba team, Mary Anne and Bill Ward, Pat and Chrisy Hughes, Tony and Lynn Jewett, Hap Fauth and the Bella Mente team, David Weinberg, Steve Bernstein, Brian Burdick, George Gamble, Carl Zinn, Vince Driessen, David Ferguson, Rick Hartfiel.
Comment by Team Power Play — October 20, 2010
Nice to see that the driver of the Melges 32 uses both hands on the hiking stick, just like me.
Cheers to another great season in the books and an even better one as soon as the ice melts in ’11!
Steve and Max