“It doesn’t come easy” would be good way to sum up last weekend’s sailing on Biscayne Bay. Both Saturday and Sunday saw record low temps, rain, and sometimes all around ugly conditions for the 50 boat Etchells fleet.  We managed a 5, 1, 5, 5, 1 score line and with the drop race of 12 points, it was good enough to win the event with 5 points ahead of 2nd place.  Maintaining scores of 5 or better was really the key to securing the win.  On a couple of occasions we found ourselves on the wrong side of the course, on the first beats, but being quick downwind and having everything sorted at the gates really helped get us back into the top each time.  Sailing with Bill has been a great experience as he pushes the crew hard. It’s well worth the hard work as we can see our sailing improve, not only as individuals but also as a team.  It was great to have this hard work rewarded with a win.

Over New Years, I was able to sneak in 4 days of Star sailing during which I got to really go over the boat to make sure she is set for OCR.  The fleet will be smaller than last year with only 23 boats entered to date, but the talent level will still be high as always.  We worked on our starting and leeward/windward mark roundings, which are very important as last year the courses at the Miami OCR were very short.  We even blasted across the bay on a reach and then had sail back upwind in gusts to 28 and sideways rain.  In less than 7 days the boat will be in water and will be sailing again. 

In 2009, I spent over 100 days on the water.  Star sailing and Match Racing took up the bulk share of sailing and will continue to be the theme for 2010.  In addition, we are in a great position to win the Etchells Jaguar series.  I am also planning to take on the Finn Dingy this spring to use as a training platform while the star is in Europe.  If I can spend enough time in the boat, I hope to sail the gold cup in San Francisco in September.  The schedule is set for a great 2010 and we are off and running at full speed.