Cabarete

Just returned from a week of Laser sailing at the Laser Center in Cabarete, Dominican Republic. There was a 4-day clinic followed by the 3-day Caribbean Laser Midwinters.

It was an amazing, brilliant, challenging, draining, exhilarating, exhausting, exciting, humbling, inspiring, instructive, rewarding, scary, sunny, rainy, windy, wavy and totally worthwhile experience.

Thanks to Ari Barshi and all his staff at the Laser Center for organizing the week. (Ari was the guy who left a comment on this post about training methods telling us that his personal solution was to hire an elite coach, buy a coach boat and 15 Lasers and open a Laser training center. It certainly seems to be working for him.)

Thanks to Brett Davis for coaching us at the clinic and passing on many words of wisdom.

Thanks to Andres Santana and his race committee team for running the regatta in some wild, windy weather with awesome waves. Even Ari said he was surprised that they had us racing in the extreme conditions on Saturday.

But, most of all, thanks of all to all my fellow sailors at the clinic and regatta. They say that to improve you have to test yourself against sailors of a higher standard than yourself and I certainly had that opportunity! And every one of these superb sailors was happy to answer questions, share their knowledge, and help a comparative bozo like myself.

I have an inkling that there were a few bloggable moments that I will want to write about here in the next few days...