Today I drove over to Cape Cod to sail in the Laser North American Championships which run out of Hyannis YC for the next four days. This is a totally ridiculous idea for multiple reasons...
1. I have never sailed in a Laser NAs before.
2. I have no business trying to compete against some of the best Laser sailors on the continent.
3. I have no business trying to compete against fit young guys less than half my age.
4. My boat is old.
5. My sail is tired.
6. I've hardly sailed since the week in the Dominican Republic in January and am totally out of practice.
7. I'm totally out of shape.
So what am I thinking?
Good question. I guess I'm thinking that if I'm going to get back into Laser sailing after the hiatus during our house move I might as well start with this regatta as any other. What the hell? It's not too far to travel and it's happening now. At least I can go out and sail on the ocean, work off some of the inevitable rust in my technique, and have four days of intensive practice.
So what are my objectives for the weekend?
Hmmm. Another good question. Let's see...
1. Have fun.
2. Stretch.
3. Hydrate.
4. Start every race.
5. Finish every race.
6. Pass that boat in front.
7. Work hard enough to be completely exhausted every night.
8. Meet up with some old friends and make some new friends.
9. Learn some lessons, mull over some mistakes, identify where I need to improve... and who knows, maybe even blog about some blunders.
10. Have fun.
10 comments:
Good luck Tillerman!
Have a good time...I'll keep an eye on the leaderboard.
Edward - I think you'll be more likely to find me on the trailerboard.
Hope you meet your goals! You might want to include avoid wipe outs.
Dinner with the Kennedy's is not one of your goals?
11. Drink?
Or has what I heard about the competitiveness of the laser class banished all forms of fun / debauchery true?
m squared - I prefer not to focus on negative possibilities. If I sail every run muttering to myself, "don't capsize, don't capsize," it's pretty certain that I woul death roll.
anonymouse - The Kennedys? Are they Laser sailors?
jsw225 - Drink? I think you must be confusing Laser sailors with Sunfish sailors. Laser sailors are finely tuned athletes who would not dream of consumimg alcohol on the night before an important race. I don't think that there's actually a class rule against debauchery though.
The true test of an athlete is how well he can perform when he wakes up still drunk.
That marathon stuff is for the kid's leagues.
You are allowed to buy new sails every few years, are you not?
So, is one of your ideas that if you keep up with the young studs, going back to the Masters will then make your competition seem like a bunch of slow-moving large-bellied slowpokes?
Pat - you can buy a new sail for your Laser every regatta if you can afford it. I'll probably get round to buying one soon. My current one is two or three years old now.
I wouldn't put my plans in exactly your words. But yes, racing in a very tough fleet is good preparation for racing in any other fleet.
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