This year, I decided to switch things up at the Orange Bowl International Youth Regatta. I decided to sail the Laser. I think the Laser is currently the most competitive youth class, and I see a lot of potential personal growth, both on and off the water, in this class. Before the Orange Bowl, I flew out to do a clinic at Key Biscayne YC. We had great wind the whole week and I learned a lot from my extraordinary coaches, Steve Mitchell and Nick Thompson.

Over the winter break, I had a great time sailing 420’s in the Orange Bowl International Regatta in Biscayne Bay, Florida. My skipper and I took 6th place overall out of 73 boats. Lots of preparation was put into the Orange Bowl between our weekly clinics and the five practice days in Florida leading up to the regatta. During these practices, I learned a lot about Florida’s wind conditions, wave patterns, and currents. The chalk talks were important and included conversations with some of the top sailors in our fleet, discussions about the wind, and words of wisdom from the coaches. The coaches did a fantastic job preparing us for the regatta with their tough love (inspiration). Doing clinics that require the same amount of focus as actual regattas and racing against some of the nation’s best sailors has improved my sailing skills so much more. 

Thank you so much for supporting my travel and sailing at Orange Bowl 2021. I had so much fun sailing in warm water and sunny hot days in Miami.

It was a great experience to learn all about the Opti, and how to trim and tune the boat. This experience was so different from any Sabot regatta. I met sailors from Brazil, Bermuda, Great Britain, Argentina, and the Bahamas.

The sailing in an open bay with waves was fun and taught me how to manage swell. The start line was huge, and it was exciting to compete against 200 other Optis. I really hope to continue to sail the Opti and return to Orange Bowl next year!

Thank you so much to the Newport Harbor Sailing Foundation for their generous support to help me participate in the C420 Orange Bowl Youth International Regatta in Miami this Winter break.

Dillon Garcia and I worked through the tough, light conditions and managed to end up with two 4s after the first day putting us in 6th. The next few days we struggled to find our way to the front of the fleet and ended up dropping back to 10th overall.

Although that was not the result I was hoping for, it was a very large improvement to last year. Every experience I am grateful for whether I perform like I wish or not. I hope to continue improving and make the most out of every experience that is given to me.

Thank you so much for supporting my travel to Miami this December for the Orange Bowl International Regatta. I flew to Miami to begin practice for 5 days leading up to the event. The conditions brought warm weather and light to moderate winds. Practices went well as this gave my partner, Sophia Pearce, and I much needed time together in the boat.

Thank you for your generous grant to support my travel to Miami for the Orange Bowl Regatta. I arrived in Miami for 5 days of practice leading up to the event. The conditions were very different from last year, with warm weather and light to moderate winds. Practices went well and we felt extremely fast during our upwinds.