Thank you for your financial support which helped me to attend the 2020 I420 North Americans held at Coconut Grove Sailing Center in Miami, Florida and 2020 I420 Midwinters held at Miami Yacht Club. I participated with my skipper Sophia Devling in the I420 fleet. These regatta were the second and third of three qualifying events for I420 Worlds which would have been held in France this summer. 

This Valentine’s Day weekend, I crewed for Morgan Pinckney at the 2020 c420 Midwinters in Jensen Beach, Florida. It was our first large scale c420 event together, and we are both proud to represent Newport Harbor Yacht Club with our second-place finish out of 81 boats. After flying in on the Thursday before the event, Morgan and I spent our Valentine’s Day rigging and preparing for the 3-day regatta. Unlike most of the other competitors, Morgan and I had little time sailing together, and because we didn’t have a coach for the weekend, we spent our prep day being as thorough as possible in setting up the boat and learning each others’ habits. The first two days of the regatta were relatively breezy, but nothing Morgan or I weren’t used to. We were able to capitalize on the other boats’ mistakes and have consistent results in the top ten. The last day, we were postponed for a couple of hours until the breeze filled in from the same direction as the days before. Because Morgan and I had sailed a relatively consistent regatta up until that point, we were sitting in eighth place, behind the teams that threw out deep scores and kept the races with lower numbers. However, the last day, with breeze that replicated Newport’s conditions (light, flat water, and shifty), Morgan and I performed well beyond the teams in front of us who only specialized in heavy breeze. We finished 2nd and 1st in the last two races, moving us up six places in the results and ultimately putting us on the podium. I would like to express my gratitude in particular to Mrs. Pinckney for helping Morgan and I navigate ourselves in a regatta without a coach or team, and to the Newport Harbor Sailing Foundation for their help in make attending this event possible. Thank you!

Thank you for your support that helped me to go to the 2020 C420 Midwinters that was held in Jensen Beach, Florida. There were over 80 boats. I participated with my skipper Brooke Schmelz. The regatta is a three day event. The first two days of racing were the qualifying series then the last day was the medal series.

Thank you for your financial support which helped me to attend the 2019 Open Orange Bowl Regatta held at Coconut Grove Sailing Center in Miami, Florida. I participated with my skipper Sophia Devling in the I420 fleet. The regatta was the first of three qualifying events for I420 Worlds which will be held in France this summer. The regatta was also Sophia and my first large I420 regatta. 

Thank you so much for supporting me as we transition into the i420 class. Our first opportunity to race was the 2020 i420 Midwinters in Miami Florida.  It was unlike any regatta I had ever experienced. So many unfamiliar faces in a boat we were brand new to sail. During the regatta, my crew Micheal and I did have our fair share of hiccups with our charter boat, but it did not stop us from going out each day. Competing in an i420 is a different animal compared to sailing in the c420. The i420’s are more technical, require more attention, and are generally harder to sail. Those factors, and being new to the class, made me nervous as I am so used to sailing my club 420 (a similar boat to the i420, with a stiffer mast, heavier hull, and more forgiving when you make a mistake).  

Recently this past month I had the epic opportunity to compete on Sydney Harbor in Australia, for the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s Musto International Youth Match Racing Championship. This event otherwise know as “The Musto” is a world renound youth match race that draws the best under 23 competitors from around the world. Better yet this regatta was designated a World Sailing grade 1 regatta, which is the highest ranking they can give to a match race regatta for its intense competition, outstanding umpires, prize money, and global diversity. It was a great event.