Newport Harbor Sailing Foundation: Sailor Stories
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Adam Bradley at the Star Bacardi Cup
While competing in the Bacardi Cup this March in Miami, I formed many relationships with the international competition. One of them was a fellow under-30 Star sailor from Austria. We kept in touch, and he invited me to sail to the European Sailing Festival hosted by the Union Yacht Club Attersee on Lake Attersee in Austria. The festival consisted of a memorial regatta, a district championship, and the Star European Championships. We were generously given a boat by the Under 30 Star Sailing Foundation in Austria called “Future Stars” for the month-long adventure.
The first regatta was champagne sailing with perfect wind conditions. We completed eight races over three days. It was my first time lake sailing, and I had a big learning curve with many boats working ahead of me.
Due to the lack of wind, no racing happened on the first and third days of the district championships. On the second day, a breeze from the south was blowing ten, gusting twenty-five, making it difficult for an underweight team to sail. Every race improved as we learned about the conditions and the boat.
Finally, the most critical event (the European Championships) was canceled entirely due to a lack of wind overall. Four races were started, but all were abandoned because of the lousy conditions.
It was disappointing not to race after the long trip abroad and our hard work & dedication. I would like to thank the Newport Harbor Sailing Foundation for helping make it all possible.