Newport Harbor Sailing Foundation: Sailor Stories
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Julia Getter at the Orange Bowl International Youth Regatta
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to sail in the 2021 Orange Bowl International Youth Regatta in Miami, Florida. As I normally sail sabots, I had never had to fly on a plane for a regatta before this one. I had also never sailed Optimists, which was the boat I sailed in this regatta. Because of these reasons, I was extremely excited to go to this regatta.
The first day of the regatta was very light. The first warning was at 10:00 AM, but we ended up having a two hour on-land postponement. I was a little bit annoyed that I flew all the way out to Miami to just sit on the dock for two hours, but I tried to make the best of the situation. I met twins from Germany named Mimi and Toni. This was super cool for me because I normally only race against people who live in California. At noon, we launched and towed out to the venue. By the time we got out there, there was only time for one race. As I do not have any practice with big fleet starts, I immediately got flushed out the back within 30 seconds of the start. It was almost impossible for me to come back, and I ended up doing really badly in that race.
On the second day of the regatta, there was decent breeze. We got in four races total. Still discouraged from the previous day, I had a bad mindset going into the first race. Because of this, I did not do as well as I hoped, but I still did not do worse than the first day. By the end of the day, I had made bronze. I had already expected this due to the fact that it was one of my first times sailing an Optimist, but it was still a little disappointing.
I came into the third day of the regatta with a much better attitude. I figured that I was not going to win, so I should just try to learn as much as I can. There was decent breeze, and we got in four races. I did much better that day and learned a lot more because of my positive mindset. Although I got black flagged on the second race, I did not let that bring me down. I still sailed the race and finished in the top ten, even though it did not count.
On the fourth day of the regatta, there was extremely light wind. Because it was the last day of the regatta, the race committee wanted us to be derigged early to hold the awards ceremony. Therefore, the first warning was moved to 8:00 AM. We launched and towed out to the venue. The conditions were not sailable, so we had an on-water postponement. My team had a lot of fun talking on the coach boat, and we even swam for a little bit. About an hour before it was time to go in, the race committee put the postponement flag down. The gold and silver fleet started their race, but by the time it was time for the bronze fleet to start, time had run out. The gold and silver fleet completed their race while the bronze fleet sailed into the dock.
Overall, I learned so much in the Orange Bowl International Youth Regatta. I got experience with big fleet starts and big fleet management, which I had had no prior experience with. I also realized how important it was to drink so much water and eat all of your food. It was incredibly hot and humid in Miami, and I got exhausted after long periods of time in direct sunlight. Additionally, I learned a lot about the venue in Miami, which I had never sailed in before. I also met people from all over the world, had a ton of fun, and made memories I will cherish forever. Thank you so much for the amazing opportunity!