Tough Day and Lessons Learned on the Water in Palma

It was one of those days we wish we could have back. We put up a 24-5-25, and we dropped to 22^nd overall in the standings. It was a shifty, puffy day, and we found ourselves clawing from behind in a couple of races. In the end, there just wasn’t enough racecourse to dig ourselves out.

It is difficult to find the positive on a day like today. Perhaps the best thing we can glean from the day is that the date is April 3^rd, not August 3^rd. We still have four months to address the final issues as we lead up to the Olympics. The other positive is that we will not in fact be racing in a fleet of this size or type at the Olympics. This may seem like a cop-out, but we are thinking about how every lesson we learn at these events may or may not apply to our racing at the Games. Some of the lessons learned today, like how we can get off the starting line more consistently, will pay off at the big event this summer. Some others, like how to manage the immense crowds at the turning marks, will not be as important.

Tomorrow is the final day of qualifying racing. We will need to post three good races to make certain we stay in the top-25 and have a shot at the medal race on Saturday. Lots can happen in gold fleet racing, as long as we get there. One day at a time!

Results can be found here. Stay tuned for more throughout the week.

Thanks to all of our supporters and sponsors. Thanks to the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics especially our title sponsor AlphaGraphics and Gold Partners Atlantis and Rolex. Thanks also to Sperry Top-Sider for their sponsorship and support.

Erik

Storck Moore Sailing

Top Ten and Poised to Move on Day One

It was a tough day of sailing here on day one of the Princess Sofia Trophy. We were forced to wait for wind, but it filled in and both 49er fleets had three races. We posted a solid 11-3-8, putting us in 8^th place in the 80-boat fleet.

The wind was about 5-10 knots, and there was a good amount of chop as we were so close to the shore. In a 40-boat fleet like we raced in today, there are plenty of tight situations. In our third and final race, we found ourselves in more than our fair share. We had a run-in with a French boat before the start and an Austrian boat on a downwind. The worst, however, was a collision with a Swedish boat at the weather mark. We rounded in about 8^th place, and we were sailing deep to set our kite and avoid boats coming in high on the port tack layline. One of those boats, however, did not avoid us. They just clipped the aft most part of our starboard wing. The wing crunched in a bit, and we had to do some repair work when we got ashore. It should be fine for racing tomorrow. We will try to steer clear of as much carnage as possible over the next two days of qualifying racing. Gold fleet will be far more manageable.

The forecast for the remainder of the week is similar, so it’s a good thing we were able to stay on schedule today with challenging conditions.

The regatta website has been unreliable thus far, but hopefully it will go back up soon. When it does, regatta results and updates can be found here. Stay tuned throughout the week for more updates.

Thanks to all of our supporters and sponsors. Thanks to the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics especially our title sponsor AlphaGraphics and Gold Partners Atlantis and Rolex. Thanks also to Sperry Top-Sider for their sponsorship and support.

Erik

Storck Moore Sailing

The Long Road to Palma

It’s been a crazy week and a half, but we are on the water in Palma getting ready for the first European stop on the 2012 ISAF World Cup Circuit. Logistical nightmares generally plague an Olympic campaign, and I’m glad we’re four years into this lest we be unprepared. The most important thing is that we are back on the water and feeling good with a few days to go before the Princess Sofia Trophy.

Coach Dave Hughes and I flew to London last Tuesday night on the redeye. We were scheduled to take an overnight ferry from Barcelona to Palma on Friday night. Seems easy at first glance, of course. However, we had to get to our van in Weymouth, then pick up our Olympic boat from storage in Southampton (two hours east of Weymouth) and return it to Weymouth. After that, we had to replace the rack on the coach-boat trailer we had shipped to Perth and return to Southampton to pick up our other boat for the journey south. Then began the easy part, the 18-hour drive to Barcelona. With a five-hour sleeping stop just north of Paris (mistake), and lots of morning rush hour traffic in Paris, we made it Barcelona with an hour to spare.

Trevor got out of this trip to, as he did both cross-country trips in the US in the fall. He took the time to visit our Finnish friends in Lapland, a northern winter wonderland that is within the Arctic Circle. He saw the Northern Lights, enjoyed some ice fishing, chopped a lot of wood, and generally relaxed Finnish-style. It was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience for sure.

It’s been light here in Palma the past few days, all the better for us to get our feet back under us. We are focusing on our boat handling and our in-boat communication. The next four regattas we do are practice for the Olympics, but we want to do as well as we can to give ourselves confidence and to get the feeling of going for it in the real thing.

Back at it in Palma. Dave Hughes photo

Stay tuned for lots more from Palma, Spain. Racing begins here on Monday and concludes the following Saturday.

Thanks to all of our supporters and sponsors. This year, especially, we are so fortunate to have such overwhelming backing from so many. Thanks to the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics especially our title sponsor AlphaGraphics and Gold Partners Atlantis and Rolex. Thanks also to Sperry Top-Sider for their commitment to us, and to excellence in performance footwear!

Erik

Storck Moore Sailing

Once Every Four Years…

The Olympics are contested only once every four years. They come in and out of the consciousness of the public in a similar timeframe. For an Olympic athlete, however, the reality of the Olympics is constant. Now, the constant reality of the Olympics for the athlete, for the first time for us, is overlapping with the general consciousness of the public. This thing that has ceaselessly driven us for the past three and a half years now demands the attention of the world.

In the past couple of months, I have seen commercials for the Olympics on NBC (though there are no sailing images yet…). I’ve seen a picture of the Olympic Rings on a barge floating down the Thames on the cover of USA Today. I’ve read articles about what impact the Olympics will have on the British economy. We’ve been interviewed by NBC, and appeared on the cover of each of our local papers. What was once a small group of followers and supporters has ballooned since we qualified for the Games. The rollercoaster ride of the Olympics has already begun, and there are still over four months to go!

All this attention is what makes the Olympics special. Embracing the uniqueness and chaos of the Games will be important for us to succeed. We attended a camp for the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics and Development Team at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs at the beginning of this month. While in Colorado Springs, we had two very special experiences that significantly helped us to prepare ourselves for the reality of the Olympics.

Brandon Slay, a Gold Medalist in Wrestling at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, spoke to us twice during our camp. His message was clear and direct. Visualize yourself accomplishing what you want to accomplish, and you will succeed. He defeated a Russian wrestler who had not lost in six years by first beating him thousands of times in his mind. Our odds are significantly better than that, and his message resonated with us. By preparing ourselves mentally prior to even stepping off the plane in London, we will be ready to execute the way we know we can.

The second significant experience came at the hands of the US Navy Seals, two of who drove all the way to Colorado from San Diego to push us beyond our perceived limits. The work is not done with four months to go. Having experienced a training session that was very much beyond what we thought we were capable of will serve as a reminder to us of what is possible. Gold is possible!

Once every four years! That is what drives us. You may just now be realizing the Olympics are 135 days away. For us, it is a constant reminder of what work remains, and of how far we’ve come.

We’d like to thank all of our supporters, new and old. Thanks to the sponsors and supporters of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics especially our title sponsor AlphaGraphics and Gold Partners Atlantis and Rolex. Thanks also to Sperry Top-Sider for their commitment to us, and to excellence in performance footwear!

Erik

Storck Moore Sailing

Celebratory Fundraiser Event at Centerport Yacht Club, Sunday, February 12

A Medal Race Win and Silver Medal to Start 2012!

It was an exciting finish to the end! The Medal Race was sailed in a light, but building Easterly breeze. It was almost a carbon copy of last year’s Medal Race, and we remembered what paid that time. Going into the race, we had to make sure the Finnish team did not beat us by more than six boats.

At the first windward mark we found ourselves in 9^th and the Finnish in 2^nd. If the race ended there, we would have given up our silver medal. We had our work cut out for us. We took a split on the downwind from most of our competition by straight-setting and staying deep into the middle of the run. We rounded in nearly ninth again at the leeward mark, with room to run to the left side of the course. We took all the leverage we could, and found our way to the top mark in 3^rd, just behind the Finnish. We could breathe a bit easier, but the race wasn’t over!

As we approached the finish line, we positioned ourselves slightly low of the Finnish, on the starboard layline to the boat end. The Austrians, who had been leading, gybed away from the side a bit early, and were forced to do extra maneuvers in light pressure. We sailed the boat as deep as we could for as long as possible to keep our air clear, and then made a move at the last possible moment. We managed to sneak in and take the race win by inches in a photo finish! It was exhilarating to cross the line with our home crowd cheering as we took the silver medal in decisive fashion. Final results can be seen here.

We will certainly take many lessons away from this week. The best takeaway, however, has to be confidence. We will look to build on that as we continue our training and competition later this spring, as it will be the most important thing going into the Olympics.

Thanks to all of our supporters and sponsors, including Sperry Top-Sider. We would also like to thank the sponsors and supporters of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics especially our title sponsor AlphaGraphics and Gold Partners Atlantis and Rolex.

Erik

Storck Moore Sailing

Tough Day on the Water; Medal Race Tomorrow!

It was one of those days for us. We managed only a 3-8-14 on the day, which keeps us in second overall, but outside of striking distance to first. It is frustrating to have sailed such a great event and lose a chance at the win in the final race, but we have definitely learned from it.

The first race today had more breeze than any other of the week, with puffs near 16 knots. It was fun to be in those conditions again, and we found ourselves leading around most of the racecourse. We gave up one position by forcing ourselves into a tight mark rounding at the final windward mark, and we lost another boat thanks to some poorly timed motorboat chop on the final run to the finish. Either way, we knew we had sailed a good race. The second and third race we did not sail as well. We gave up points in places we shouldn’t have. In the same way we talked yesterday about the ability to fight back and salvage a good finish, we need to be able to handle situations like today. This is why we sail so many regattas.

Tomorrow is the double-points Medal Race. We cannot move into first, and we have to protect our second place position by not allowing the Finnish to beat us by more than six boats. Our goal is to win the race, while keeping an eye on the boats closest behind us. You can see the standings here. There will be live tracking tomorrow on the regatta website, here. Our race is scheduled to start at 12:20 PM.

Thanks to all of our supporters and sponsors, including Sperry Top-Sider. We would also like to thank the sponsors and supporters of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics especially our title sponsor AlphaGraphics and Gold Partners Atlantis and Rolex.

Erik

Storck Moore Sailing

Still Tight at the Top! In 2nd before Friday!

It’s getting exciting here in Miami with three races to go before the Medal Race. We scored an incredibly hard fought 4-3-3 today in difficult conditions. We are now just four points back of the Austrians with nearly thirty points behind us to third overall. Results can be seen here.

The race of the day, or even the regatta, was the third one of the day. We were very close to being over at the start, and we decided to play it safe and return to clear ourselves. We started at least 10 seconds late of the gun, on port heading out right. The right side had been paying, and we knew we had the boat-speed to make some gains. We sailed all the way to the corner, taking advantage of good pressure and angle back towards the mark. We were able to round in about 6^th position. From there, we passed a couple more boats each leg and secured a top-3 finish at the race. Since the Austrians were able to win the race, it was crucial for us to not allow them to put any more points between us.

A comeback like the one we mounted in the final race today gives us supreme confidence going into this season. We say it over and over, but consistency wins medals. Turning a potential 20^th into a top-3 finish will separate those who stand on the podium in London and those who do not.

Stay tuned for what is sure to be an exciting finish to the week over the next two days!

Thanks to all of our supporters. We would also like to thank the sponsors and supporters of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics especially our title sponsor AlphaGraphics and Gold Partners Atlantis and Rolex. Finally, we want to extend a special thanks to our sponsor, Sperry Top-Sider who has a great presence here in Miami.

Erik

Storck Moore Sailing

Past the Halfway Point and Looking Good!

We had two very solid days of racing yesterday and today in Miami, and we are now sitting one point out of the lead in second overall. We put up a 2-3-OCS yesterday and a 3-2-4 today. It’s difficult to match what the Austrian team did today as they posted a 1-1-1. Of course, being only one point away is a fine place to be with seven races to go, including the double-points medal race on Saturday.

Today’s finishes were hard-fought on our end. We found ourselves behind at the weather mark more than once. The left side usually pays in the direction we have been sailing in this week on Biscayne Bay, but today was different. We had good starts today, and went middle left, only to see boats that had been flushed to the right side crossing us at the top. It took us until the third race to figure it out, but we did. The only problem was that by then everyone was on the same page. Anyway, we are happy to have been able to pass boats all the way around the racecourse.

We will be starting at 1 PM the next two days, with three races each day. Since we are carrying an OCS, we will be cautiously aggressive in our approach. We aim to go into the medal race with a chance to win this event. Results can be found here.

Thanks to all of our supporters. We would also like to thank the sponsors and supporters of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics especially our title sponsor AlphaGraphics and Gold Partners Atlantis and Rolex. Finally, we want to extend a special thanks to our sponsor, Sperry Top-Sider who has a great presence here in Miami.

Erik

Storck Moore Sailing

In the Lead After Day One!

The 2012 Rolex Miami OCR got underway today, and we posted some solid finishes. We tallied a 1-2-6, which was good enough for a 5-point lead over our closest competition. Most notably, it was the first day we raced with our new boat! Needless to say, we are happy with how she performed.

The racing was close at the top today. We were lucky enough to have a jump on the competition in race one, and we extended around the course. The second race was tight all the way to the finish, and we discovered only after finishing that our Finnish training partners ceded their second to us due to a black flag penalty at the start. The final race was sailed in the least breeze of the day, down to 6 knots at times. We were a bit more in the thick of it around the course, and finished mere seconds behind first in an incredibly close finish.

It’s a long week of racing, and our goal is to put up four more days of good scores before the Medal Race on Saturday. Stay tuned to the regatta website, here, for results, media, and tracking.

Thanks to all of our supporters. We would also like to thank the sponsors and supporters of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics especially our title sponsor AlphaGraphics and Gold Partners Atlantis and Rolex. Finally, we want to extend a special thanks to our sponsor, Sperry Top-Sider who has a great presence here in Miami.

Erik

Storck Moore Sailing