Early Mornings, Cold Days

Not going to lie, but today was a little too early to be waking up. 7:30 wake up call and out the door by 8. Haven’t seen that time of day in a long time! Weather conditions were absolutely terrible. It was cold, and the wind was honking. All I could think of was sailing in big waves and getting sprayed all day. It was the type of cold where no matter what you were wearing it was cold right to the bone.

This morning’s drive was the same as any other, another hour and a half to the sailing site. Arriving there, it was blowing and the skies were dark and overcast. Luckily, our coaches allowed us tot stay inside the harbor and work on our boat handling instead of going out into the really nasty conditions.

After lunch the conditions were looking a little better, and we ventured out into the bay. The wind had gone down, and the sun was trying its hardest to poke through the thick overcast skies. The afternoon session was very productive! We set up in different team racing combinations and did mock races. We switched up the regular A and B teams so that they would be a little fairer. The best part of the situation is that the B team is not what we thought they were. They have gotten a lot better going to some of the big regattas that they attend, and really give us a good run for our money.

This is so great because it only allows us to get really good practices. Last year, they weren’t really able to keep up with us, but with the hard work between the coaches Amanda and Colin they have been able to drill them with the team racing knowledge making them all around better sailors and team racers. It was a very long day, but the afternoon conditions were perfect to practice our plays and we made some great progress.

As far as dinner goes, we decided over the past few years that the best way to save some money is to have the different grades cook each night. Last night the seniors cooked a great dinner. Tonight it was the juniors’ turn to cook, and although we were a little short in the kitchen, we made some really good food. Josh Saltmarsh and I are the only two juniors on the trip, and we stuffed some pork tenderloin with celery, mushrooms, onion and garlic. Placed two strips of bacon on top, and used Montreal steak seasoning. And then in the other dish it was diced chicken marinated in Italian dressing mixed with pasta and cherry tomatoes. Grated cheese optional. Getting to bed, and gearing up for another long day at the office.

- Cy Thompson